Righteousness and Justice of Our King 3 Part Series – Updated

Article on Righteousness and Justice from the Anchor Bible Dictionary:

RIGHTEOUSNESS. This entry consists of four articles surveying the concept of righteousness in the OT, in early Judaism, in the non-Jewish Greco-Roman world, and in the NT

Old Testament

The RSV renders the Hebrew ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ by a variety of words: acquittal, deliverance, honest evidence (Prov 12:17), integrity (Job 31:6), judgment, justice, prosperity, right, righteousness (most common), righteous deeds, righteous help, salvation, saving help, victory, vindication. The JB often translates the Hebrew as “integrity,” especially in Isaiah 40–66 and the Psalms. These various renderings endeavor to compass the constellation of nuances that the Hebrew conveys, particularly when in parallelism with other words or when in the context of different word groups.

The meaning of words that derive from the root ṣdq cannot be determined a priori. There is no basic ṣdq notion that must always be present with the three radicals ṣ-d-q. The OT texts must not be read through the eyes of the Reformation controversies about “righteousness” and “justification,” or even through Paul’s letters to the Romans and Galatians. The OT writers were not aware of the problems of the Church of the 1st or 16th centuries. The words and phrases, “righteousness,” “justification,” “he … whose sin is covered … to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity” (RSV Ps 32:1–2; cf. JB, NEB, NIV, AB), evoke theological associations which must be laid aside when dealing with the Heb terms ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ.

A. Cognate Background of ṣdq

B. Range and Meaning of Terms

C. Legal Uses and Nuances

1. The Verb

2. Nouns in the Pentateuch

3. Other Uses

D. Proper Order, Proper Comportment

1. 8th-Century Prophecy

2. 7th-Century Prophecy

3. Psalms

4. Isaiah 40–66

5. Ezekial, Malachi, Joel

6. Joshua–2 Kings

7. Job, Proverbs, Qoheleth

8. Daniel

9. s\edeq-s\eádāqaÆ + mišpāt

E. God’s ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ: Saving Action

1. Psalms

2. Isaiah 40–55

3. Isaiah 56–66

4. Hosea, Micah, Isaiah 1–39

5. Jeremiah, Zechariah, Malachi

F. Plural of ṣĕdāqâ

G. Parallels and Word-fields

H. The Just or Righteous One (Heb ṣaddı̂q)

I. Current Research

J. Summary and Conclusion

A. Cognate Background of ṣdq

The root ṣdq is West Semitic in origin and is well attested in this language group:

1. Akkadian. The CAD has only one entry for ṣaduq and describes the word as an adjective meaning “right,” “just.” Abdu-hepa of Jerusalem (14th century b.c.) writes to the king of Egypt, “See, my Lord, I am right (ṣa-du-uq) about the people of GN” Abdu-hepa is acting as he should in the king’s interest.

2. Amorite. The word ṣaduq occurs as a component of a number of Amorite names in which it is probably a theophorous element; ṣidq is rendered “justice,” “rightness” by Huffmon (APNM, 256–57), who notes that the root is common Semitic, except Akkadian.

3. Old South Arabic. The verb ṣdq means “to grant, concede, fulfill an obligation, keep faith with (?)”; the noun means “right, due, truth, reality (?)”; the adjective means “proper, appropriate,” with the nuances of “happy and fortunate” (Meyer 1966: 229; DOSA, 416–18).

4. Ugaritic. The word ṣdq is found in a number of proper names in the Ras Shamra texts (UT, 472–73). In the KRT text ṣdqh is an abstract noun in parallelism with yšrh (Fisher 1972: 320); Gray (1965: 132, n. 7) renders the words as “legitimate wife” (wife of ṣdqh), as does Gordon (1949: 67). The king of Ugarit is described as bʿl ṣdq (Gray 1966: 175–76), which may mean “legitimate king” or perhaps “lord of order,” i.e., the one who brings right order or prosperity into life by giving the rain. Further information is found in Fisher (1981: 132, 203, 406–10).

5. Northwest Semitic Inscriptions. The word ṣdq occurs in a number of Aramaic and Phoenician inscriptions the text of which, with German translation and comments, may be found in the three Donner-Röllig (KAI) volumes; there is an English translation of some of these in ANET (499–505, 653–62). The words ṣdq and yšr occur together in the 10th-century Yeḥimilk inscription from Byblos describing “a righteous king and an upright king” (ANET, 499; KAI 1: 1; 2: 6); Swetnam (1965: 32) argues for “legitimate” instead of “righteous,” Herrmann (1958: 22) for “lawful” referring to Jer 23:5, smḥ ṣdq, “a righteous, lawful branch.” The Jeremiah phrase is found in the Phoenician Lapēthos inscription (KAI 1: 10; 2: 60–61) from Cyprus, 3d century b.c. Cooke (1903: 82) proposes “legitimate offspring”; Swetnam (1965: 29–31) “rightful scion”; KAI “legitimer Spross.” In a bilingual inscription from Karatepe (8th century b.c.), Azitwadda narrates his good deeds and says that “every king considered me his father because of my righteousness (bṣdqy) and my wisdom and the kindness of my heart” (ANET, 499–500); likewise KAI (1: 5; 2: 36); Swetnam (1965: 34) renders “because of my rightfulness” (i.e., legitimacy).

