Macoy Masonic Hebrew with text 1868 p134

''Q-D-Š'' is a triconsonantal

Semitic root The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or " radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowel ...

meaning " sacred, holy", derived from a concept central to ancient Semitic religion. From a basic verbal meaning "to consecrate, to purify", it could be used as an adjective meaning "holy", or as a substantive referring to a "sanctuary, sacred object, sacred personnel." The root is reflected as ''q-d-š'' ( Phoenician ,

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

) in Northwest Semitic and as ''q-d-s'' () in Central and South Semitic. In Akkadian texts, the verb conjugated from this root meant to "clean, purify."

Canaanite religion

It was used this way in

Ugaritic Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeology, archaeologists in 1928 at Ugarit, including several major literary texts, notably the Baal cycl ...

, as for example, in the words ''qidšu'' (meaning "holy place" or "chapel") and ''qad(i)šu'' (meaning "consecrated gift" or "cultic personnel"). In some Ugaritic texts, ''qdš'' is used as a divine

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

. For example, the gods are referred to as "the sons of holiness" or "the holy ones" (''bn qdš''), and in the Ugaritic '' Legend of Keret'', the hero is described as "the son of El and the offspring of the Benevolent One and ''qdš'' ".van der Toorn et al., 1999, p. 415. William Foxwell Albright believed that ''Qudšu'' (meaning "holiness") was a common Canaanite appellation for the

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

Asherah, and Albright's mentee

Frank Moore Cross Frank Moore Cross Jr. (July 13, 1921 – October 16, 2012) was the Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages at Harvard University, notable for his work in the interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, his 1973 '' magnum opus'' ''Ca ...

claimed ''qdš'' was used as a divine epithet for both Asherah and the Ugaritic goddess, Athirat.Albright, 1990, pp. 121–122.Hadley, 2000, p. 49. Johanna Stucky claims she may have been a deity in her own right. Depictions of a goddess in inscriptions from Dynastic Egypt, thought to be Canaanite since she is referred to as ''Qdš'' (often transliterated in English as Qedesha, Qudshu or Qetesh), show a woman in the nude, with curly hair and raised arms carrying lilies and serpents.van der Toorn, et al., 1999, p. 416. ''Qdš'' is also depicted in the pantheon of gods at

Memphis, Egypt Memphis (, ; Bohairic ; ), or Men-nefer, was the ancient capital of Inebu-hedj, the first Nome (Egypt), nome of Lower Egypt that was known as ''mḥw'' ("North"). Its ruins are located in the vicinity of the present-day village of Mit Rahina () ...

possibly indicating worship of her as independent deity there. The word ''qdš'' also appears in the Pyrgi Tablets, a Phoenician text found in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

that dates back to 500 BCE.

Hebrew

''Qudšu'' was later used in Jewish Aramaic to refer to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. Words derived from the root ''qdš'' appear some 830 times in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

, belonging, and purification. The

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

is called "The Holy Tongue" ( "Lashon HaKodesh") in Judaism. In addition, the Hebrew term for the Holy

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

is ''Beit Hamikdash'' (, "the holy house"), and '' Ir Ha-Kodesh'' (, "City of the Holy"), the latter being one of the tens of Hebrew names for

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Three theological terms that come from this root are Kiddush, which is sanctification of the Sabbath or a festival with a blessing over wine before the evening and noon meals, Kaddish, which is the sanctification prayer, and mourner's prayer, and Kedushah which is the responsive section of the reader's repetition of the

Amidah The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on week ...

. ''Qedeshah'' () is a word derived from the Q-D-Š root, which is used in the Hebrew Bible to describe a particular sort of woman. Historically this has been understood to be a sacred prostitute in a temple fertility cult. However modern scholarship has revealed that the evidence for this is extremely tenuous. Modern scholars have provided significant criticism of the common belief that any culture in the Mediterranean and Ancient Near East ever practised sacred prostitution. Mayer Gruber (1986) suggested the word's usage reflected a more primitive base-meaning in the Q-D-Š root of "set apart", hence "she who is set apart for sexual services, a prostitute". But this interpretation of the root has not generally been taken up. The question of how a word with a root meaning of "consecrated one" evidently came to be associated with common prostitutionIn particular in the context o
Genesis 38:15-24
In verses 15 and 24 Tamar is reckoned for a ''zonah'', a prostitute or loose woman; in verse 21 she is sought out as a ''qedeshah''. continues to be a topic of ongoing discussion. Two different words describing places in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Kedesh, which refers to a

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

ite village first documented i
Joshua 20:7
and later i

The other is Kadesh, a place in the south of Ancient Israel, mentioned in and .

