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Jehovah Mekoddishkem: the LORD that doth sanctify you

In the middle of the building plans for His house, God told a nation of former slaves to stop working one day a week. The reason was a name: the LORD that makes you holy.

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  • Name 22 of 70The LORD That Doth Sanctify You
  • HebrewYHWH Meqaddishkem
  • In plain wordsThe LORD who makes you holy
  • Where to find itExodus 31:13, on Mount Sinai with Moses

Jehovah Mekoddishkem is the name God gave Himself when He handed Israel the Sabbath. It means "the Lord who makes you holy," and the King James Bible puts it this way: I am the LORD that doth sanctify you (Exodus 31:13). You will not find the Hebrew spelling printed in your Bible. It sits inside an ordinary-looking verse about a day of rest, which is exactly why so many readers walk right past it.

Why God spoke this name on Sinai

Moses was alone with God on Mount Sinai. For several chapters of Exodus (chapters 25 to 31), God had been giving him the plans for the tabernacle. That was the large tent where God would live among His people. The plans covered everything: the ark, the golden lampstand, the altar, the clothes for the priests, the special oil and incense. In chapter 31 God even named the two craftsmen, Bezaleel and Aholiab, who would lead the building.

Then the subject changed. Before Moses came down, God added one more instruction, and it was not about building anything. It was about stopping.

Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

Exodus 31:13

Think about who was hearing this. A few months earlier these people had been slaves in Egypt. Their days were measured in bricks and quotas, and nobody gave them time off. Now, just as they were about to start the biggest work project of their lives, God told them that even His own house had to wait one day a week. A sign is something you can see that points to something you cannot. The Sabbath was a sign that pointed to God as the One making them His own.

The timing that follows is almost painful to read. While God was saying these words, the people at the foot of the mountain were losing patience. In the very next chapter they asked Aaron to make them gods to go before them, and the golden calf was the result (Exodus 32:1). If being holy had depended on how they behaved that week, the whole thing would have been over before it began.

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The Hebrew behind the words

The name has two parts. The first is God's personal name, written with four Hebrew letters, YHWH. The King James Bible usually prints it as LORD in capital letters, and older English writers spelled it Jehovah. The second part, Mekoddishkem (also spelled Meqaddishkem), is built on the verb qadash.

Qadash means to set apart as holy, to consecrate or dedicate. The King James translators most often turned it into "sanctify," and also used words like "hallow" and "dedicate." In the second chapter of the Bible, God sanctifies a day: God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it (Genesis 2:3). So the idea of holy time is there from the start.

Here is a simple way to picture it. In the tabernacle there were bowls and cups that looked a lot like the dishes in anyone's tent. What made them holy was not their shape. It was who owned them and what they were kept for. Sanctifying something changed whose it was.

Two small details in the Hebrew make this name warm instead of cold:

  • The form of the verb is a participle, a word that describes ongoing action. God is not saying He made them holy once and walked away. He is the One doing it.
  • The ending -kem means "you," and it is plural. God is speaking to a whole people, not just a few spiritual stars.

The verses where the name keeps coming back

Once you notice this phrase, you start seeing it again and again, especially in Leviticus. Leviticus is the book of instructions for worship and daily life, and this name runs through it like a refrain.

Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.

Leviticus 20:7-8

Look at how these two verses fit together. First God tells the people to sanctify themselves. Then, in the next breath, He says He is the One who sanctifies them. Both are true. They were called to live set apart, and God supplied what they needed to do it. Statutes, by the way, are simply God's rules or laws.

Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you,

Leviticus 22:32

To profane something is to treat a holy thing as if it were common. Here God links His own reputation to His people. When they treat His name with honor, He is shown to be holy among them.

And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

Ezekiel 37:28

Centuries later the prophet Ezekiel spoke to Israel in exile, after the nation had failed badly. God did not drop the name. He promised that even the nations around them (the old word is heathen) would see Him setting His people apart. The name that started on Sinai was still standing in exile in Babylon.

Living as someone God has set apart

Many people treat holiness like a test they keep failing. Some try harder every week and end up tired and anxious. Others decide they will never change, so they quit trying. This name speaks to both groups. The One who sanctifies you is God, not you. Your part is real, but you are not doing it alone.

It also changes how you see yourself. If you belong to God, you are like one of those tabernacle cups. You might feel plain and ordinary. What makes you valuable is the One who claims you. That can shape what you watch, how you talk to people, how you spend money, and what you do on a free Saturday night. You do not have to copy everyone around you, because you were set apart for something different.

And then there is rest. God tied this name to a day off. In a culture that measures people by how busy they are, taking real rest is a quiet way of saying, "God is still working when I stop."

  • Read Exodus 31:12 to 18 and notice how the chapter ends with God giving Moses the stone tablets.
  • Pick one habit that does not fit with belonging to God, and ask Him for help with it instead of white-knuckling it alone.
  • Plan one block of true rest this week, with no catching up on work, and use part of it to thank God that He is the One making you holy.

Jehovah Mekoddishkem is name 22 of the 70 in the book. The name that comes next was spoken by a frightened farmer hiding his wheat: Jehovah Shalom, the LORD is peace. You can also see the whole family of Jehovah names of God in one place.

Get the book: the full chapter on The LORD That Doth Sanctify You

The Jehovah Mekoddishkem chapter follows this name into the Greek word for holy, the same word behind "saint," and through the letters of Paul and Hebrews. It also takes on hard questions, like whether Christians must keep the Sabbath and whether God expects you to be perfect, and closes with a prayer for people worn out from trying to make themselves good.

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  • The GreekHow this name was carried into the Greek Old Testament and the New Testament.
  • The rest of the BibleWhere the name leads from here, all the way into the New Testament.
  • Hard questionsThe things people wonder about this name and do not always ask.
  • A prayerWords to pray this name back to God.

Wear the name: the 70 Names of God shirt

The 70 Names of God shirt carries Proverbs 18:10, the verse behind this whole site. The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

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Questions people ask

What does Jehovah Mekoddishkem mean?

It means "the Lord who sanctifies you" or "the Lord who makes you holy." Jehovah is God's personal name, and Mekoddishkem comes from the Hebrew verb qadash, to set apart as holy, with an ending that means "you" (more than one person). The King James Version words it I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

Where is Jehovah Mekoddishkem in the Bible?

The first place is Exodus 31:13, where God gives Moses the Sabbath as a sign. The same idea comes back many times in Leviticus, for example Leviticus 20:8, and again in Ezekiel 20:12 and Ezekiel 37:28. The King James Bible gives it in English, so you will not see the Hebrew spelling in the verse itself.

How do you pronounce Mekoddishkem?

A common English way to say it is "meh-kah-DEESH-kem." You will also see it spelled Mekaddishkem or Meqaddishkem, because there is more than one way to bring Hebrew letters into English. The short form M'kaddesh leaves off the ending that means "you."

What does sanctify mean in the Bible?

To sanctify is to set something or someone apart for God. In the Old Testament, a day, a building, a cup or a person could be sanctified. It did not mean they looked different. It meant they now belonged to God and were kept for His use.

Why is this name connected to the Sabbath?

God called the Sabbath a sign between me and you throughout your generations. Resting one day in seven reminded Israel that their holiness did not come from their own work. God was the One setting them apart, even on the day they did nothing at all.