Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew words tsdq, tsedaqah, and tsdyq are ordinarily translated as “righteous” or “just,” as they pertain to doing right or being just. Scholars debate whether the underlying root concept means adherence to a norm, or right relationship. On the former, we read in Jer 4:2 about an oracle where Israel is urged to confess “in truth, in justice, and in righteousness” that Yahweh will bless the nations, and “righteousness” here is defined by the norms of truth telling and performing justice. For the latter, we might consider Gen 38:26, where Judah declares that Tamar “is more righteous than I” because, despite her deception of Judah where “she played the whore” (Gen 38:24), Tamar found a way around her father-in-law’s recalcitrance so she could fulfill her social obligations to produce an heir for her deceased husband. It is probably better not to play off normativity and relational notions of righteousness against each other. That is because while it is a linguistic mistake to try to attribute to tsdq any single Grundbegriff (i.e., overarching concept), it would appear that tsdq is associated with a web of concepts related to normativity and legitimacy, yet it is social and covenantal relationships that provide the norm itself.

In the Hebrew Bible, righteousness is often attributed to key figures for their upright and just behavior. For example, Noah “was a righteous man, without defect in his generations” (Gen 6:9; compare Gen 7:1). God chose Abraham so that he would “command his children and his household after him that they will keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice” (Gen 18:19). Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if 10 righteous men could be found (Gen 18:22–33). Jacob claimed that he showed “righteousness” in his dealings with Laban (Gen 30:33), and Judah had to admit that Tamar was “more righteous” because she raised up seed for her late husband (Gen 38:26). In Psalm 1, sinners cannot stand in the congregation of the righteous, and the Lord knows the way of the righteous (Psa 1:5–6). The book of Proverbs/ attests the close correlation of righteousness with justice. For example, Proverbs 12 says, “The thoughts of the righteous are just” (Prov 12:5; compare Prov 20:7; 29:7). Ezekiel refers to a righteous person as one who does justice (מִשְׁפָּט, mishpat) and righteousness (tsedaqah; Ezek 18:5).

In addition, the standard of the law code given to Israel determines the meaning of righteousness. The Israelites are admonished to protect the integrity of those who are innocent and righteous (Exod 23:7–8; Deut 1:16), and Israel “shall be [righteous]” if they do all that God commands (Deut 6:25). The connection between righteousness and law observance is underscored by Ezekiel: “And if a man is righteous and does justice and righteousness, and on the mountains he does not eat and he does not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and the wife of his neighbor he does not defile and he does not approach a woman of menstruation, and he oppresses no one and he returns a pledge for his loan and he commits no robbery and he gives his bread to the hungry and he covers a naked person with a garment, and he does not charge interest and he takes no usury, and he holds back his hand from injustice and he executes a judgment of fairness between persons, and in my statutes he goes about and my regulations he keeps, performing faithfully—then he is righteous, and certainly he will live” (Ezek 18:5–9).

The underlying rationale for human righteousness is that God is righteous (e.g., Pss 11:7; 119:137; 129:4; 145:17; Jer 12:1; Dan 9:14). Similarly, the Israelites should not acquit the wicked, since God does not do so (e.g., Exod 23:7; Job 10:14–15; Isa 5:23; Mic 6:11; compare Sirach 42:2). Consequently, in many places in the Hebrew Bible, righteousness has a strong forensic character and pertains to executing justice in the court of law and ensuring right treatment of persons in social frameworks (Lev 19:15; Deut 1:16–17; 16:18–20; 25:1).

The Hebrew Bible depicts righteousness not only as a divine quality but as a divine action. The Song of Moses eulogizes God’s saving action in the exodus, noting that “all his ways are just; he is a faithful God, and without injustice; righteous and upright is he” (Deut 32:4). The judges Deborah and Barak sing about the “righteous deeds of Yahweh” after the defeat of the Canaanite king Jabin (Judg 5:11). The prophet Samuel testified against King Saul by recounting to him “all the deeds of justice of Yahweh that he performed with both you and your ancestors” (1 Sam 12:7). The link between God’s righteous character and his righteous actions stems from his commitment as ruler of the universe to execute justice for the world, including the monarchy, the Israelites, and the nations. Abraham pleads to God to deliver the righteous in Sodom by asking, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?” (Gen 18:25). Jeremiah rehearses God’s claim that “I am Yahweh, showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth” (Jer 9:24). The psalmist writes similarly: “Yahweh sits enthroned forever. He has established his throne for judgment. And he will judge the world with righteousness. He will judge the peoples with equity” (Psa 9:7–8). Isaiah announces: “For as the earth produces its sprout, and as a garden makes its plants sprout, so the Lord Yahweh will make righteousness sprout, and praise before all the nations” (Isa 61:11; compare Isa 62:2). God ultimately intends to flood the world with justice and put the nations and all of creation to rights.

God’s just reign over his creation also includes establishing Israel in the right. For example, the psalmist praises God’s reign over Israel by declaring, “You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob” (Psa 99:4). God in his righteousness could prosecute the curses of the covenant by contending against Israel on account of its unrighteousness (see Isa 1:21; 5:7; Amos 5:21–24). Yet at the same time, God chooses to deliver Israel from judgment as a display of his righteousness, which is why “righteousness” can also be correlated with God’s salvation, vindication, mercy, and faithfulness (Pss 7:10–11; 36:5–6; 71:15–16; 96:13; 143:1, 11; Isa 45:8; 46:12–13; 56:1; Jer 51:10; Dan 9:18; Mic 7:9; Hos 2:19; Zech 8:8). Similarly, one of the penitential psalms reads, “Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation; then my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness” (Psa 51:14). Isaiah also correlates righteousness with salvation: “My righteousness is near; my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples … my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will not be broken to pieces” (Isa 51:5–6).

At the same time, the Hebrew Bible speaks of God establishing right for both the nations and Israel: “Yahweh has made known his salvation; to the eyes of the nations he has revealed his righteousness. He has remembered his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God … Yahweh, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity” (Psa 98:2–3, 9).

The dual nature of God’s righteousness in the Old Testament, then, is that it includes both His judgment against human wickedness and His faithfulness to deliver His covenant people from wickedness.