The substantive ṣdq occurs five times in the Zinçirli inscriptions (8th century), preceded each time by the preposition b, twice without suffix, twice with the suffix of 1st sing., once with the suffix of 3d masc. sing. KAI (1: 40–41; 2: 224, 233, 237) renders it as “loyalty,” i.e., to the Assyrian overlord. Swetnam (1965: 34–36), following Euler (1938: 278–79), disagrees with the rendering “loyalty” in the Panammuwa and Barrākib inscriptions (Zinçirli) and argues strongly for “legitimate succession,” as it is a question of legitimate succession from father to son. In the Barrākib inscription the incumbent says that he was seated on the throne “because of the righteousness of my father (bṣdq ʾby) and my own righteousness (bṣdqy) …” (ANET, 501).

On a 7th-century b.c. Aramaic tomb inscription from Nērāb, 7 km E of Aleppo, Agbar, priest of Sahr, has had inscribed “because of my righteousness (bṣdqty) before him, he gave me a good name and prolonged my days” (ANET, 505; KAI 1: 45; 2: 276). The word ṣdqh appears with the definite article, ṣdqtʾ, in a 5th–4th-century inscription from Tēmā in Arabia. KAI renders it “present of allegiance,” “Loyalitätsgeschenk” (1: 46; 2: 79–80), Cooke (1903: 196) by “a grant,” Jean and Hoftijzer (DISO, 243) list as meanings “merit or desert.” A 5th-century Phoenician inscription commemorating the foundation of a temple near Sidon records that the king BDʿŠTRT and bn ṣdq were its founders; KAI (1: 3; 2: 25) renders the latter by “heir,” “son, who is legitimate heir,” referring to Jer 23:5; 33:15. There is also attestation of a West-Semitic god, ṣedeq (Rosenberg 1965). Thus, ṣdq, in West Semitic apart from Hebrew, covers a range of meanings: proper conduct, order, righteousness, legitimacy of succession, loyalty, favor, concession, grant.

B. Range and Meaning of Terms

Words deriving from the root ṣdq occur 523 times in the OT: verbal forms 41 times, the nouns ṣedeq 119 times, and ṣĕdāqâ 157 times, the adjective-substantive ṣaddı̂q 206 times. Well over half of the occurrences of the nouns are in the Psalms, the poetic sections of the Prophets, and the regular verse of Proverbs. Some scholars make a distinction between ṣedeq and ṣĕdāqâ. Jepsen (1965: 79, 81), for example, maintains that ṣedeq means right order; it is concerned “with a situation that in fact is as it ought or must be”; ṣedeq is “an action directed toward the right order of the community and accordingly to its well-being”; ṣĕdāqâ is used of human well-being or right behavior; it is that which puts one in order before God. God’s ṣĕdāqâ is aimed at order in his creation and at leading his community to its goal; it is his salvific will in action. Schmid (1968: 67, 179) follows Jepsen: “ṣdq and ṣdqh are to be distinguished: ṣdq concerns proper order, ṣdqh means the proper order of the world, willed by Yahweh, which brings prosperity, ṣdqh its appropriate, proper, prosperous state.” Others, like Fahlgren (1932), see no essential difference between the two and treat them without distinction. The latter view is favored here. The note of Watson (1980: 335) is pertinent in this context: “I would like to point out that it is not always advisable to draw theological conclusions on the basis of a particular word, differentiating, for example, between ṣedeq and ṣĕdēqâ [sic], both basically meaning ‘justice.’ They can have different connotations, but there are texts (e.g., Ps 72:3) where choice has been dictated by poetic convention.”

