View source for Q-D-Š

{{short description|Triconsonantal Semitic root meaning "sacred, holy"}}
{{redirect|QDS}}
{{wiktionary|קדש}}
[[File:Macoy Masonic Hebrew with text 1868 p134.jpg|thumb|''Qodeš l-Yahweh'', "Holy to [[Yahweh]]", an inscription worn on the forehead of the [[High Priest of Israel]]]]
'''''Q-D-Š''''' is a triconsonantal [[Semitic root]] meaning "[[sacred|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."<ref name=Toornp415/>
The root is reflected as ''q-d-š'' ([[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] {{Script/Phoenician|𐤒-𐤃-𐤔}}, [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] {{Script/Hebrew|ק-ד-ש}}) in [[Northwest Semitic]] and as ''q-d-s'' ({{langx|ar|ق-د-س}}) in [[Central Semitic|Central]] and [[South Semitic]].
In [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] texts, the verb conjugated from this root meant to "clean, purify."<ref name=Toornp415/><ref name=Botterweckp525>{{citation|title=Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament|first1=G. Johannes|last1=Botterweck|first2=Helmer|last2=Ringgren|first3=Heinz-Josef|last3=Fabry|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|year=1974|isbn=0-8028-2336-X|page=525}}
{{better source needed|date=April 2015}}<!--use a ''Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament'' to reference the root's meaning in the Old Testament. Use an Akkadian dictionary to discuss the Akkadian root.--></ref>
==Canaanite religion==
It was used this way in [[Ugaritic language|Ugaritic]], as for example, in the words ''qidšu'' (meaning "holy place" or "chapel") and ''qad(i)šu'' (meaning "consecrated gift" or "cultic personnel").<ref name=Toornp415/>
In some Ugaritic texts, ''qdš'' is used as a divine [[epithet]]. 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 hero is described as "the son of [[El (deity)|El]] and the offspring of the Benevolent One and ''qdš'' ".<ref name=Toornp415>van der Toorn et al., 1999, p. 415.</ref><ref name=Kholerp1076>{{citation|first1=Ludwig|last1=Köhler|first2=Walter|last2=Baumgartner|first3=Mervyn Edwin John |last3=Richardson|first4=Johann Jakob|last4=Stamm|title=The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament|publisher=E.J. Brill|year=1994|volume=3|page=1076}}</ref>
[[William F. Albright|William Foxwell Albright]] believed that ''Qudšu'' (meaning "holiness") was a common [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]] appellation for the [[goddess]] [[Asherah]], and Albright's mentee [[Frank Moore Cross]] claimed ''qdš'' was used as a divine epithet for both Asherah and the Ugaritic goddess, [[Asherah|Athirat]].<ref name=Toornp415/><ref name=Albrightp121>Albright, 1990, pp.&nbsp;121–122.</ref><ref name=Hadleyp49>Hadley, 2000, p. 49.</ref>
Johanna Stucky claims she may have been a deity in her own right.<ref name=Stuckey>{{Citation|author=Johanna Stuckey|url=http://www.matrifocus.com/LAM07/spotlight.htm|title=The "Holy One"|publisher=MatriFocus|year=2007|access-date=2008-11-18|archive-date=2008-01-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080131132738/http://www.matrifocus.com/LAM07/spotlight.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Depictions of a goddess in inscriptions from [[History of ancient Egypt#Dynastic Egypt|Dynastic Egypt]], thought to be Canaanite since she is referred to as ''Qdš'' (often transliterated in English as Qedesha, Qudshu or [[Qetesh]]), show a woman in the nude, with curly hair and raised arms carrying [[Lilium|lilies]] and [[Serpent (symbolism)|serpent]]s.<ref name=Albrightp121/><ref name=Toornp416>van der Toorn, et al., 1999, p. 416.</ref> ''Qdš'' is also depicted in the pantheon of gods at [[Memphis, Egypt]] possibly indicating worship of her as independent deity there.<ref name=Toornp416/> The word ''qdš'' also appears in the [[Pyrgi Tablets]], a [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] text found in [[Italy]] that dates back to 500 BCE.<ref name=Azizep184>{{citation|title=The Phoenician Solar Theology: An Investigation Into the Phoenician Opinion of the Sun Found in Julian's Hymn to King Helios|first1=Joseph|last1=Azize|publisher=Gorgias Press LLC|year=2005|isbn=1-59333-210-6|page=184}}</ref>
==Hebrew==
''Qudšu'' was later used in [[Judeo-Aramaic language|Jewish Aramaic]] to refer to [[God in Judaism|God]].<ref name=Albrightp121/>
Words derived from the root ''qdš'' appear some 830 times in the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref name=Balesp48>{{citation|title=He Died to Make Men Holy|first1=Norman|last1=Bales|publisher=College Press|year=1991|isbn=0-89900-271-4|page=48}}
{{Better source needed|date=April 2015}}<!--don't cite random stuff you googled for technical information like this, use a concordance--></ref><ref name=Joostenp123>Joosten, 1996, p. 123.</ref>
Its use in the Hebrew Bible evokes ideas of separation from the profane, and proximity to the Otherness of God, while in nonbiblical Semitic texts, recent interpretations of its meaning link it to ideas of [[consecration]], belonging, and purification.{{clarify|date=April 2015}}<!--how is "separation from the profane" different as a concept from "ritual purification"?--><ref name=Deissp81>{{citation|title=Visions of Liturgy and Music for a New Century|first1=Lucien|last1=Deiss|author-link=Lucien Deiss|first2=Jane M.-A.|last2=Burton|first3=Donald|publisher=Liturgical Press|year=1996|isbn=0-8146-2298-4|last3=Molloy|page=[https://archive.org/details/visionsofliturgy00deis/page/81 81]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/visionsofliturgy00deis/page/81}}</ref>
The [[Hebrew language]] is called "The Holy Tongue" ({{langx|he|לשון הקודש}} "Lashon HaKodesh") in Judaism.
