Define

• Something that is not set apart for God; ordinary, non-sacred, accessible to anyone. To “profane” something holy is to make it common again. Direct opposite of Holy

• Hebrew: ḥōl (חֹל) common, profane

• Greek:

  • Primary word: bébēlos (βέβηλος) – “profane, common, unholy”
  • Secondary word (especially later): koinós (κοινός) – “common, ordinary” - then “defiled/profane”

Related words

• Holy
• Clean
• Unclean

Additional Info

• Unclean, Common, Clean, Holy
• The verb (to make common) חִלֵּל in Piel appears 160× in the OT, almost always with the sense “to take something holy and treat it as ordinary.”
• In the NT, βέβηλος is used for Esau who “treated his birthright as common/profane” Heb-12#v16

Connections

• Lev-10#v10 – priests must “distinguish between the holy and the common (חֹל), and between the unclean and the clean”