🕍 Most sacred place 🔒 Most sacred thing

holy of holies

1 9.9

The innermost sacred room of the ancient Jewish Temple where the Ark was kept

noun
/ˈhoʊli əv ˈhoʊliz/

Literature

: santo de los santos

In ancient Jerusalem, the holy of holies was where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.

Examples

While we were in the temple, I came upon the holy of holies.

Holy Ghost (2014)
Even Moses could not enter into the presence of God in the tabernacle, and only the high priest could enter into the holy of holies, but once a year.

Blog text (25)
Hindus believe that within the holy place, they will be able to literally touch their God, if only for a second, and here I stood on His doorstep, inside the holy of holies, doing something that should have gotten me killed.

Holy Ghost (2014)
The high priest entered the holy of holies once a year to make atonement for the people.
Visiting the holy of holies was a profound experience for anyone who understood its significance.

Synonyms

sanctum sanctorum

vsholy of holies

Literature

9.9

The deepest and most sacred part of a temple where only priests can enter

is specific to the innermost chamber of the Jewish Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem

Surface Forms

holy of holies singular

holies of holies plural

Morphology

holy + of + holies

The central meaning 'especially sacred or inviolable' is related to the adjective 'holy', so a learner who knows 'holy' would likely infer a sense of strong sacredness. However, the archaic/genitive construction 'of holies' and the phrase's biblical, idiomatic history make the exact sense (a superlative, fixed collocation) hard to predict without prior exposure.

Etymology

Holy of holies names the small inner room in the ancient temple, the holy place of the holies, where the Ark of the Covenant stood and only the high priest could enter once a year. Because it was the 'most sacred' place, the phrase came to mean that very private, holy spot.