When people hear the phrase “The Holy Land,” their minds often turn to the modern-day region encompassing Israel, Palestine, and parts of Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. This land is revered by millions, walked by countless pilgrims, and woven throughout the pages of Scripture. This is the land that was given to Abraham’s family, was the home of David’s kingdom, and it is the land where Jesus Himself walked the earth.

But did you know that this territory is referred to as “holy land” only one time throughout all the pages of Scripture? In Zechariah’s prophetic vision of Israel’s restoration after the Babylonian exile, he writes:

And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

Zechariah 2:12

In the New Testament, the phrase doesn’t appear at all.

So where does that leave us? Is this region in the middle-east sacred? What does it mean for something to be called holy in the first place? This article launches a five-part series exploring the biblical concept of “The Holy Land,” beginning with the essential question: What does it mean to be holy?

What Does “Holy” Mean?

The word holy might evoke thoughts of moral excellence. For instance, think about the phrase “holier than thou.” If someone is accused of being “holier than thou,” they are being accused of having a self-righteous attitude that looks down on others for their imperfections. But in Scripture, holiness is first and foremost about separation and dedication. In Hebrew, the word is qadosh, and in Greek, hagios. Both words mean that something is set apart from the ordinary or profane and devoted to God’s purposes.

At the core of this concept is the understanding that the LORD God Himself is holy. He is utterly distinct from His creation and from all other gods. He is not merely powerful or majestic, but He is unique in His role as creator. This is the cry of the seraphim in Isaiah 6:3, later echoed in Revelation 4:8.

Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!

Isaiah 6:3

In the context of Isaiah 6, Isaiah sees the Lord “high and lifted up” on a throne, communicating God’s majesty, authority, and separateness from all other powers. Even the seraphim cover their faces in his presence because they cannot bear to look directly at his glory. He is categorically different – utterly set apart. Isaiah found himself terrified to be in His presence, because he realized that nothing impure can remain the presence of the holiness of God. Because God is holy, anything that is closely associated with Him must also be set apart.

Holiness is closely connected with moral purity. Psalm 24:3-4 stresses this point.

Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not sweat deceitfully.

Here we see that holiness demands moral living. But even so, there’s more to holiness than simply living morally. Holiness is ultimately about proximity to God’s holiness. As an illustration, consider the way the tabernacle was structured in ancient Israel.

The closer one got to the Most Holy Place, where God’s presence dwelled above the ark of the covenant, the greater the degree of holiness required. The outer court was accessible to all Israelites. The Holy Place could be entered only by priests. But the Most Holy Place – the very heart of the tabernacle – could be entered by only one man, the high priest, and only once a year, and even then, only with the blood of a sacrifice (Leviticus 16).

We can think of holiness as nearness to God. Objects, people, and places were considered “holy” not merely because they were morally superior on their own, but because they were set apart for a special purpose in God’s presence.

That’s why physical objects, such as anointing oil, the utensils for the tabernacle, and a gold lampstand could be described as “holy” (Exodus 30:25-29). They can’t make moral choices, but they are set apart for divine use in proximity to God’s divine space. A tithe from the crops is “holy to the LORD” (Leviticus 27:30), not because grain is morally upright, but because it was to be specially devoted for the Lord. Moral purity is important, not because it is synonymous with holiness, but because it is necessary in order to be brought near to the One who is utterly set apart.

Understanding holiness in this way helps us to understand how land can be holy. When Moses approaches the burning bush in Exodus 3:5, he’s told to remove his sandals because the ground is holy. This is not because there was anything unique about the geological makeup of the ground. What made the ground holy was God’s presence. It was “holy ground” because God’s presence had claimed it.

What Made Israel Holy?

This also helps us understand why Israel was called holy. In Exodus 19:6, God declares His desire for Israel to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” This wasn’t because Israel was morally superior (as their many failures make clear), but because God had set them apart to be His people through which He would fulfill His purpose.

Like priests mediate between God and others, Israel was meant to be a light to the nations, demonstrating to others the wisdom and character of their God (cf. Deuteronomy 4:5-8; Isaiah 49:6; 60:3. From the beginning, Israel’s story was never meant to end with them. God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 made clear that through Abraham’s descendants, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Israel was chosen to carry God’s promise forward.

Deuteronomy 32:8-9 speaks of how, when the other nations went their own way, and were scattered throughout the world, God claimed Israel as his own.

When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God.
But the LORD’s portion is his people,
Jacob is his allotted heritage.

In short, Israel was holy because they belong to God. There were set apart from the other nations for God’s divine purpose. But it’s key to understand this: Israel’s holiness was never the final goal. Israel was holy, but their holiness was the means by which God’s wisdom, mercy, and redemption would be provided to all people among all nations.

Looking Ahead

In the next part of this series, we’ll ask the question: Who or What is “Israel”? Is it a geographic location? A geopolitical nation? An ethnic group? Or are they perhaps, defined by something else entirely?

But for now, we’ve laid an important foundation: Holiness means to be set apart for God. And that means that the idea of “holy land” – just like holy oil, or a holy people – only makes sense in connection with God’s presence and God’s purposes. Take those away, and what’s left may be good, beautiful, or even historically significant, but it is not holy.