Names of God the Father, Part 2

In addition to the proper name Yahveh and the titles "God," "Deity," and "Lord," the Bible contains many other important names by which Yahweh's people know him. Holy One (Qadosh); Holy One of Israel (Qdosh Yisra'el). Yahweh is called "the Holy One" (Isa. 40:25; Hos. 11:9) or sometimes "the Holy One of Israel" (2 Kings 19:22; Ps. 89:18; Isa. 37:23) or 'Elohai Qdoshi,"my God, my Holy One" (Hab. 1:12). The root meaning of holiness is separation or being set apart; therefore the phrase "the Holy One of Israel" means "the God who is distinctively Israel's. " By the same token, Israel is a people "holy to the Lord their God" (Deut. 7:6; 14:2, 21; 26:19; 28:9), set apart for him. The basic meaning of holiness, therefore, is not goodness, purity, or moral virtue, but the transcendent quality of being above and separated from the common or ordinary. The English words sacred and sacrosanct better convey the meaning. In worship, the concept of God as the Holy One is evident in such instances a…