By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Hebrews 10:20–22
Elder Neal A. Maxwell observed that “Many ignore consecration because it seems too abstract or too daunting” (“Consecrate Thy Performance,” Ensign, May 2002). There are wonderful books and articles on the Law of Consecration. This post will limit itself to understanding the word “consecrate”.
Word Origin
Hebrew: In the Old Testament, the English word “consecrate” is often used to translate several distinct Hebrew terms, emphasizing different aspects of living a holy life.
1. mala yad (מלא–יד) “fill the hand”
The most frequent idiomatic Hebrew phrase translated as “consecrate” (or “ordain”) in the King James Version (KJV), particularly concerning the ordaining of the priests, is mala yad (מלא–יד). Using concrete language, the ancient Hebrews’ words represented tangible concepts, using all five senses in speaking, hearing, writing, and reading. Mala yad is a perfect example. It literally means “to fill the hand”.
The title “Christ” itself means “anointed one” and is defined by Pseudo-Clement as an anointing with oil from the Tree of Life, making Christ the consecrated one. A monarch in a coronation ceremony is consecrated and anointed with holy oil to be “imbued with grace”.
The idiom described the ordaining of priests, during which parts of the sacrifice, like the “filling” ram and grain offerings, were placed on Aaron and his sons’ palms, representing their entrance into their roles and their readiness to serve. Their priestly nature was reflected in their hands, full of offerings to God. The palm of the hand (Hebrew: kaph) was symbolic, sometimes represented by hand-shaped vessels such as spoons or shallow bowls (censers) meant to be “filled” with offerings or incense.
We can see this literal filling of the hands in the ritual for making the Levitical priests holy, starting with Aaron and his sons. The ceremony’s details can be found in the beginning of Exodus 29. The ceremony was a concrete illustration that priesthood holders would “fill” themselves with the work God set aside for them.
Hugh Nibley pointed out that the concept of “filling up the hand” or “filling the hands” also appears within the context of the sacrament and bestowing blessings or authority. For instance, in early Christian rites no one could “put forth his hand upon the bread or reach it out to drink the wine until the priest has first blessed it”. The priest then “reaches forth his hand and puts it on the bread”. An early Coptic text contains sacramental instruction to “fill thy hands pronounce blessing upon this cup” as they consecrated the emblems of the Lord’s supper.
Here are a few Old Testament examples of “filling the hand” (mala yad) and how the King James translators rendered it.
- Exodus 28:41 “fill their hand” (KJV “consecrate them”)
- Exodus 29:9 “thou shalt fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons” (KJV “thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons”)
- Exodus 29:29 “and to fill in them their hand” (KJV “and to be consecrated in them”)
- Exodus 29:33 “to fill their hand to sanctify them” (KJV “to consecrate and to sanctify them”)
- Exodus 32:29 “fill your hand” (KJV “consecrate yourselves”)
- Leviticus 8:33 “the filling of the days of your filling” (KJV “the days of your consecration be at an end”) and “he will fill your hand” (KJV “shall he consecrate you”)
- Leviticus 16:32 “whose hand he shall fill” (KJV “whom he shall consecrate”)
- Leviticus 21:10 “and whose hand is filled” (KJV “and that is consecrated”)
- Numbers 3:3 “whose hand he filled for a priest” (KJV “whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office”)
- Judges 17:5 “and he filled the hand of one of his sons” (KJV “and consecrated one of his sons”)
- 1 Kings 13:33 “he filled his hand” (KJV “he consecrated him”)
- 1 Chronicles 29:5 “to fill his hand” (KJV “to consecrate his service”)
- 2 Chronicles 29:31 “you have filled your hand” (KJV “ye have consecrated yourselves”)
2. qadash (קדש) “to be set apart”
Another Hebrew word translated for consecrate is qadash (קדש). This word means “to be set apart,” “to be holy,” “to consecrate,” or “to sanctify”. It is used when God commands the preparation of the people at Sinai, the dedication of the Tabernacle and altar, and ensures their commitment to holiness.
Qadash denotes a state of being set apart and can make things “taboo” or forbidden for common use once they have been consecrated to God. Touching consecrated objects, such as the altar, could transfer holiness (Exodus 29:37). “Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44).
There’s a link between qadash and building a fence to set boundaries to protect and preserve holiness. The ancients understood that to keep something holy (qadash), it must be protected and set apart from the profane. Today we place fences around our temples. These fences symbolize qadash “setting boundaries to protect and preserve holiness”.
