A biblical phrase applied to the people of God in the Old Testament ( Deut. 14:2 ; 26:18 ) and in the New Testament ( Titus 2:14 ; 1 Peter 2:9 ). The Hebrew word translated “peculiar” is segullah , “property,” and the passages designate Israel as a prized possession belonging exclusively to God. Two Greek words are translated “peculiar” (1) peripoieµsis, “personal possession” ( 1 Peter 2:9 ), and (2) periousios, “chosen,” “especial” ( Titus 2:14 ). The English word “peculiar” comes from the Latin peculiaris, which is from the Latin noun peculium, meaning that which is one’s own. In Old English, “peculiar” designated something as being exclusively one’s own, and was thus an accurate translation of the Hebrew and Greek terms. It did not suggest eccentricity of appearance or conduct, as the word does today