Qodesh (קֹדֶשׁ): Holy

I have studied the Hebrew root, קֹדֶשׁ - qodesh, which is related to that which is holy. There are several words based on this root:

Qodesh: Apartness, sacredness (noun)

Qadash: To be set apart, consecrated (verb)

Qadosh: Sacred, holy (adjective)

In the Bible, words for "holiness" appear more often than words for "love". This is definitely not the case in typical modern English texts. The idea of holiness and something sacred is almost lost in modern western culture. There is much to say about this, but my takeaway after having studied the concept in an ancient Israelite context is this: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. They were not the same. Heaven is associated with holiness, whereas the (fallen) earth is where the common and profane is found. They stand in contrast to each other. In the exchange between Ammon and King Lamoni, we read

28 ...And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?

29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.

30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels. (Mosiah 18)

The common man does not know the heavens. But God wants us to become holy. Since the normal state of earthly things is common, it requires a special act to bring a thing or person into a state of holiness. Sanctification is the preparation for heaven. This is what the temple is for, both ancient and modern. The vast majority of uses of the words for "holiness" in the Old Testament is related to the temple. It is all over the tabernacle descriptions in the Pentateuch, Solomon's temple in Kings and Chronicles and Ezekiel 40-48, where we find Ezekiel's temple vision. Both the holy place and the holy of holies were found in the temple, the latter being a replica of heaven. Here was the throne of God and the cherubim (angels) like Ammon described, like Lehi saw in his vision in the first chapter of the Book of Mormon, etc. A temple on earth offered man the opportunity to enter into the sacred and become holy, a prerequisite for communing with God. It is almost like we can consider the temple, and Christ's sacrifice symbolized there, as the portal to the otherwise unreachable heaven. It is the way to holiness, the connection point between heaven and earth.

In a previous post, I shared Leviticus 10:10.

And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean

The strong emphasis on separation from the unclean in the Old Testament, especially in temple settings, is another indicator of becoming holy as an essential prerequisite for being in God's presence. Here is another example.

And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. (2 Chronicles 29:5)

Under wicked kings in Judah, the temple had become corrupt and needed to be sanctified as did the Levites who performed the temple service.

This context is not that different from our understanding of the concept of holiness and sanctification in the church today. Still, it does influence my reading of Book of Mormon passages containing these words and sheds new light on them. I obviously don't know but I imagine that the Nephites, who came from an ancient Israelite culture, had a word that similarly encompassed holiness, sanctification, consecration and setting apart or separating from the unclean and related that primarily to the temple.

Let's read Alma 5:53-54 through this lens

53 And now my beloved brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstand these sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these things, and trample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed up in the pride of your hearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your riches?

54 Yea, will ye persist in supposing that ye are better one than another; yea, will ye persist in the persecution of your brethren, who humble themselves and do walk after the holy order of God, wherewith they have been brought into this church, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and they do bring forth works which are meet for repentance

The words in bold are all related to the Hebrew 'qds' root, or at least would probably be if this were an English translation of a Hebrew text. "Holy One" is a name for God used in the Old Testament, often combined with Israel to become "Holy One of Israel". Nephi makes it clear that this is Christ. The Holy One invites us to separate from the unclean and become sanctified (qadash) like He is. This happens by the Holy Spirit ("ruach ha-qodesh" in Hebrew) according to Alma. Instead of trampling the Holy One under their feet, Alma invites them to become holy instead, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

"The holy order of God" is a term that is quite unique in the Book of Mormon. It is explained in the D&C but is completely absent from the Bible. Interestingly, it makes a lot of sense in an Old Testament context even though the term is not found there. The holy order of God describes what we today call the priesthood. In Old Testament times this was inseparably linked to the temple. The primary responsibility of a priest was temple service. To "walk after the holy order of God", as Alma puts it, may describe participation in ancient temple rites where the way to holiness (i.e. God's presence) is found. According to Alma, it was also the means by which they were brought into the church in the first place.