The Hebrew word qasheir, (כשר), of which “kosher” is the anglicized version, means simply “fit” or “proper” and refers to food and other items that adhere to Jewish dietary and ritual law. The core distinction is that qadash relates to spiritual sanctity and separation, whereas kosher relates to proper and permissible use within Jewish law.
Greek: The Greek word hagiazo (ἁγιάζω) occurs twenty-nine times in the New Testament. It can be interpreted as either mala yad or qadash, meaning “to sanctify”. It can involve actions such as ordination or separation to make something holy.
For example, a literal translation of John 17:19 is “For their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth”. Hebrews 10:14 blends both meanings together as to “those who are being made holy” (present tense) and implies moving from simply being “set apart” to actively living a holy life.
Some other New Testament examples are the opening line in the Lord’s prayer: “Hallowed [Consecrated] be thy name” (Matthew 6:9). Jesus described Himself as the one “whom the Father sanctified [consecrated] and sent into the world” (John 10:36).
English: The English word “consecrate” originates from Latin roots. The verb “consecrate” dates to the late 14th century in English, with the initial meaning “make or declare sacred by certain ceremonies or rites”. Its direct origin is the Latin consecratus, which is the past participle of the verb consecrare.
Latin: The Latin consecrare means “to make holy” or “devote”. This word is formed from the assimilated Latin prefix com (“with, together”) combined with sacrare, which means “to make or declare sacred”.
Book of Mormon: The Book of Mormon references imply filling the hand, mala yad. “I, Jacob, having been called of God, and ordained after the manner of his holy order, and having been consecrated by my brother Nephi” (2 Nephi 6:2). “In the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee” (2 Nephi 32:9). “I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people” (2 Nephi 33:4). “Yet I have been chosen by this people, and consecrated by my father” (Mosiah 2:11, see Mosiah 6:3; 23:17; Alma 4:4, 7; 15:13; 23:4).
Other references denote “setting apart” or building a fence. “Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it is a choice land” (2 Nephi 10:19).
Doctrine and Covenants: Most often references in the Doctrine and Covenants mean to “set apart” by separating both goods and land. For example, “consecrate [set apart] of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:30–33, 37, 39; 51:5; 70:8; 72:12; 84:104; 85:1, 3; 90:29; 104:66; 124:21). “I consecrate [set apart] unto them this land for a little season” (Doctrine and Covenants 51:16; see 52:2; 57:1; 82:13; 84:31; 94:3; 103:24, 35; 105:29; 115:7; 124:44).
Illustration
I’ve learned that consecrated people and places have a feeling of holiness about them. They have learned to fill their lives with the sacred and fence out the profane. The word profane originates from the Latin word profanus. The Latin word pro, which means before or outside and the Latin word fanum, which means temple. When these two elements (pro and fanum) are combined, they form the Latin word profanus, from which the English word “profane” is derived. Therefore, the word “profane” literally means outside the temple. To be “profane” means to be one who is not sacred, or one who is not allowed to enter sacred temple space. Sacred or consecrated is the opposite of the profane.
Several years ago, I had an assignment to help the Temple Department implement some changes. The Temple Department wanted to ensure that everyone who came to the temple had an uplifting experience, so they created a series of beliefs they wanted their employees to hold. One of those beliefs was “be kind”.
I asked one of our team to help a particular temple to implement these beliefs. Our team member, Ron, told me this story after he returned from the training. He trained in the morning, and that afternoon a security guard told him about an experience that he had just had.
There was a young boy who was 5 or 6 years old who was running past the temple fence onto the temple grounds and then back off the grounds. The guard was becoming aggravated with this behavior. His natural inclination was to yell at the boy and tell him to stop making a scene. However, he resisted his initial impulse, remembering that they were to be kind. He knelt down to look at the boy’s eyes and was about to ask him to stop. The young boy placed his index finger on the guard’s lips and said “shush”. Then he grabbed the guard’s hand and ran off the property, turned around and ran back on the property. Now, the little boy and the security guard were both running on and off the property. Then the little boy stopped and said, “Can you feel that?” “You can feel something different when you are on temple grounds.”
The old security guard could have ruined this little boy’s spiritual experience, but he was kind and learned an important lesson — that one could feel the difference between consecrated and profane space. Consecration creates holiness by filling our lives through obedience to covenantal ordinances and by placing fences in our lives to keep out the profane.
