hal'-o, hal'-od, hal'-o-ed ("to render or treat as holy," Anglo-Saxon halgian, from halig, "holy"): It translates several forms of qadhash, "set apart," "devote," "consecrate," frequently rendered in the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American), the American Standard Revised Version "consecrate," "dedicate," "holy," and especially "sanctify," closely synonymous, "hallow" perhaps containing more of the thought of reverence, sacredness, holiness. It embraces the idea of marked separateness. It is applied to persons, as the priest (Le 22:2-3); to places or buildings, as the middle of the temple court (1Ki 8:64); the tabernacle (Ex 40:9); to things, like the portion of the sacrifice set apart for the priests (Nu 18:8); to times and seasons, as the Sabbath (Jer 17:22; Eze 20:20) and the Jubilee year (Le 25:10); to God Himself (Le 22:32). Its underlying idea of the separateness of holy nature or holy use works out into several often overlapping senses: (1) To set apart, dedicate, offer, reserve, for the worship or service of God: Ex 28:38, "The holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts"; also Le 22:3; Nu 18:29, etc.; 2Ki 12:4, "All the money the hallowed things" (the King James Version "dedicated"), etc. (2) To make holy, by selecting, setting apart, claiming, or acknowledging as His own: Ge 2:3, "God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it" (the King James Version "sanctified"); but Ex 20:11 (King James Version, the English Revised Version, the American Standard Revised Version), "hallowed." So of the temple (1Ki 9:7); of the firstborn, spared in Egypt (Nu 3:13). (3) To dedicate or consecrate by formal ceremonial, with the accompanying idea of cleansing from sin and uncleanness: Ex 29:1, "This is the thing that thou shalt do unto them (Aaron and his sons) to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office." The whole chapter is devoted to the elaborate ceremonial, consisting of ablutions, endowment in priestly robes and paraphernalia, anointing with oil, the offering of a bullock for a sin offering, and of a ram, the placing of the blood of another ram upon the right ear, right thumb, right great toe of each, the wave offering, the anointing of the holy garments, and the eating of the consecrated food, all this lasting seven days, and indicating the completeness with which they were set apart, the deep necessity of purification, and the solemnity and sacredness of the office. The tabernacle and its furniture were similarly "hallowed" by a simpler ceremony, using the anointing oil. (4) To render ritually fit for religious service, worship, or use: Le 16:19, "Hallow it (the altar with the sprinkled blood) from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel"; Nu 6:11, "The priest shall .... make atonement for him, for that he sinned by reason of the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day." (5) To hold sacred, reverence, keep holy: Jer 17:22, "But hallow ye the Sabbath day," by keeping it distinct and separate, especially (Jer 17:24,27) by refraining from unnecessary work, from burden-bearing, travel, or traffic (Ne 13:16). See Ex 20:8-11 (the Sabbath Commandment). (6) To revere, hold in awe, and reverence as holy and "separated from sinners" in majesty, power, sacredness: Le 22:32, "And ye shall not profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel." Qadhash is elsewhere translated "sanctify" in this connection, meaning "to be manifested in awe-producing majesty, power, or grace": Eze 38:23, "And I will .... sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Yahweh"; compare Eze 28:22-23, etc.
In the New Testament "hallow" occurs only in the "Lord's Prayer," there rendering hagiazo, the Septuagint word for qadhash: Mt 6:9; Lu 11:2, "Hallowed be thy name." Hagiazo is quite frequent in the New Testament, and is always (American Standard Revised Version) rendered "sanctify," except here, and in Re 22:11, "He that is holy, let him be made holy still." To "hallow the name" includes not only the inward attitude and outward action of profound reverence and active praise, but also that personal godliness, loving obedience and aggressive Christlikeness, which reveal the presence of God in the life, which is His true earthly glory.
Philip Wendell Crannell