What is holiness?
and where on earth did it come from?

The word "holy" comes from Proto‑Germanic hailagaz (whole, pure, set apart from harm). It strolled through history into Old English hālig and arrived at its current form holy. It's used to describe something, or somebody, as godly, divine, hallowed, sacred and other things connected to God, for worship or spiritual reverence.

So what is it?

Christianity has no shortage of holies. There's Holy Communion, Holy Water, the Holy Bible, Holy Week, Holy Orders, the Holy See, Holy Synod and so on. In fact Christianity has enough holies to patch every pothole in Rome.

The adjective is generally reserved for divine presence, sacred rituals, godliness, and so on. Think as Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit or someone leading a holy life.

And then, of course, there's the other use of “holy” — in modern-day exclamations. Holy cow! Holy moly! Holy crap! All fine examples of how the sacred can take a rather undignified detour through pop culture.

The original purpose of “holy” was never meant to be slang for surprise or disbelief. It’s meant to convey something inherently divine, morally pure, and directly connected to the divine — no cows involved.

In the Bible, holy is the English stand-in for two very loaded words:

Hebrew קָדוֹשׁ (qādôš) — meaning set apart or consecrated
Greek ἅγιος (hagios) — meaning dedicated to God

In short, holy is not just “good” — it’s God-good.

Holiness is God's thing

At its deepest level, holiness isn’t just a good habit or nice vibe — it’s an attribute of God Himself. It describes His moral perfection, His utter “otherness,” and the sheer impossibility of fitting Him in a box

But, believe it or not, it hasn’t always meant that...

So when did holiness begin?

Long before Abrahamic religions arrived with their scrolls, prophets and orderly commandments, humans were already wondering who (or what) was behind all the thunder, earthquakes and locust storms.

The very existence of shows that folk believed powerful yet invisible forces existed. These forces were held in both awe and suspicion. They weren’t always kind. Some gods blessed your harvest, others, such as Baal, flattened your village.

Anything connected to these gods was treated as sacred — even if it wasn’t especially nice. Mesopotamian priests, Egyptian pharaohs, temples and terrifying rituals could be thought of as holy, simply because they were connected to divine power.

In other words, power made something holy, not goodness. A cruel act? Holy. A bloody land invasion? Holy. A human sacrifice? Holy.

From many gods to One

Early Israelite religion (roughly 1200–600 BCE) believed in many gods but chose to focus on Yahweh, the top of the divine ladder. Over time (especially during and after the Babylonian Exile) their beliefs evolved toward monotheism, the idea that Yahweh wasn’t just the best God, but the only God. Yahweh, the Creator of Earth, other planets, humans, animals, crops, and all the other good stuff that humans need.

And just like that, "holiness" did a backflip off the sacred pedestal and landed in the "Oh, so THAT’S what it means!" zone. Since God is not just powerful but also moral, then being holy had to mean more than just being close to divine fireworks. It now means being good, being just, being pure.

And that realisation changed everything.

Holiness rebranded

Christianity (1st century CE) continued this understanding, centred on Jesus as the Messiah, who modelled holiness as humility, healing, and hanging out with sinners. Then came Islam (7th century CE), which also saw holiness as being in submission to the same One God ("Allah", in Arabic), with an emphasis on moral purity and justice.

From this point in time, holiness was a result of a spiritual connection and association with God, irrespective of how many jewels or slaves you had, irrespective of how grand a temple was, or how elaborate a ritual was.

Holiness today

Once upon a time, you could be considered holy simply by being born into the right family, winning a war, or mastering some cryptic priestly rites. Whether you ruled kindly or crushed rebellions with an iron fist, your status was still sacred — cruelty included.

Thank God, that definition has changed. Today, the major faiths see holiness not as brute power, but as something morally upright and spiritually tuned in.

Still, some people cling to the old model. They rise to power and assume their position makes them holy, regardless of how they act. (Sound familiar?) Some even believe God personally handed them their job, along with a divine rubber stamp for everything they say or do.

This, sadly, can bring us back to the pagan version of holiness, where cruelty could be sacred, and injustice could be excused as divine will.

Holiness today is for the "greater good". It's about being good, not just looking holy. It’s about acting with compassion, justice and humility.

Let’s hope and pray that more of our leaders — spiritual and political alike — catch up with this updated definition. Preferably before the next election.