What is the QADO$ קדוש of Lev. 19:2?
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 7:33 pm
In Lev. 19:2 we read
דבר אל כל עדת בני-ישראל ואמרת אלהם קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני יהוה אלהיכם
"Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy."
But what is the material meaning of this קדוש QADO$, 'holy' ( in English 'holy' is possibly related to 'hale' and 'whole', namely, 'sound, firm, complete'.
In Hebrew, the elementary meaning of an abstract act may be inferred from its concrete, or tangible, variants. It appears to me that the root קדש QD$ is a variant of גדש GD$ (and and also of חדש XD$ and כתש KT$), from which we have the very material גדיש GADIY$, 'stack, pile, swell, mound (as over a grave)', of Lev. 22:5(6) and Job 21:32.
Hence, קדוש QADO$ is גדוש GADO$, 'packed with meaning, significance and value'.
Isaac Fried, Boston University
דבר אל כל עדת בני-ישראל ואמרת אלהם קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני יהוה אלהיכם
"Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy."
But what is the material meaning of this קדוש QADO$, 'holy' ( in English 'holy' is possibly related to 'hale' and 'whole', namely, 'sound, firm, complete'.
In Hebrew, the elementary meaning of an abstract act may be inferred from its concrete, or tangible, variants. It appears to me that the root קדש QD$ is a variant of גדש GD$ (and and also of חדש XD$ and כתש KT$), from which we have the very material גדיש GADIY$, 'stack, pile, swell, mound (as over a grave)', of Lev. 22:5(6) and Job 21:32.
Hence, קדוש QADO$ is גדוש GADO$, 'packed with meaning, significance and value'.
Isaac Fried, Boston University