Bible Dictionary
SEPARATE
To separate means to divide or distinguish, often by setting something or someone apart. In biblical usage it may imply consecration to God, ordinary distinction, or final judgment and segregation.
Biblical Usage
The biblical words translated separate include badhal and aphorizo. Separation and consecration were originally not sharply distinguished, so many biblical uses imply setting apart for God. Yet the same idea can also describe separation from God or religious estrangement.