ὅσι-ος G3741
Holy, devout, pious; consecrated or sanctioned by divine law; holy things or sacred promises
The adjective hosios describes what is sanctioned or hallowed by divine ordinance, standing in a distinctive semantic space between dikaios (righteous by human law) and hieros (sacred to God). In the New Testament it most often appears as the title 'Holy One' applied to Christ, especially in the Psalmic quotations of Acts 2:27 and 13:35, where God's promise not to let his Holy One see decay becomes a cornerstone of resurrection preaching. It also describes the personal character of the devout believer, as in Titus 1:8 where an elder must be hosios. A rarer neuter-plural use in Acts 13:34 refers to 'the holy things' or sacred promises given to David.
1. Holy One — The substantival and adjectival use meaning 'Holy One' or 'holy, devout, pious,' applied both christologically and ethically. As a christological title it appears in Peter's Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:27) and Paul's Pisidian Antioch address (Acts 13:35), both quoting Psalm 16:10 LXX to argue that God did not allow his 'Holy One' to undergo corruption. Applied to human character, it describes the devout life expected of church leaders (Titus 1:8) and the holy hands lifted in prayer (1 Tim 2:8). Multilingual evidence consistently renders it with words for sacred personal holiness — Spanish 'santo,' French 'saint,' German 'heilig' — distinguishing it from hagios, which emphasizes consecrated separateness. 7×
AR["القُدّوسُ","تَقِيّاً","طاهِرَةً","قُدُوسَكَ","قُدُّوسٌ","قُدّوسٌ","قُدّوسَ"]·ben["পবিত্র","পবিত্রজনকে"]·DE["heilig","Ὅσιόν"]·EN["Holy-One","holy"]·FR["saint"]·heb["הַקָּדוֹשׁ","חֲסִידְ","חֲסִידְךָ","קְדוֹשׁוֹת","קָדוֹשׁ"]·HI["पवित्र","पवित्र,","सड़न"]·ID["Kudus","Yang-Kudus","kudus","kudus,","yang-kudus","yang-suci"]·IT["santo"]·jav["Ingkang-Suci","Suci","suci","suci,"]·KO["거룩하고","거룩하신-이여","거룩한","거룩한-자","거룩한-자가","또한"]·PT["Santo","santas","santo","santo,"]·RU["Святой,","Святому","благоговейные","преподобным","свят;","святой"]·ES["Santo","santas","santo"]·SW["Mtakatifu","Mtakatifu,","mtakatifu","mtakatifu;","takatifu"]·TR["Kutsal","Kutsalının","kutsal","kutsal,","kutsalsın","senin"]·urd["پاک","پاک-کو"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. holy things — The neuter plural ta hosia used substantively to mean 'the holy things' or 'the sure mercies,' referring to God's sacred covenant promises. This sense appears at Acts 13:34, where Paul declares that God raised Jesus to fulfill 'the holy things of David, the faithful ones' — an allusion to the promises of 2 Samuel 7 and Isaiah 55:3 LXX. Spanish 'santas' and English 'holy things' confirm the shift from personal holiness to sacred realities or divine pledges, making this a distinct though closely related sense from the personal-devotional usage. 1×
AR["قُدسِيّاتِ"]·ben["পবিত্র-জিনিসগুলি"]·DE["ὅσια"]·EN["holy-things"]·FR["saint"]·heb["חַסְדֵי"]·HI["पवित्र-वस्तुएं"]·ID["hal-hal-kudus"]·IT["santo"]·jav["suci"]·KO["거룩한-것들을"]·PT["santas-coisas"]·RU["святое"]·ES["santas"]·SW["matakatifu"]·TR["kutsallıklarını"]·urd["پاک-چیزیں"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ὅσι-ος, α, ον, also ος, ον Refs 5th c.BC+:— hallowed, i. e. sanctioned or allowed by the law of God or of nature, δίκη Refs 6th c.BC+; οὐχ ὅ. unhallowed, ὕβρις Refs 5th c.BC+ —The sense of ὅσιος often depends on its relation on the one hand to δίκαιος (sanctioned by human law), on the other to ἱερός (sacred to the gods): __1 opposed to δίκαιος, sanctioned by divine law, hallowed, holy (μόριον τοῦ…