Scholars discern a wide range of meanings, emphases, and directions in biblical ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ: health of soul, links in a covenant, loyal activity (Pedersen 1926: 336–77); community loyalty (Fahlgren 1932); order, fitting into order, salvific order (Procksch 1950: 568–77); prosperity, saving gift (Cazelles 1951); community loyalty (Koch 1953; 1961; THAT 2: 507–30); Yahweh’s acts, his loyalty to the covenant, relationship (ROTT, 370–83, 392–95); justice (Dünner 1963); a judicial and soteriological process of judging, acquitting, and saving (Justesen 1964); world order (Schmid 1968; 1984); order put into effect by Yahweh, Yahweh’s saving action that puts this order into effect (Reventlow 1971); divine covenant activity and conduct that befits the covenant (Ziesler 1972); Yahweh’s action toward Israel, toward the individual in distress, his saving action in the future (Crüsemann 1976); legal order, proper order in the community, saving and liberating order (TRE 12: 404–11). Many of these scholars underscore the notion of saving action toward the people of Israel and the helpless individual—the poor, the oppressed, the widow, the orphan.

C. Legal Uses and Nuances

1. The Verb. The verb is used predominantly in a forensic sense. The discussion here considers the various Heb verbal stems.

a. Qal. The stative verb expresses how someone stands before the law or God. Judah says of Tamar: “She is more righteous than I” (Gen 38:26); i.e., the law is on Tamar’s side (cf. Ezek 36:2–5). Eliphaz asks Job: “Can a mortal be righteous before (OR more than) God?” (4:17; cf. 9:2, 15, 20; 10:15; 15:14; 25:4; 34:5); Elihu uses the verb in the same sense (33:12; 35:7); and a psalmist declares: “for no one living is righteous before you” (143:2). God challenges Job: “Will you then quash my judgment? condemn me that you may be right?” (40:8). One may render the two passages in the exchange between Job and Zophar: “Shall the glib one be acquitted?” (11:2) and “See now, I set forth my case, I know I shall be acquitted” (13:18), and the objection of Eliphaz: “What good to Shaddai if you are just?” (22:3; Pope Job AB, 80, 93, 148).

One psalmist declares that “the ordinances of Yahweh are true, and righteous altogether” (Ps 19:10—Eng v 9); another acknowledges that he has sinned against God, and him alone, “so that you are justified in your sentence” (Ps 51:6—Eng v 4). The forensic sense is clear in the rîb-passages in Deutero-Isaiah (43:9, 26), and in the summary verse: “In Yahweh all the offspring of Israel shall triumph (be justified) and glory” (45:25).

b. Hipʿil. The Hipʿil, causative, is used primarily in the sense of acquit, justify, declare right, vindicate. Those who judge in Israel acquit and vindicate (Exod 23:7; Deut 25:1; 2 Sam 15:4). The one who does the reverse of this, who “justifies the wicked and condemns the righteous,” is an abomination to the Lord (Prov 17:15 = Isa 5:23). Solomon calls on God to vindicate the just (1 Kgs 8:32 = 2 Chr 6:23), and the psalmist asks God to “give justice to the weak and fatherless, maintain the right of the afflicted and destitute” (Ps 82:3). The Lord “who vindicates me is near” (Isa 50:8). There are three passages where the forensic sense is weak, if not absent: Job says to Bildad: “Far be it from me to declare you right” (Job 27:5); “my servant, righteous, will bring righteousness to many” (Isa 53:11); “those who turn many to righteousness” (Dan 12:3). There is another possible use of the verb in the Hipʿil: “to defend (lit., and the meekness of) right” (Ps 45:5—Eng v 4) corresponds to MT, wĕ ʿanwah ṣedeq; with no emendations but with a redistribution of the consonants, one may read wĕ ʿānāw haṣdēq, “defend the poor,” with a Hipʿil imperative of the verb (Dahood Psalms 1 AB, 272).

c. Piʿel. The Piʿel inf. occurs twice in Job, once when Elihu is angry with Job because he “held himself righteous rather (more righteous) than God,” (32:2), and again when he calls on Job “to show off your righteousness” (33:32). Ezekiel says that Jerusalem has committed so many abominations that “you have made your sisters appear righteous” (16:51, 52). The Lord said to Jeremiah: “The nepeš (life) of faithless Israel is more righteous than false Judah” (3:11).

d. Nipʿal. Daniel speaks of the sanctuary that shall be restored to its rightful place, wĕniṣdāq qōdeš (8:14); i.e., proper liturgical order will be restored.

e. Hitpaʿel. When the brothers of Joseph are discovered to have the money they paid for the corn in their sacks, Judah replies on their behalf: “How shall we justify ourselves?” (Gen 44:16).

2. Nouns in the Pentateuch. The comparatively few uses of ṣedeq and ṣĕdēqâ are predominantly legal. The word ṣedeq occurs 7 times in Leviticus and Deuteronomy in a juridical sense. The judge shall be impartial in giving judgment; he shall judge bĕṣedeq (Lev 19:15), according to what is laid down, without regard to persons (cf. Deut 1:16; 16:18, 20; for remaining uses of ṣedeq, see below).

