In 2 Chronicles 5:11, it reads in very literal translation: "And it happened as the priests were going from the sanctuary - for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves without observing divisions." This translation demonstrates the possibility of a contrast between "sanctified" and "observing divisions." In that case, holy's or sanctified's basic meaning would be that of whole.
You could understand it this way " ... for all the priest who were present were themselves the whole without observing any divisions [among themselves]." This is at least plausible and the contrast with "without observing divisions" would make its meaning also contrast with being set apart or separate.
So this verse at least demonstrates what is at stake in terms of understanding a great number of passages throughout the Bible. By itself, the evidence is not earthshattering, but a number of passages with this same plausibility would be. Please think about it.
In Christ,
Pastor Jon
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2 comments:
Maybe im not far enough in my walk, but I don't quite understand the relation this passage has to the definition of "holy". When You get some time could I would be most grateful if you could elaborate or break it down in a different way.
In Christ,
Deral
deral.brown@newberry.edu
Deral, part of the difficulty is that this one entry is part of a larger debate on the meaning or definition of holy. One side says it means "set apart" while another says it means "whole." What I am arguing from this passage is that "without divisions" COULD be the negative expression for the positive of "the whole". That would mean that there is the possibility that this passage combined with others could support the idea that holy (sanctified) means whole. That is my basic point. The key is whether "without divisions" is a true parallel and not just in the same context. That would not be a valid argument. Thank you for your comment.
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