ABSTRACT
The expression ‘the chosen people’ (‘am hanivhar), which has been employed more than any other term to designate the Jewish people by both Jewish and non-Jewish scholars in the modern period, is found almost nowhere in the Hebrew Bible.1 Instead, in the Torah, the term ‘holy people’ (‘am qadosh – Dt. 7:6; 14:2, etc.) or ‘holy nation’ (goy qadosh – Ex. 19:6), among others, is often used in association with the people of Israel. The Hebrew word qadosh, translated into English as ‘holy’, comes from the root qdsh, which means in its precise sense ‘to separate or set apart from common use to the divine purpose’,2
as it is written: ‘You shall be holy (qedushim) to me; for I the Lord am holy (qadosh), and I have separated (havdil) you from the other peoples to be mine’ (Lev. 20:26).3 The expression ‘You shall be holy for I the Lord am holy’ is repeated several times in the book of Leviticus, with some little nuances. And most of the repetition takes place between chapters 17 and 26, what is known as the Holiness Code (11:44-5; 19:2; 20:7; 20:26). A similar expression such as ‘You shall be/are a people holy to your God’ is also used in several passages throughout Jewish Scripture (Num. 15:40; Dt. 7:6; 2 Chr. 35:3). In this way, Israel’s holiness consists in her being set apart for a specific purpose, i.e. the service of God, according to which Israel’s entire life is directly regulated by God.4 In fact, ‘holiness’ is one of the most distinctive attributes of God in the Hebrew Bible, as it refers to an ultimate separation of God from all other beings: ‘Who is like you O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness’ (Ex. 15:11; also 1 Sam. 2:2; Ps. 29:2). In the same way, the holiness of the people of Israel above other peoples denotes a fundamental separation between Israel and other peoples: ‘Who is like your people Israel, one nation on earth’ (1 Chr. 17:21; also 2 Sam. 7:23). The meaning of ‘chosenness’ is also included in the word qadosh for ‘separation to be holy’, when attributed to creatures, is understood to be tantamount to election.
