41. hagiotés

Lexical Summary

hagiotés: Holiness

Original Word: ἁγιότης
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: hagiotés
Pronunciation: hah-gee-OT-ace
Phonetic Spelling: (hag-ee-ot'-ace)
KJV: holiness
NASB: holiness
Word Origin: [from G40 (ἅγιος - Holy)]

1. sanctity
2. (properly) the state of sanctity

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

holiness.

From hagios; sanctity (i.e. Properly, the state) -- holiness.

see GREEK hagios

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 41 hagiótēs (a feminine noun derived from 40 /hágios, as is 42 /hagiōsýnē) – holiness (used only in Heb 12:10). See also 40 (hágios).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from hagios
Definition
sanctity, holiness
NASB Translation
holiness (2).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 41: ἁγιότης

ἁγιότης, (ητος, ἡ, sanctity, in a moral sense; holiness: 2 Corinthians 1:12 L T Tr WH; Hebrews 12:10. (Besides only in 2 Macc. 15:2; (cf. Winers Grammar, 25, and on words of this termination Lob. ad Phryn., p. 350).)

Topical Lexicon

Concept Overview

The Greek noun ἁγιότης (Strong’s 41) conveys the quality of absolute moral purity that belongs to God and, by grace, may be shared by His people. While used only once in the New Testament, the term embodies Scripture’s overarching call for believers to reflect the character of the Holy One.

Biblical Occurrence and Immediate Context

Hebrews 12:10: “Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.”
• Ἁγιότης here stands as the goal of divine discipline. The writer contrasts temporary paternal correction with God’s purposeful training that molds believers into conformity with His own sanctity.
• The verse roots chastening in covenant love, presenting holiness not as a human achievement but as a gift imparted through a Father–child relationship.

Holiness Across the Canon

• Old Testament foundation: “Be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44; 19:2) establishes holiness as God’s distinguishing attribute and Israel’s covenant calling.
• Prophetic vision: Isaiah 6:3 depicts seraphim crying “Holy, holy, holy,” portraying holiness as the sum of divine perfection.
• New Covenant continuity: Peter applies Leviticus to the church (1 Peter 1:15-16), demonstrating the unbroken biblical theme of holiness as vocation.
• Eschatological consummation: Revelation 21:27 foresees a holy city where nothing unclean enters, signaling the final realization of Hebrews 12:10.

Relationship to Related New Testament Terms

• Ἁγιασμός (sanctification) underscores the process.
• Ἁγιωσύνη (holiness of character) highlights the resultant state.
• Ἁγιότης accents the intrinsic quality of the divine nature into which believers are invited.

Theological Significance

1. Participation: Hebrews affirms that holiness is communicable; humans truly “share” (μεταλαμβάνειν) in what is intrinsically God’s.
2. Discipline: God’s pedagogical work is evidence of sonship, refuting any separation between love and holiness.
3. Transformation: Holiness entails not mere external conformity but inner renewal (Ephesians 4:24).
4. Communion: The term implies relational proximity—holiness is experienced in fellowship with the living God.

Historical Reception

• Early Church: Fathers such as Athanasius saw holiness as a proof of adoption, opposing both antinomian laxity and Pelagian self-reliance.
• Reformation: Reformers stressed imputed righteousness yet insisted, with Hebrews, that true faith issues in practical holiness.
• Evangelical revivals: Wesleyan and later holiness movements drew directly from Hebrews 12:10 in emphasizing entire sanctification and scriptural perfection.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

• Formation: Spiritual disciplines—prayer, Scripture meditation, corporate worship—become arenas where the Spirit applies sanctifying grace.
• Correction: Biblical church discipline (Matthew 18:15-17; Galatians 6:1) echoes God’s fatherly training, aiming at restoration to holiness.
• Suffering: Trials are interpreted in light of Hebrews 12, encouraging believers that hardship can serve redemptive ends.
• Mission: A holy life validates evangelistic witness (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8; Titus 2:11-14).

Practical Marks of Shared Holiness

• Reverent fear of God (2 Corinthians 7:1)
• Love that fulfills the law (Romans 13:10)
• Separation from moral impurity while remaining engaged in compassionate service (James 1:27)
• Perseverance in obedience, anticipating the “holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

Eschatological Hope

Believers purified now will stand faultless in glory (Jude 24). The holiness acquired through present discipline will be perfected in the resurrection, fulfilling the promise that God Himself “will be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).

Forms and Transliterations

αγιοτητι ἁγιότητι αγιοτητος αγιότητος ἁγιότητος ἁπλότητι agiotetos agiotētos aploteti aplotēti hagiotetos hagiotētos hagiótetos hagiótētos haploteti haplotēti haplóteti haplótēti

Englishman's Concordance

Hebrews 12:10 N-GFS
GRK: μεταλαβεῖν τῆς ἁγιότητος αὐτοῦ
NAS: so that we may share His holiness.
KJV: of his holiness.
INT: to share of the holiness of him

Strong's Greek 41
1 Occurrence

ἁγιότητος — 1 Occ.