In addition, the Hebrew term for the Holy [[Temple in Jerusalem]] is ''Beit Hamikdash'' ({{Script/Hebrew|בית המקדש}}, "the holy house"), and ''[[Ir Ha-Kodesh]]'' ({{Script/Hebrew|עיר הקודש}}, "City of the Holy"), the latter being one of [[Names of Jerusalem|the tens of Hebrew names]] for [[Jerusalem]].
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 (prayer)|Kedushah]] which is the responsive section of the reader's repetition of the [[Amidah]].
''Qedeshah'' ({{Script/Hebrew|קדשה}}) 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 prostitution|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.<ref>Budin, S, ''The Myth of Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity'', Cambridge University Press, 2008</ref><ref>Beard, M. and Henderson, J., ''"With This Body I Thee Worship": Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity'', in Gender and the Body in the Ancient Mediterranean, ed. M. Wyke, 56–79, 1998</ref>  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".<ref>Mayer Gruber, ''Hebrew Qedesha and Her Canaanite and Akkadian Cognates'', Ugarit-Forshungen 18 (1986) 133-148, (repr. In Mayer Gruber, ''The Motherhood of God and Other Studies'', South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism, 57, 1992)</ref><ref>David A Glatt-Gilad, "Qedeshah", in Berlin, Adele, ed., ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion''. Oxford University Press, 1997/2011</ref>  But this interpretation of the root has not generally been taken up.<ref name="DeGrado">{{cite journal |last1=DeGrado |first1=Jessie |title=The qdesha in Hosea 4:14: Putting the (Myth of the) Sacred Prostitute to Bed |journal=Vetus Testamentum |date=2018 |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=8–40 |doi=10.1163/15685330-12341300|url=https://www.academia.edu/34784227}}</ref>{{rp|4,20}} <ref>Westenholz, Joan Goodnick. ''Tamar, Qědēšā, Qadištu, and Sacred Prostitution in Mesopotamia.'' The Harvard Theological Review, vol. 82, no. 3, 1989, pp. 245–265., {{JSTOR|1510077}}.</ref> The question of how a word with a root meaning of "consecrated one" evidently came to be associated with common prostitution<ref name=note3>In particular in the context of [https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/gen/38/1/t_conc_38015 Genesis 38:15-24]. In verses 15 and 24 [[Tamar (Genesis)|Tamar]] is reckoned for a ''zonah'', a prostitute or loose woman; in verse 21 she is sought out as a ''qedeshah''.</ref> continues to be a topic of ongoing discussion.<ref name="DeGrado" />
Two different words describing places in the [[Hebrew Bible]] use this root. One is [[Kedesh]], which refers to a [[Canaan]]ite village first documented in [http://scripturetext.com/joshua/20-7.htm Joshua 20:7] and later in [http://scripturetext.com/2_kings/15-29.htm 2 Kings 15:29]. The other is [[Kadesh (Israel)|Kadesh]], a place in the south of [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|Ancient Israel]], mentioned in {{bibleverse||Numbers|13:26|NIV}} and {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|2:14|NIV}}. <!--scripturetext is better than {{bibleverse}} in that it provides multiple versions including the Hebrew source. -->
{| class="wikitable"
|+Root: Q-D-Š ({{Script/Hebrew|קדש}}): meaning "holy" or "set apart"
|-
! Hebrew{{ref|A|[Note]}}
! Transliteration
!Lexical category
!Gender
! Definition
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|קֹדֶשׁ}}
| qodesh
|noun
|masculine
| holiness
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|קִדֵּשׁ}}
| qiddesh
|rowspan=2|verb
|rowspan=2|
| to sanctify; to make [[kiddush]]
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|נתקדש}}
| nitqadesh
| ([[Talmudic]]) to be betrothed, to be married
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|מִקְדָּשׁ}}
| miqdash
|noun
|masculine
| [[Temple in Jerusalem|temple]]
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|מְקֻדָּשׁ}}
| m'qudash
|rowspan=2|adjective
|rowspan=2|
| holy, sacred, sanctified
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|מֻקְדָּשׁ}}
| muqdash
| dedicated, devoted