The word ṣĕdāqâ is found only in Deuteronomy and Genesis. In the short confession of faith (Deut 6:20–25), the children ask their father about “the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord our God has commanded you” (v 20). The father replies that Yahweh, who led his people from Egypt, gave the commands “for our good” (v 24); i.e., by such ordered conduct, we will be doing what is proper, ṣĕdāqâ. In Deuteronomy 9, the people are addressed as having already taken possession of the land. But the possession is the result of Yahweh’s action, not theirs; it is not because of their own ṣĕdāqâ (vv 4, 5, 6) that they are there, but because of Yahweh’s action.

In Gen 18:18–19, Yahweh reflects whether he should reveal to Abraham what he is to do to Sodom and Gomorrah: “I have chosen (known) him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing ṣĕdāqâ and mišpāṭ.” The way of the Lord is the following of his ordinances and commands, and this is ṣĕdāqâ and mišpāṭ.In the episode of the spotted sheep and goats, Jacob says to Laban: “My ṣĕdāqâ will answer for me later” (Gen 30:33). Jacob’s honesty or proper conduct will be his vindication.

The accepted interpretation of Gen 15:6 is that Abraham believed in Yahweh and he (Yahweh) attributed it (the act of believing) to him (Abraham) [as] ṣĕdāqâ. Following von Rad’s important essay (PHOE, 130–35), many have seen the background to this famous verse in the liturgy of the temple. The priest declares the worshipper righteous “who conducts himself properly with reference to an existing communal relationship, who, therefore, does justice to the claims which the communal relationship makes on him … Man is righteous so long as he affirms the regulations of this communal relationship established by God, say, the covenant and the commandments.” The Abraham episode is, of course, not within the realm of cult; “it is transferred to the realm of God’s free and personal relationship to Abraham” (von Rad Genesis OTL, 185). According to von Rad, the author of Gen 15:6 has Yahweh, not a temple official, priest or Levite, make the pronouncement. And Yahweh pronounces Abraham to have fulfilled righteousness, to share righteousness, ṣĕdāqâ, not by an act or a work, ritual or otherwise, but by faith. Von Rad understands the verse less as a polemic than as a revolutionary statement. Faith sets one right with God, and it is God who reckons this internal act to Abraham as ṣĕdāqâ.

The MT of Gen 15:6 reads: “And Abraham went on believing (GKC, 112e, [a][A]) in Yahweh and he [who?] reckoned it [what?] to him [to whom?] ṣĕdāqâ.” The LXX reads: “And Abraham believed in God, and it was reckoned (elogisthē, aor. pass.) to him unto righteousness (eis dikaiosynēn). Paul (Rom 4:3; Gal 3:6) and James (2:23) repeat this rendering. However, the text is readily patient of another interpretation: “Abraham went on believing in Yahweh, and he (Abraham) reckoned it (the promise of son and descendants) to him (Yahweh) (as: no prep. in MT) fidelity (ṣĕdāqâ),” i.e., Yahweh, who had promised myriads of descendants to Abraham (12:1–3), has, despite appearances to the contrary (15:2–3), remained faithful to himself (15:4–5) (Gaston 1980; Oeming 1983). When Phinehas rose up and interposed and the plague was stayed (Ps 106:30–31), this action was reckoned (Nipʿal, pass.) to him liṣdāqâ. Phinehas was considered to have done the proper thing.

3. Other Uses. Isa 5:23 heaps “woe” on judges who “acquit (maṣdı̂qê, lit., acquitters of) the guilty for a bribe and reject the right of the just (ṣidqat ṣaddı̂qı̂m; the case of, the just cause of, the just).” For ṣĕdāqâ as claim or right, cf. 2 Sam 19:28–29—Eng 19:27–28; Neh 2:20; see below.

