page_title: Holy of Holies
section_title: Hebrew terminology and translation
hierarchical_section_title: Holy of Holies / Hebrew terminology and translation
caption_attribution_description: English: The Holy of Holies; illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible Español: El Sumo Sacerdote de Israel ante el Sanctasactórum. Ilustración para la Biblia (Holman, 1890).
context_page_description: The Holy of Holies is a term in the Hebrew Bible which refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle where God's presence appeared. According to Hebrew Tradition, the area was defined by four pillars which held up the veil of the covering, under which the Ark of the Covenant was held above the floor. The Ark according to Hebrew Scripture contained the Ten Commandments, which were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. King Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem, where the Ark of the Covenant was supposed to be kept.
  The Crusaders associated it with the Well of Souls, which is located under the Foundation Stone of the Dome of the Rock.
context_section_description: The construction "Holy of Holies" is a literal translation of the Hebrew קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים (Tiberian Hebrew: Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm) which is intended to express a superlative. Examples of similar constructions are "servant of servants" (Gen 9:25), "Sabbath of sabbaths" (Ex 31:15), "God of gods" (Deut 10:17), "Vanity of vanities" (Eccl 1:2), "Song of songs" (Song of Songs 1:1), "king of kings" (Ezra 7:12), etc.
  In the Authorized King James Version, "Holy of Holies" is always translated as "Most Holy Place". This is in keeping with the intention of the Hebrew idiom to express the utmost degree of holiness. The King James Version of the Bible has been in existence for over four hundred years. For most of that time, it was a primary reference in much of the English speaking world for information about Judaism. Thus, the name "Most Holy Place" was used to refer to the "Holy of Holies" in many English documents.
  A related term is the debir (דְּבִיר) transliterated in the Septuagint (the Greek translation as dabir (δαβιρ), which either means the back (i.e. western) part of the Sanctuary, or derives from the verb stem D-V-R, "to speak", justifying the translation in the Latin Vulgate as oraculum, from which the traditional English translation "oracle" (KJV, 1611) derives.
caption: Depiction of a Jewish High Priest wearing Hoshen and Ephod included as an illustration in a Christian Bible; the Holy of Holies is in the background (1890, Holman Bible)
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