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|קִדּוּשׁ}}
| qidush
|rowspan=7|noun
|rowspan=2|masculine
| (Jewish ritual) [[Kiddush]]
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|קַדִּישׁ}}
| qadish
| (Jewish ritual) [[Kaddish]]
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|קְדֻשָּׁה}}
| q'dusha
|feminine
| sanctity, purity, holiness; (Jewish ritual) [[Holiness in Judaism|Kedushah]]
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|קָדֵשׁ}}
| qadesh
|masculine
| (pagan ritual) male cult functionary; later considered a male prostitute
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|קְדֵשָׁה}}
|qdesha
|feminine
| meaning disputed, describes either cult prostitute or other cultic functionary
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|קֶדֶשׁ}}
|qedesh
|rowspan=2|
|([[Canaan]]ite village) [[Kedesh]]
|-
| {{Script/Hebrew|קָדֵשׁ}}
|qadesh
| (Place in the south of [[Ancient Israel]]) [[Kadesh (Israel)|Kadesh]]
|}
==Arabic==
The verb form of Q-D-S in Arabic (''qadus'') means "to be holy" or "to be pure, immaculate".<ref name=Hillenbrandp301>
{{citation|title=The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives|first=Carole|last=Hillenbrand|publisher=Routledge|year=2000|isbn=0-415-92914-8|page=301}}
<!--why would you use a book on the crusades for a simple Arabic dictionary lookup?--></ref><ref name=Steingassp823/> ''Quds'' can be used as a noun to denote "paradise" or as an adjective meaning "purity" or "holiness".<ref name=Steingassp823>{{citation|title=Arabic-English Dictionary|first=Francis|last=Steingass|author-link=Francis Joseph Steingass|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1993|isbn=81-206-0855-0|page=823}}</ref> The definite noun form, ''[[al-Quds]]'' ({{langx|ar|القدس}}, "the holy one"), is the most common of seventeen [[Arabic language|Arabic]] [[Names of Jerusalem]] and derives from the [[Aramaeans#Language|Aramaean]] word for "temple" (''qōdšā'').<ref>{{Citation|title=The Ḥaram of Jerusalem, 324-1099: Temple, Friday Mosque, Area of Spiritual Power|first=Andreas|last=Kaplony|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag|year=2002|isbn=3-515-07901-7|page=218}}</ref><ref name=Binzp2/> The [[Turkish language|Turkish]] word for Jerusalem, {{lang|tr|Kudüs}}, derives from the Arabic name.<ref name=Roomp171/>
Two other names for Jerusalem also derive from the Q-D-S root: ''Bayt al-Muqqadas'' ("the holy house") and ''Bayt al-Maqdis''.<ref name=Hillenbrandp301/><ref name=Binzp2>{{citation|title=Jerusalem, the Holy City|first1=Stephen J.|last1=Binz|publisher=Twenty-Third Publications|year=2005|isbn=1-58595-365-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/jerusalemholycit0000binz/page/2 2]|url=https://archive.org/details/jerusalemholycit0000binz/page/2}}</ref><ref name=Roomp171>{{citation|title=Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for Over 5000 Natural Features, Countries, Capitals, Territories, Cities and Historic Sites|first=Adrian|last=Room|publisher=McFarland|year=2003|isbn=0-7864-1814-1|page=171}}
</ref> The wider area around Jerusalem, or the [[Holy Land]], 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.<ref name=Hillenbrandp301/><ref name=Tallisp100/> The [[Christian biblical canons|Christian Bible]] is known in Arabic as ''al-Kitāb al-Muqaddas''.<ref name=Tallisp100/> ''Muqaddas'' in Arabic means not only "holy" and "sacred", but also "hallowed, sanctified, dedicated, consecrated."<ref name=Tallisp100>{{citation|title=Islam, Christianity and Tradition: A Comparative Exploration|first1=Raymond|last1=Tallis|author-link=Raymond Tallis|first2=Ian Richard|last2=Netton|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2006|isbn=0-7486-2392-2|pages=100–101}}
</ref>
''Al-Quds'' also appears in Arabic as part of a phrase to refer to the [[Holy Spirit (Islam)|Holy Spirit]], ''Rúḥu 'l-Quds'' (or ''Rūḥu 'l'Qudus''), with ''[[Ruh]]'' meaning "spirit".<ref name=Nicholsonp108/>