The word ṣedeq is used adjectivally, governed by a noun in the construct state, and often in the sense of legitimate. Priests are to offer zibḥê ṣedeq, legitimate sacrifices, i.e., sacrifices according to the liturgical order (Ps 4:6[5]; 51:21[19]; cf. Deut 33:19). The tradesman must have just balances, moʾznê ṣedeq, i.e., scales that do not cheat, but weigh as they ought (Lev 19:36; Deut 25:15). In fact, everything dealing with weights and measures must be ṣedeq (Lev 19:36; Ezek 45:10). Yahweh’s ordinances for one’s life are mišpāṭê ṣedeq, proper, legitimate ordinances (Ps 119:7, 62, 75). In a royal psalm of thanksgiving the king praises God for his ḥesed (loyalty, steadfast love, Ps 118:15). Yahweh, who has stood by him in his distress, is his yĕšuʿâ (saving action, v 14); the ṣaddı̂qı̂m (the just) extoll Yahweh’s yĕšuʿâ. The king cries out: “Open to me the šaʿărê ṣedeq” (the gates of righteousness, v 19) “for this is the gate of Yahweh” (v 20). The king will enter the city, or temple, to the place where Yahweh’s order is found. The psalm is framed by Yahweh’s ḥesed (vv 1, 29), which leads to his yĕšuʿâ; his steadfast love embraces his saving action and order. (Could malkı̂ ṣedeq, Melchizedek of Ps 110:5, mean “legitimate king,” rather than be a proper name? [Dahood Psalms III AB, 117]; cf. the Aramaic inscriptions above.) Yahweh leads the psalmist along maʿgĕlê ṣedeq, paths of proper, legitimate, order (Ps 23:3[2]). In the blessings of Moses, Gad is said to have executed the ṣidqat Yahweh and his mišpāṭı̂m (Deut 33:21), i.e., Yahweh’s prescribed order (some understand this in a martial context, Yahweh’s prescriptions for war). Other uses of ṣedeq governed by the construct noun, ʿı̂r haṣṣedeq (a city where order dwells, Isa 1:26), yoʿdê ṣedeq (those who experience Yahweh’s saving action, Isa 51:7), ʾêlê ṣedeq (oaks of righteousness, Isa 61:3), are considered below.

D. Proper Order, Proper Comportment

The word ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ is used frequently in coordination with or in parallelism with mišpāṭ (order, ordinance, judgment, a regular way of doing something). The combination ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ and mišpāṭ is in essence a hendiadys describing that proper order in the life of the people that is put there and willed by God.

1. 8th-Century Prophecy. In Isaiah 1–39 ṣedeq occurs 9 times, 3 times in conjunction with or parallel to mišpāṭ (1:21; 16:5; 32:1). Zion was once a faithful city, full of mišpāṭ and the dwelling place of ṣedeq (1:21); now murderers lodge there; i.e., there was a time when proper order, Yahweh’s order, reigned; but no more. When Yahweh acts in the future, it will be the faithful city once more and an ʿı̂r haṣṣedeq, “city of righteousness” (1:26), where Yahweh’s order reigns (1:26), with the social disorders of vv 21–23 abolished. When Yahweh’s reign finally prevails in Zion, chap. 16, and its oppressors are no more,

then a throne will be established in ḥesed (steadfast love),

and on it will sit in ʾemet (fidelity) in the tent of David

one who judges and seeks mišpāṭ,

who is quick to do ṣedeq (16:5).

Proper order will reign through Yahweh’s ideal king. In this ideal time

Behold, a king will reign lĕṣedeq,

and princes will rule lĕmišpāṭ (32:1).

The preposition l is rendered “by,” as often in Ugaritic and Hebrew. The king rules by a ṣedeq-mišpāṭ which is not his own, but Yahweh’s (cf. Ps 72:1–3). The shoot from the stump of Jesse, upon whom the Spirit shall rest (11:1–2), shall judge the poor bĕṣedeq and decide bĕmı̂šôr (by equity) on the oppressed of the land (11:4). Proper order will be restored, and each will have his due. Ṣedeq shall be the girdle of his waist, ʾĕmûnâ (fidelity) the girdle of his loins (11:4).

In the late Apocalypse of Isaiah (chap. 26), the righteous nation, goy ṣaddı̂q, which keeps faith, is to enter through the gates. When Yahweh’s judgments, mišpāṭı̂m, are upon the earth, the inhabitants learn ṣedeq from his gracious action, but the wicked never learn ṣedeq (vv 9–10).

The word ṣĕdāqâ occurs 12 times in Isaiah 1–39, 8 times in conjunction with or parallel to mišpāṭ (1:27; 5:7, 16; 9:6[7]; 28:17; 32:16, 17; 33:5). Zion shall be an ʿı̂r haṣṣedeq (1:26, see above) because of Yahweh’s action. She shall be redeemed by mišpāṭ, and those who repent in her by ṣĕdāqâ, i.e., by proper order and conduct resulting from God’s action (1:27). In the song of the vineyard (5:1–7) Yahweh looked for mišpaṭ and ṣĕdāqâ, loyal and proper conduct, but found only miśpāḥ, bloodshed (?), and ṣĕʿāqâ, a cry (v 7). There was disorder, not order. The glory of God is found in mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ, in proper order (5:16). The ideal king will rule and administer his kingdom with mišpaṭ and ṣĕdāqâ (9:6[7]), i.e., according to God’s proper order. The foundations of Zion are to be laid with mišpāṭ as the line and ṣĕdāqâ as the plummet (28:17). Zion is to be founded on proper order.