Arabic

The verb form of Q-D-S in Arabic (''qadus'') means "to be holy" or "to be pure, immaculate". ''Quds'' can be used as a noun to denote "paradise" or as an adjective meaning "purity" or "holiness". The definite noun form, '' al-Quds'' (, "the holy one"), is the most common of seventeen

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Names of Jerusalem and derives from the Aramaean word for "temple" (''qōdšā''). The Turkish word for Jerusalem, , derives from the Arabic name. Two other names for Jerusalem also derive from the Q-D-S root: ''Bayt al-Muqqadas'' ("the holy house") and ''Bayt al-Maqdis''. The wider area around Jerusalem, or the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

, is referred to in Arabic and in Islamic sources as ''al ard al-muqaddasa'' (also ''Bilād al-Muqaddasa''), as it is full of shrines and connections to prophets and saints. The

Christian Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

is known in Arabic as ''al-Kitāb al-Muqaddas''. ''Muqaddas'' in Arabic means not only "holy" and "sacred", but also "hallowed, sanctified, dedicated, consecrated." ''Al-Quds'' also appears in Arabic as part of a phrase to refer to the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

, ''Rúḥu 'l-Quds'' (or ''Rūḥu 'l'Qudus''), with '' Ruh'' meaning "spirit". This phrase appears in the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

a number of times, where it is thought to refer in some cases to the angel

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

. The concept of ''Rúḥu 'l-Quds'' is also discussed at length by the

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

mystic, ʻAbd al-Karim al-Jili, who further distinguishes between two other concepts derived from the Q-D-S root in Arabic: ''qudsi'' ("holy one") and ''aqdasi'' ("most holy one"). The ''qudsi'' is one who "unceasingly contemplates the Divine consciousness '' sirr'' secret' which is his origin" and is "illuminated" by it, whereas the ''aqdasi'' ("most holy one") is one who is actually united with this Essence. ''Qudsi'' is also used in Arabic to refer to a Jerusalemite, or a native/resident of Jerusalem. It and its derivatives, such as Maqdisi and al-Muqaddasi are used in Arabic

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

s or as appellatives assigned to those who come from or live in Jerusalem. The religious terms ''Hadith Qudsi'' ("holy

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

") and '' Tafsir Qudsi'' ("sacred commentary") also incorporate ''qudsi'', though in this case it is used as an adjective, rather than a noun or pronoun. Tafsir Qudsi is a form of Quranic commentary, while Hadith Qudsi refers to the "utterances of God through the

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

", thus enjoying a status higher than that the hadith writings in general, though lower than that of the

.Glassé and Smith, 2001, p. 383. Other derivatives of Q-D-S in Arabic include ''qudus'', which means "purity", "sanctity", "saint" or "holy", and ''qadas'', which is used to refer to a "small cup or plate", often used to put forth offerings at holy sites. ''Taqdis'' means to "purify, sanctify, consecrate to God," ''taqqadus'' is to "be purified, sanctified, consecrated," and ''taqâdus'' means to "play the saint". ''Istiqdas'' means "to deem holy."

Maltese

The root Q-D-S in Maltese is used in a religious sense, and means "holy, sanctified, saintly", its use is very similar to that of Christian Arabs, as the Maltese language uses mostly Arabic terms and even some Muslim terms in religion. Some examples are ''qaddis'' (holy, saint), ''tqaddis'' (sanctification), ''qdusija'' (holiness, saintliness), ''maqdas'' (temple, place of worship), ''mqaddes'' (sacred, hallowed) and ''quddiesa'' (mass), amongst many more.

References

Bibliography