This phrase appears in the [[Qur'an]] a number of times, where it is thought to refer in some cases to the angel [[Gabriel]].<ref name=Hughesp133>{{citation|title=A Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopaedia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs, Together With the Technical and Theological Terms, of the Muhammadan Religion|first1=Thomas Patrick|last1=Hughes|first2=Patrick|last2=Hughes|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1996|isbn=81-206-0672-8|page=133}}</ref>
The concept of ''Rúḥu 'l-Quds'' is also discussed at length by the [[Sufism|Sufi]] 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").<ref name=Nicholsonp108/> The ''qudsi'' is one who "unceasingly contemplates the Divine consciousness ''[[Lataif-e-sitta#Latifat-as-Sirri|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.<ref name=Nicholsonp108>{{citation|title=Studies in Islamic Mysticism|first1=Reynold Alleyne|last1=Nicholson|publisher=Routledge|year=1978|isbn=0-7007-0278-4|pages=108–110}}</ref>
''Qudsi'' is also used in Arabic to refer to a Jerusalemite, or a native/resident of Jerusalem.<ref name=Elihayp435>{{Citation|title=The Olive Tree Dictionary: A Transliterated Dictionary of Conversational Eastern Arabic (Palestinian)|first1=J.|last1=Elihay|publisher=Kidron Publishing|year=2004|isbn=0-9759726-0-X|page=435}}</ref> It and its derivatives, such as [[Maqdisi]] and al-Muqaddasi are used in Arabic [[surname]]s or as appellatives assigned to those who come from or live in Jerusalem.
The religious terms ''Hadith Qudsi'' ("holy [[hadith]]") 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 [[Muhammed|Prophet]]", thus enjoying a status higher than that the hadith writings in general, though lower than that of the [[Qur'an]].<ref name=Glassep383>Glassé and Smith, 2001, p. 383.</ref>
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.<ref name=Steingassp823/> ''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."<ref name=Steingassp823/>
== Maltese ==
The root Q-D-S in [[Maltese language|Maltese]] is used in a religious sense, and means "holy, sanctified, saintly", its use is very similar to that of [[Arab Christians|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.
==See also==
{{wiktionary|Appendix:List of Proto-Semitic stems}}
* [[Asherah]]
* [[Battle of Kadesh]]
* [[Covenant (biblical)|Bris Kodesh]]
* [[Suez Crisis|Kadesh Campaign]]
* ''[[Kadosh]]''
* [[Kitáb-i-Aqdas]]
* [[Kodesh Hakodashim]]
* [[Qadas]]
* [[Qadesh (disambiguation)]]
* [[Religious text#Judaism|Sifrei Kodesh]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation|title=Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan: A Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths|first1=William Foxwell|last1=Albright|author-link=William Foxwell Albright|publisher=EISENBRAUNS|year=1990|isbn=0-931464-01-3}}
*{{citation|title=Only One God?: Monotheism in Ancient Israel and the Veneration of the Goddess Asherah|first1=Bob|last1=Becking|first2=Meindert|last2=Dijkstra|first3=Karel J. H.|last3=Vriezen|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2001|isbn=1-84127-199-3}}
*{{citation|title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam: A Revised Edition of the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam|first1=Cyril|last1=Glassé|first2=Huston|last2=Smith|publisher=AltaMira Press|year=2001|isbn=0-7591-0189-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000glas}}
*{{citation|title=The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess|first1=Judith M.|last1=Hadley|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2000|isbn=0-521-66235-4}}
*{{citation|title=[[Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible]]|first1=K.|last1=van der Toorn|first2=Bob|author3-link=Pieter Willem van der Horst |last2=Becking|first3=Pieter Willem|last3=van der Horst|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|year=1999|isbn=0-8028-2491-9}}
{{refend}}
{{Semitic roots}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Q-D-S}}
[[Category:Triconsonantal roots]]
[[Category:Aramaic words and phrases]]
[[Category:Arabic words and phrases]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases]]
[[Category:Holiness]]