When the Spirit is poured from on high, then mišpāṭ will dwell in the wilderness and ṣĕdāqâ in the fruitful field (32:15); God’s proper order comes with the Spirit. The effects of Yahweh’s action, ṣĕdāqâ will be šālôm, prosperity, everlasting security, and trust (vv 16b–17a). All will find security (v 18). Yahweh on high answers his people’s prayer (33:2); from his throne he will fill Zion with mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ (v 5), his blessed order;

and he will be the stability of your times,

abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;

the fear of the Lord is his treasure (33:6).

(Several passages in Isaiah 1–39 in which ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ occur are regarded by many scholars as coming from hands later than the 8th century [1:27; 5:16; 10:22; 26:9, 10; 32:1, 16, 19; 33:5]. However, they are considered here with the other Isaian passages. Chaps. 32–33 are very close in time, spirit, and language to Deutero-Isaiah, and other sections [26:9, 10] reflect much later expectations.)

In Hosea, Yahweh takes the initiative so as to bring Israel back to him. He will remove the Baals, i.e., false worship (2:19[17]), make a covenant (v 20[18]), and abolish disorder. “I will betrothe you to me bĕṣedeq û-bĕmišpāṭ û-bĕḥesed û-bĕraḥămı̂m … û-bĕʾĕmûnâ” (vv 21–22[19–20]). Yahweh will act toward Israel according to his proper, loyal, merciful, and constant way of acting, and Israel, experiencing his steadfast love, will respond with ṣedeq and mišpāṭ. Later, Yahweh calls on his people to “sow for yourselves liṣdāqâ (l- means “by means of”), reap the fruit of ḥesed,” i.e., conduct yourselves toward Yahweh as he conducts himself toward you, “that he may come and rain ṣedeq upon you” (Hos 10:12).

Amos attacks those who oppress the just one, ṣaddı̂q (2:6; 5:12). The house of Israel is perverse; it has turned the process of justice, proper order, upside down: “it turns mišpāṭ to wormwood, throws ṣĕdāqâ to earth” (5:7; cf. 6:12). Yahweh does not want a mere formalized ritual (5:21–23); he wants proper order in every area of life; and so

let mišpāṭ roll on like the waves, ṣĕdāqâ like an everlasting stream (5:24; cf. Isa 48:18).

Micah calls on the people to look back and experience Yahweh’s saving acts in history, ṣĕdāqôt (6:5). Yahweh’s demand on Israel in response is simple—to do mišpāṭ, i.e., to observe proper order, to be constant in ḥesed, and to comport oneself humbly (6:8).

2. 7th-Century Prophecy. Zephaniah calls the people to hold an assembly: “Seek Yahweh, all you humble of the land, who do his mišpāṭ, seek ṣedeq, seek ʿănāwâ (humility)” (2:3). The people are to do what is proper in lowly submission before Yahweh.

Jeremiah calls all who enter at the gates of the city, from the king down, to do mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ (22:3), i.e., to right the wrong done to the oppressed and to give justice to the alien, the fatherless, and the widow. The builder, for example, must not misuse his workmen; he must dispense justice (22:13–17). If he does not act with ṣedeq and mišpāṭ, then what profit to him? (v 13). His father(s) did act properly and took care of the poor and the needy (v 15b).

Yahweh will raise up a ṣemaḥ ṣaddı̂q (a legitimate branch; cf. above), a ṣemaḥ ṣĕdāqâ (33:15, same meaning), who will execute mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ. This legitimate branch will be the instrument of Yahweh’s order in such a way that Jerusalem will be called ṣidqēnû (our righteousness, 33:16), the place where Yahweh’s proper order is established. Where Yahweh is, there is proper, world order (Schmid 1968: 87–88).

The people must put aside false gods and idols (4:1); they must take their oath, beʾĕmet, bĕmišpāṭ, biṣdāqâ, in such a way that their conduct really conforms to proper order. Then the nations shall glory in Yahweh. The wise, the mighty, and the rich are not to glory in what they have, but rather in this, that they know and experience that “I am Yahweh, doing ḥesed, mišpāṭ, ṣĕdāqâ” (9:23[24]). Yahweh is a God who acts true to himself and preserves proper order in the world. When Yahweh restores the fortunes of his people, they shall sing: “the Lord bless you, abode of ṣedeq, holy mountain” (31:33). The holy mountain is the place where Yahweh’s ṣedeq (saving order) dwells. The enemies of Israel say that they are not guilty of the destruction of Jerusalem (50:7); it is the people who are guilty; they have sinned against Yahweh, their abode of ṣedeq (cf. Job 8:6).

