Holy: Understanding it Better Through Basics

You are likely checking out this site to find out the definition of holy.  There are many proposed definitions, but probably only three that deserve serious consideration.  In alphabetic order they are:
1) pure, 2) set apart, or 3) whole.  One of the great challenges in defining holy is knowing the basic choices for its definition.  Even if it is complex word, what is it on the most basic level or core? 

A number of years ago, I was challenged as an assistant basketball coach by the head coach to tell him the basics of the game.  I uttered what I knew were basic things from my experience as a basketball player.  Most of what I told him had to do with skills.  I now know that I blew it.  I really didn't have my basics down, as I should have. 

I'm sure I could have recited more basics and somewhere in the mix I would have covered all of them.  But it would have been very complex and it would have been disorganized.  So from that point on, I listened carefully when any coach started to talk about the basics (or fundamentals). 

The basics of basketball I now know very well.  I may not know many of the complex parts of basketball like the many drills or plays that there are to chose from, but I now know the basics and can spout them quickly and in order.  Basics though should have been clearly taught to me before I reached adulthood some time ago.  Basics to be called that are usually things that a 12 or 13 year old can grasp.  But my list to my head coach were not.  (At least not in such a way that I could recall them to memory quickly.)

In looking at holy's definition, we are looking at a question of what basically does the word mean?  Does it mean that "pure" or "clean" are essentially an amount.  Are they like a pure gold where "all" the alloy is removed?   Is it then a matter of measure or amount?  Is it like gold that has the dross removed and then is given a designation to measure how pure the gold is? 

Or is the main point that something like gold has been separated from the dross or maybe better the dross from the gold?   Could this mean that this means something more like "set apart"?

Finally, is the basic point that holy means moral wholeness?  Are righteousness, truth, love and goodness the major parts of holy?  Does it parallel in many ways the use of wholeness as a concept? 

I am currently working on a paper that will answer these questions.  The goal to finish it is by no later than May.  I am very excited, because I am using a method of exegesis or interpretation that is very basic and yet very powerful. 

My parents used to say to me at the table, if I voiced my opinion on a biblical topic: "Chapter and verse".  The  neat thing for me is that I now living their dream of working out "chapter and verse".  I don't want to give up on a dream of knowing what God means through the word  holy extremely well.  I would regret giving up on their dream.  Their dream has become my own. 

Here's a quote on why I think it is worthwhile to wait and get the definition of holy right:

     Never give up on something you really want.  It is difficult to wait, but it's more
     difficult to regret. 

So wait with me for holy to be defined clearly on the most basic level.  The basic semantic classes of words come down to five primary definitions: 1) amount, 2) relationship, 3) whole, 4) action, and 5) thing.  I used these 5 to identify the basics of basketball as: !Effort level, 2) Team approach, 3) Healthy Atmosphere, 4) Skilled play and 5) Know the game.  Out of three of the best options for the definition of holy, I think I will in the end arrive at the basic meaning of holy according to chapter and verse.  It is going to be either an: 1) amount (ex. pure), 2) relationship  (ex. set apart), or 3) whole.   (By the way, "set apart" could also a distinction between things making that the core idea.)  In any case, let's make sure our views fit with chapter and verse and do not fall short of what we really want - a single reliable definition of holy from God's point of view. 


Sincerely,

Jon

By the way, also check out:  http://communicationbasics101.blogspot.com.  There I also deal with the basics when it comes to exegesis.  . 

Holy: Understanding it Better Through Answering the Question "Why?"

So why does the definition of holy matter?  There are fundamentally two answers to that question.  The first is the life-relevant answer.  The second is the teaching-relevant answer.  I have generally spent more time on the second than on the first in this blog.  I have a second blog that answers more the first question, but it depends a great deal on answering the teaching-relevant question that this blog focuses on the majority of the time.  Today, I want to expand more on both answers to the why questions you might have. 

By the way, before I get too far, I want to say that holy can be defined according to the level of adherents for each view, either as: (1) set apart, (2) pure, or (3) whole/wholly.  I'll say more on this as I progress, but I know some readers are visiting this blog just for the fast answer and they will not read any further.  For those who are reading further, here is what I am up to in my blog and in my paper for my post-graduate work. 

My plan is as follows:

I will define holy (Leviticus 19:1-2) as either: 1) set apart, 2) pure, or 3)whole/wholly depending on the evidence that I collect from Scripture in its original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek  ....

...  using both biblical exegesis and linguistic synthesis & analysis as my tools, including:
    1) 5 T's - Translate, Transfer, Total, Train, and Teach - Nehemiah 8 (issue: Whole)
    2)  clarity and meaning combined (issue: Amount)
    3)  contextual structural analysis diagrams to identify precise parallels (issue: Relationship)
    4)  pre-state and post-state diagrams as well as syntactical tools to clarify actions (issue Action)
    5)  the combination of lexicons based on both classical grammar and scientific linguistics to insure
    the best results (issue: Things) ...

... Because:
    1)  the definition of holy is a potential solution to corporate and individual struggles in the church 
     and even worldwide, based on its implications
    2)  other potential solutions that have been tried in recent decades and years have fallen short of
    solutions during past periods of church reformation and revival
    3)  there is a measure of uncertainty or lack of clarity for what holy is by definition, and there is
     a likely way to reduce the uncertainty that has been acknowledged by big name scholars (Otto,
     Snaith, Kline, etc.)
    4)  there is a moral obligation to pass on the gifts given to me by my teachers (and I believe the
     Holy Spirit) to the wider world
    5)  the effort to define holy fits with the tools that I received for exegesis and for linguistic
     synthesis, so it means that I can contribute something to the discussion because otherwise I should
     do nothing, so I don't waste the time of others.

So the first 5 focus on what is the "How?" for what I am doing.  The second 5 get at the nitty-gritty part of "Why?" am I doing all this.  For me life matters more than teaching, but also teaching is sometimes the means to life change.  May God richly bless you this day and may He guide my efforts at teaching, so they have worth and value to others and to myself.  Thank you for taking some time to read to the end of my writing today. 


In Christ,

Jon