Priests as holy

As with the [Mesopotamian] kings, the holifying of the Israelite priests indicated that the priestly office had a divine origin; it was instituted by Yahweh rather than by the people (Ex 28:1, notably in contrast to Israelite kingship, which is instituted by the people in 1 Sam 8; some Mesopotamian kings are DINGIRS, but Israelite kings are never holy). It also indicates that the priests were part of the divine realm, enabling them (among other things) to enter the sanctuary without defiling it (or dying). Thus it appears that Hebrew usage of qdš indicates that it means the same thing as DINGIR/ilu; it signifies that the element so designated was part of the divine constellation of a particular deity or a participant in a divine office.— The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest, 116

<idle musing>
I think they might be overstating things a bit here. What about you? But, we'll see where this is going, if anywhere.
</idle musing>