3. Psalms. The words ṣedeq and ṣĕdāqâ occur 49 and 34 times respectively in the Psalms, for the most part in the context of God’s saving action, though often enough compassing proper order and comportment. The psalmist asks God to judge him according to his (the psalmist’s) ṣedeq and tōm (innocence, integrity, freedom from fault), i.e., according to the way in which he has acted (Ps 7:9[8]). Yahweh is a just judge (v 10[9]) who gives judgment in favor of the psalmist, who in turn thanks Yahweh for acting according to his (Yahweh’s) ṣedeq. God loves mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ (Pss 33:5; 99:4), i.e., proper order among his people. Those who do mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ are blessed (Ps 106:3). Psalm 72 is a prayer for blessing on the king. Yahweh is asked to endow the king with his (Yahweh’s) mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ so that he (the king) may be able to judge the people with ṣedeq and mišpāṭ; i.e., proper order comes from Yahweh through the king (cf. Isa 32:1). As a consequence, the mountains will bring forth šālôm (prosperity) and the hills ṣĕdāqâ (cf. Isa 32:16–17). Yahweh endows the king with the power to act as he ought, and so the king guarantees God’s order, namely mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ. The psalmist makes explicit what constitutes God’s order—deliverance of the needy and poor, freedom from oppression and violence (vv 4, 12–14). To come to the aid of these people is to act beṣedeq and to restore ṣĕdāqâ. Yahweh also acts biṣdāqâ (e.g., Isa 5:16; 9:6[7]; Ps 119:40; 143:11; Zech 8:8).

The word ṣedeq occurs 8 times in the psalm on God’s law (Ps 119:7, 62, 75, 138, 142, 144, 164, 172). The psalmist praises the ordinances, mišpāṭı̂m, of Yahweh’s ṣedeq (vv 7, 62, 164); Yahweh’s ordinances, testimonies, and commandments are ṣedeq (vv 75, 144, 172); Yahweh has commanded ṣedeq (v 138); the psalmist reflects that “your ṣĕdāqâ is ṣedeq forever (lĕʿôlām, or, O Eternal One), your tôrâ (law, instruction) is ʾemet (truth)” (v 142). Yahweh’s saving action is divine order, his teaching is truth. The whole context of the psalm is proper order in accordance with the prescriptions of Yahweh’s law. The one who conducts himself tamim, blamelessly, and carries out ṣedeq, that which is proper, may sojourn in Yahweh’s tent and may dwell on his holy hill (Ps 15:2). The priests are to be clothed with ṣedeq (Ps 132:9); i.e., they must comport themselves according to proper liturgical and moral order. Psalm 24 is a liturgical psalm put into a cosmic setting. Yahweh, who has founded the cosmos, will pass judgment on the one who approaches his holy place. He who is the source of cosmic order has also given order to the formal worship of his people. If the worshipper is not guilty of any disorder that would disqualify him from the temple, he will receive bĕrākâ (blessing) and ṣĕdāqâ (saving grace?) from his saving God (lit., the God of his salvation, v 5). Psalm 118 is a royal hymn of thanksgiving. The king praises Yahweh for his ḥesed (vv 1–5); Yahweh has stood by him in his distress; Yahweh is his yĕšûʿâ. The king will enter the city, or temple, walking through the gates of ṣedeq to the place where Yahweh’s order is found (v 19). The psalm is framed by Yahweh’s ḥesed (vv 1, 29); i.e., Yahweh’s steadfast love embraces his saving action and his order.

The psalmist often speaks of “my ṣedeq.” Psalm 4 is a prayer of one in distress or perhaps a prayer for rain (Dahood Psalms III AB, 23). God who is invoked is a God of ṣidqı̂ (v 2[1]), God of “my justice” or “my just God,” he who restores order; if a prayer for rain, then God who restores the natural order; it is he, not the nature gods of Canaan, who gives rain and fertility. God is called on to act. In an individual lament, the psalmist prays for deliverance from his enemies because of “my ṣedeq” and “my tōm” (Ps 7:9[8]); i.e., he claims that he is innocent of any breach of proper or liturgical order before God. A plea of the innocent is framed by the inclusio, ṣedeq (Ps 17:1, 15):

Hear, Yahweh, my ṣedeq, attend to my cry

Give ear to my prayer, destroy deceitful lips.

Let my mišpāṭ shine (come from) before you,

may your eyes gaze upon my mêšārı̂m (equity, integrity).

The psalmist is conscious of his right conduct as he cries to God. He sings in conclusion:

I, bĕṣedeq, shall gaze upon your face,

bĕhāqı̂ṣ, shall be sated with your tĕmûnâ (presence, form, being).

