How to cite this article: Joshua N. Tilton, “Bible Versus Scriptures: Part 5—Holiness of the Text,” Jerusalem Perspective (2026) [https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/38065].
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Despite the title The Holy Bible, which we have given to the Scriptures, the holiness of the Scriptures is probably the least appreciated of the three essential qualities (inspiration, authority, holiness) of the Scriptures discussed in this series. Perhaps if we paid more attention to the holiness of the Scriptures, we wouldn’t have such inadequate understandings of the Bible or of the core messages of the Scriptures.
To begin: what do we mean by holiness? Holiness refers to that which is set apart from everyday use in order to be made suitable for use in the presence of God. Holiness can be a quality of space (e.g., the Temple), of time (e.g., the Sabbath), or of an object (e.g., the Table of Shewbread). A person can also acquire holiness: for example, a priest who was set apart from the rest of Israel to offer sacrifices to God. Each of these are examples of a place, a time, an object, or a person that would have been ordinary except that they were specially set aside for service to God. Had God not consecrated the seventh day, the Sabbath would just be Saturday. Had God not chosen to cause his presence to dwell in the Temple, it would just have been a stone house built by human hands, and so on. But having been set apart for use in God’s presence, it would be improper to use these times, places, and objects simply for ordinary purposes. The Table of Shewbread couldn’t be used at a bakery without causing an affront to God’s majesty. The Temple couldn’t be turned into a bandits’ hideout without the prophets getting angry. Having been set aside for God, these things can’t just be put back to everyday use. There was a general rule: it is permissible to raise the level of holiness of an object (e.g., setting aside grain for tithes or a member of the flock for sacrifice), but it is impermissible to lower the sanctity of an object (e.g., by slaughtering a sheep intended for sacrifice for an ordinary meal).
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So far in this series we have tried to distinguish between the Bible (a container) and the Scriptures (the library of ancient texts we regard as inspired, authoritative, and holy). We have critiqued as fragile and unrealistic the doctrines of biblical inerrancy and infallibility. They are fragile because a single exception causes the entire edifice to crumble. They are unrealistic because the theory of perfect autographs doesn’t actually reflect the way most of the Scriptures came into being. In place of these inadequate doctrines we have argued for more robust and yet also more down-to-earth understandings of inspiration, authority, and holiness. In the articles to follow we will discuss a few helpful rules of thumb that will enable readers to adopt more coherent and more neighborly interpretations of the Scriptures.
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| [*] Music in the Audio JP files is excerpted from the Hebrew song Moshe written by Immanuel Zamir in a recording sung by Yaffa Yarkoni obtained from Wikimedia Commons. |
