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 vowels ...

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 (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

) in Northwest Semitic and as ''q-d-s'' ( ar, ق-د-س) in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and South Semitic. In

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic ...

texts, the verb conjugated from this root meant to "clean, purify."

Canaanite religion

It was used this way in Ugaritic, 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 byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

. 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 Legend of Keret, also known as the Epic of Kirta, is an ancient Ugaritic epic poem, dated to Late Bronze Age, circa 1500 – 1200 BC. It recounts the myth of King Keret of Hubur. It is one of the Ugarit texts. History The epic stor ...

'', 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 many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes ...

Asherah, and Albright's mentee Frank Moore Cross claimed ''qdš'' was used as a divine epithet for both Asherah and the Ugaritic goddess,

Athirat Asherah (; he, אֲשֵׁרָה, translit=Ăšērā; uga, 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚, translit=ʾAṯiratu; akk, 𒀀𒅆𒋥, translit=Aširat; Qatabanian: ') in ancient Semitic religion, is a fertility goddess who appears in a number of ancient so ...

.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 Qetesh (also Qadesh, Qedesh, Qetesh, Kadesh, Kedesh, Kadeš or Qades ) was a goddess who was incorporated into the ancient Egyptian religion in the late Bronze Age. Her name was likely developed by the Egyptians based on the Semitic root ''Q-D ...

), show a woman in the nude, with curly hair and raised arms carrying lilies and

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

s.van der Toorn, et al., 1999, p. 416. ''Qdš'' is also depicted in the pantheon of gods at

Memphis, Egypt , alternate_name = , image = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the pillared hall of Ramesses IIat Mit Rahina , map_type = Egypt#Africa , map_alt = , map_size = , relief = , coordinates = ...

possibly indicating worship of her as independent deity there. The word ''qdš'' also appears in the

Pyrgi Tablets The Pyrgi Tablets (dated ) are three golden plates inscribed with a bilingual Phoenician– Etruscan dedicatory text. They are the oldest historical source documents from pre-Roman Italy and are rare examples of texts in these languages. They w ...

, a Phoenician text found in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

that dates back to 500 BCE.

Hebrew

''Qudšu'' was later used in

Jewish Aramaic Judaeo-Aramaic languages represent a group of Hebrew-influenced Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic languages. Early use Aramaic, like Hebrew, is a Northwest Semitic language, and the two share many features. From the 7th century BCE, Aramaic became the ...

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

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' consecration, belonging, and purification. The

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserve ...

is called "The Holy Tongue" ( he, לשון הקודש "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 now-destroyed 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 Jeru ...

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 (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. 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 Kedushah may refer to: * Holiness in Judaism * Kedushah (prayer) ''Kedushah'' (Holiness) is the name of several prayers recited during Jewish prayer services. They have in common the recitation of two Biblical verses - and . These verses come ...

which is the responsive section of the reader's repetition of the

Amidah The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each ...

. ''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 Kedesh (alternate spellings: Cadesh, Cydessa) was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite settlement in Upper Galilee, mentioned few times in the Hebrew Bible. Its remains are located in Tel Kedesh, 3 km northeast of the modern Kibbutz ...

, which refers to a

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

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'' ( ar, القدس, "the holy one"), is the most common of seventeen

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

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 Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

, 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 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 In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

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

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

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

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...

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

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, 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 Maqdisi ( ar, مقدسي) is an Arabic nisba referring to a Jerusalemite. It is derived from ''Bayt al-Maqdis'', an Arabic name for Jerusalem, by way of the Hebrew ''Beit HaMikdash'', the Temple in Jerusalem. Today, the common Arabic name of Jeru ...

and al-Muqaddasi are used in Arabic

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

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

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

") 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 divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

", 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