The title of this chapter comes from the famous verse at Exodus 19:6. That verse appears in the preliminaries leading up to the theophany at Mount Sinai. When the Israelites arrive at the wilderness of Sinai, Yahweh gives Moses a message to deliver to them. I shall quote the passage (Verses 3b–6) in the fairly literal translation of the Revised Standard Version.

Of interest to us here is how later readers and hearers understood Verse 6. In Chapter 1 I mentioned the Bible's use of the word “goy” to refer to Israel as well as to other nations. Our passage explains how the Israelite nation will differ from those others as a result of its special relationship with Yahweh. It will be “holy” and “a kingdom of priests.” It is this last phrase that intrigues me, just as it has exercised exegetes.

The original meaning of the passage is not our concern.