The pattern is clear. God is holy and dwells in heaven. We can only get there by separating from the unclean of this earth. By the way of holiness in the temple, the holy order of God and the Holy Spirit, we can become sanctified.

I will spend my next post commenting on Alma 13 within this context.

"Touch not that which is unclean"

Often we read about a physical, concrete concept in the Old Testament that has an abstract or spiritual counterpart. This counterpart is typically more prevalent in other scripture. The Law of Moses is one example. It is easy to get hung up on the rituals and rules that are found in Numbers and Leviticus and miss the fact that it all points to the Savior. A couple of other examples are found here and here.

We see the same trend reading about the concept of uncleanliness. The Book of Leviticus is obsessed with it. In Leviticus 11-15, words related to (un)cleanliness and (im)purity show up almost once per verse on average. These are instructions to Moses and Aron, primarily to ensure that no one enters into the Tabernacle unclean.

Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them. (Leviticus 15:31)

The Priests of the tabernacle had a special duty to ensure that nothing unclean entered in and defiled it. There is much emphasis on separating the clean and holy from the unclean and unholy.

And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean (Leviticus 10:10)

God's word to Ezekiel just before the destruction of Jerusalem contains accusations of the priests not fulfilling this duty 

Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean (Ezekiel 22:26)

When they do not manage to separate between the clean and unclean and when the people do not manage to rid themselves of the unclean, God needs to do the separation instead and it is much less pleasant than a ritual bath. 

18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.

19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. (Ezekiel 22)

Our equivalent of the Jewish ritual bath, mikveh, is baptism by water. This is followed by baptism by fire, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. The fire symbolism has been discussed on this blog before (see here and here). The idea is that fire can purge us by removing the dross in us. This is the second step after being cleansed with water. But if we have indulged in the unclean without washing, we are the dross, and then the purging looks very different.

Why all this emphasis on separating the clean and unclean? Avoiding to defile the tabernacle/temple could perhaps be reason enough. Israelites believed that it was the House of God in a very real sense. But perhaps there also was a spiritual counterpart to this concept that the Israelites missed? Isaiah hints on that and the Book of Mormon expands on it. Let's have a look at Isaiah first. "Unclean" is brought up twice in chapter 52

Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. (Isaiah 52:1)

In this case, it is not only the temple where the unclean cannot enter, but the whole city of Jerusalem. This is describing a future state of Zion/Jerusalem, but still a place on earth (although perhaps in its millennial stage). Still speaking about this future time, Isaiah goes on to invite us to depart from Babylon in a second future exodus to Zion/the promised land.

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.

Jesus also talks about the latter-day gathering of Israel to the Nephites and quotes this verse in 3 Nephi 20:41. It also seems to be alluded to in at least two other Book of Mormon verses.

And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things; and behold, their names shall be blotted out, that the names of the wicked shall not be numbered among the names of the righteous, that the word of God may be fulfilled, which saith: The names of the wicked shall not be mingled with the names of my people (Alma 5:57)

Hinting at the admonition by Isaiah, Alma adds "be ye separate" and goes on to explain that God wants to separate the names of the wicked and the names of his people. This idea is also rooted in ancient Jewish culture. The Law of Moses contained prohibitions to mingle certain types of grain or fabric, for example. Certain things had to be separated and kept separate. See Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:9-11. I am not sure if I understand the reason or symbolism behind the prohibition to plow with an ox and ass together or plant two different kinds of seeds in a field, but Alma applies this idea of separation on a more spiritual level. 

Moroni 10:30 is another Book of Mormon verse alluding to Isaiah 52:11

And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.

He connects it with coming unto Christ, which is the symbolic equivalent of temple entrance for ancient Israelites. 

But most Book of Mormon verses using the word "unclean", connect it with entering into the kingdom of God. The separation between the wicked and the righteous on that last day is the spiritual counterpart of all the separation issues and cleanliness before entering into the temple that we find in the Old Testament. Notice the temple reference in Alma 7:21, linking to us and our entrance into the kingdom of God 

And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness.

As a final example, Nephi lays it out very plainly: 

if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also. But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy. (1 Nephi 15:33-34)