in the authorized king james version, "holy of holies" is always translated as "most holy place". this is in keeping with the intention of the hebrew idiom to express the utmost degree of holiness. the king james version of the bible has been in existence for over four hundred years. for most of that time, it was a primary reference in much of the english speaking world for information about judaism. thus, the name "most holy place" was used to refer to the "holy of holies" in many english documents.