“Holy One of Israel” is a combination of the word for holy (Qadosh) with the name Israel. The name Holy One of Jacob is equivalent because God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. However, Jacob (Israel) gave his name to the nation that descended from him, so sometimes “Israel” refers to the entire nation. Often God is simply called the Holy One or Holy God.
This name highlights an important attribute of God—His holiness. When Isaiah had a vision in the temple, the seraphim chanted the holiness of God most emphatically:
Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory. (Isaiah 6:3)
Other Bible verses tell of the holiness of God even if they do not include it in a name. For instance,
Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy. (Psalm 99:9)
Other examples are Psalms 22:3 and 99:3, 5. Isaiah uses the names Holy One and Holy God the most often (almost thirty times); the vision of the Lord of hosts made a huge impression on him.
Holy One of Israel (Qedosh Yisra’el), in the Hebrew text of Isaiah 41:14
Holy One of Israel in Hebrew:
Qedosh Yisra’el
Strong’s Concordance numbers: 6918, 3478
Bible references: 2 Kings 19:22; Pss. 71:22; 78:41; 89:18; Isa. 1:4; 17:7; 30:11; 41:14; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 54:5; Jer. 50:29; 51:5 and a total of about forty five times.
Part of God’s response to King Sennacherib of Assyria while he was besieging and mocking Jerusalem was the following statement:
Whom have you reproached and blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice,
And haughtily lifted up your eyes?
Against the Holy One of Israel! (2 Kings 19:22)
Similar names for God are Holy One of Jacob and, in the New Testament, Holy One of God.
