ἅγιος

(from τό ἀγός religious awe, reverence; ἄζω, ἅζομαι, to venerate, revere, especially the gods, parents (Curtius, § 118)), rare in secular authors; very frequent in the sacred writings; in the Sept. for קָדושׁ;
1. properly reverend, worthy of veneration: τό ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ, Lk 1:49; God, on account of his incomparable majesty, Rev 4:8 (Isa 6:3, etc.), equivalent to ἔνδοξος. Hence, used:
a. of things which on account of some connection with God possess a certain distinction and claim to reverence, as places sacred to God which are not to be profaned, Acts 7:33; τόπος ἅγιος the temple, Mt 24:15 (on which passage see βδέλυγμα, c.); Acts 6:13; Acts 21:28; the holy land or Palestine, 2 Macc. 1:29 2Macc. 2:18; τό ἅγιον and τά ἅγια (Winer's Grammar, 177 (167)) the temple, Heb 9:1, Heb 9:24 (cf. Bleek on Heb. vol. ii. 2, p. 477f); specifically that part of the temple or tabernacle which is called 'the holy place' (מִקְדָּשׁ, Ezek 37:28; Ezek 45:18), Heb 9:2 (here Rec.st reads ἅγια); ἅγια ἁγίων (Winer's Grammar, 246 (231), cf. Ex 29:37; Ex 30:10, etc.) the most hallowed portion of the temple, 'the holy of holies,' (Ex 26:33 (cf. Josephus, Antiquities 3, 6, 4)), Heb 9:3, in reference to which the simple τά ἅγια is also used: Heb 9:8, Heb 9:25; Heb 10:19; Heb 13:11; figuratively of heaven, Heb 8:2; Heb 9:8, Heb 9:12; Heb 10:19; ἅγια πόλις Jerusalem, on account of the temple there, Mt 4:5; Mt 27:53; Rev 11:2; Rev 21:2; Rev 22:19 (Isa 48:2; Neh 11:1, Neh 11:18 (Complutensian LXX), etc.); τό ὄρος τό ἅγιον, because Christ's transfiguration occurred there, 2 Pet 1:18; ἡ (Θεοῦ) ἅγια διαθήκη i. e. which is the more sacred because made by God himself, Lk 1:72; τό ἅγιον, that worshipful offspring of divine power, Lk 1:35; the blessing of the gospel, Mt 7:6; ἁγιωτάτῃ πίστις, faith (quae creditur i. e. the object of faith) which came from God and is therefore to be heeded most sacredly, Jude 1:20; in the same sense ἅγια ἐντολή, 2 Pet 2:21; κλῆσις ἅγια, because it is the invitation of God and claims us as his, 2 Tim 1:9; ἅγιαι γραφαί (τά βιβλία τά ἅγια, 1 Macc. 12:9), which came from God and contain his Words, Rom 1:2.
b. of persons whose services God employs; as for example, apostles, Eph 3:5; angels, 1 Thess 3:13; Mt 25:31 (Rec.); Rev 14:10; Jude 1:14; prophets, Acts 3:21; Lk 1:70 (Wis. 11:1); (οἱ) ἅγιοι (τοῦ) Θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι, 2 Pet 1:21 (R G L Tr text); worthies of the O. T. accepted by God for their piety, Mt 27:52; 1 Pet 3:5.
2. set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively his; followed by a genitive or a dative: τῷ κυρίῳ, Lk 2:23; τοῦ Θεοῦ (equivalent to ἐκλεκτός τοῦ Θεοῦ) of Christ, Mk 1:24; Lk 4:34, and according to the true reading in Jn 6:69, cf. Jn 10:36; he is called also ὁ ἅγιος παῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Acts 4:30, and simply ὁ ἅγιος, 1 Jn 2:20. Just as the Israelites claimed for themselves the title οἱ ἅγιοι, because God selected them from the other nations to lead a life acceptable to him and rejoice in his favor and protection (Dan 7:18, Dan 7:22; Dan 7:2 Esdr. 8:28), so this appellation is very often in the N. T. transferred to Christians, as those whom God has selected ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου (Jn 17:14, Jn 17:16), that under the influence of the Holy Spirit they may be rendered, through holiness, partakers of salvation in the kingdom of God: 1 Pet 2:9 (Ex 19:6), cf. Ex 19:5; Acts 9:13, Acts 9:32, Acts 9:41; Acts 26:10; Rom 1:7; Rom 8:27; Rom 12:13; Rom 16:15; 1 Cor 6:1, 1 Cor 6:2; Phm 4:21; Col 1:12; Heb 6:10; Jude 1:3; Rev 5:8, etc.; (cf. B. D. American edition under the word ).
3. of sacrifices and offerings; prepared for God with solemn rite, pure, clean (opposed to ἀκάθαρτος): 1 Cor 7:14 (cf. Eph 5:3); connected with ἄμωμος, Eph 1:4; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; ἀπαρχή, Rom 11:16; θυσία, Rom 12:1. Hence,
4. in a moral sense, pure, sinless, upright, holy: 1 Pet 1:16 (Lev 19:2; Lev 11:44); 1 Cor 7:34; δίκαιος καί ἅγιος, of John the Baptist, Mk 6:20; ἅγιος καί δίκαιος, of Christ, Acts 3:14; distinctively of him, Rev 3:7; Rev 6:10; of God pre-eminently, 1 Pet 1:15; Jn 17:11; ἅγιαι ἀναστροφαί, 2 Pet 3:11; νόμος and ἐντολή, i. e. containing nothing exceptionable, Rom 7:12; φίλημα, such a kiss as is a sign of the purest love, 1 Thess 5:26; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; Rom 16:16. On the phrase τό ἅγιον πνεῦμα and τό πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, see πνεῦμα, 4 a. Cf. Diestel, Die Heiligkeit Gottes, in Jahrbb. f. deutsch. Theol. iv., p. 1ff; (Baudissin, Stud. z. Semitisch. Religionsgesch. Heft ii., p. 3ff; Delitzsch in Herzog edition 2, see 714ff; especially) Cremer, Wörterbuch, 4te Aufl., p. 32ff (translation of 2nd edition, p. 84ff; Oehler in Herzog 19:618ff; Zezschwitz, Profangräcität as above with, p. 15ff; Trench, § lxxxviii; Campbell, Dissertations, diss. vi., part iv.; especially Schmidt, chapter 181).