Moses alone was allowed to see Yahweh’s tĕmûnâ (Num 12:8); hāqı̂ṣ is the Hipʿil inf. of qı̂ṣ, to arise, awake; (cf. Isa 26:19 and Dan 12:2, to arise from the sleep of death). He will see God’s face in God’s vindicating or saving action which awakens him from death. Again, Yahweh has rewarded the singer “according to my ṣedeq,” has repaid him according to bor yāday, “the innocence of my hand” (18:21[20]). The psalmist has walked in accordance with God’s order (words repeated in v 25[24]; cf. 2 Sam 22:21, 25). The psalmist prays that Yahweh will defend “my mišpāṭ and my dîn” (his just cause and judicial process, Ps 9:5[4]) as he (Yahweh) sits upon the throne šopēṭ ṣedeq, dispensing as judge what is proper. Yahweh is the one who gives judgment as it should be given.

Yahweh “rules the world bĕṣedeq and judges the people bĕmêšārı̂m” (equity, Ps 9:9[8]). He judges as is proper, according to the order that he has established. The people acknowledge their rebellious acts and approach the temple with confidence (Psalm 65). They petition the God of their salvation to show his wondrous deeds bĕṣedeq (v 6[5]). Then follows a series of participles which describe Yahweh as the one who orders and maintains the order of the universe. Yahweh gives order and saves; bĕṣedeq describes both actions. He is the creator of the universe (Ps 96:5); hence he is king (v 10). He will judge the peoples bĕmêšārı̂m (with equity), and govern in fidelity to the order he has set up, bĕṣedeq and beʾĕmûnâ, (v 13).

Yahweh is the restorer of social order who will redress the affliction of the widow, the stranger, the fatherless (Ps 94:6) and will do this through those who are imbued with and respect his tôrâ (v 12). The crucial v 15 is difficult, but seems to mean that justice will return to the judicial tribunal; ṣedeq and mišpāṭ are in the verse, but not in parallelism. Dahood proposes:

But the tribunal (ʿad) of justice (ṣedeq) will restore equity (mišpāṭ),

and with it all upright hearts (Psalms II AB, 345).

In any case, ṣedeq is in the context of proper order in society.

4. Isaiah 40–66. Only once in Deutero-Isaiah (chaps. 40–55) does ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ denote proper conduct or order. Israel’s comportment through the centuries has not been according to ʾemet and ṣĕdāqâ (48:1a–b). If only Israel had listened to Yahweh’s commandments her šālôm (welfare) would have been like a river and her ṣĕdāqâ (prosperity) like the waves of the sea (48:18).

The oracles, accusations, and laments of Isaiah 56–66 complain that Israel has not followed the path of ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ and mišpāṭ. The people are called on to observe mišpāṭ and do ṣĕdāqâ (56:1a), i.e., to conduct themselves as is proper because Yahweh’s yĕšûʿâ and ṣĕdāqâ, his saving action, is about to be revealed (56:1b). The mišpāṭ-ṣĕdāqâ in v 1a is the people’s order; the yĕšûʿâ-ṣĕdāqâ in v 1b is Yahweh’s action which is salvific and restores his proper order. A series of accusations (57:2–10) concerns cultic aberrations, misguided acts that were thought to set the people in a right relationship with God: “I will tell of your ṣĕdāqâ and maʿăśayik” (57:12), i.e., your acts of supposed worship which you think make you “just” before God. The people seek Yahweh daily and delight in his ways; they follow the prescribed ritual, like a nation which in fact really did ṣĕdāqâ and mišpāṭ (58:2b), what is proper. They ask for “ordinances of conduct,” mišpĕṭê ṣedeq (cf. Ps 119:7, 62, 75). They fast ritually and perform ritual penance, thinking that thus all should go well with them. But mere ritual without concern for the social order is a violation of proper order, of Yahweh’s order; it is not ṣĕdāqâ and mišpāṭ (58:3–7). If, however, the people of Israel do what they should, following the order that Yahweh requires (vv 6–7),

then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your ṣedeq shall go before you,

the kābôd (glory) of Yahweh shall be your rear guard (v 8).

Their proper conduct, ṣedeq, will be as Yahweh’s ṣedeq, and will reflect his glory.

A catalogue of the people’s sins follows (59:1–8). They look for salvation and God’s favor anywhere but in the right area, which is the following of God’s proper order, mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ. This is the reason why God’s saving action, mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ (cf. 56:1b), is far off. Yahweh is not incapable of hearing; the sins of the people are the barrier to his presence (59:2–3); there is no one to speak bĕṣedeq (v 4a), no one to recall the community to loyalty to Yahweh (v 4a is usually understood in a legal sense, “no one goes to law honestly,” RSV). The people hoped for mišpāṭ and yĕšûʿâ (v 11b), but it is not there. Why? Because of their many sins (vv 12–13). They lament that mišpāṭ is turned back and that ṣĕdāqâ is far off (v 14). Why is it so? Because ʾĕmet (truth, loyalty) has fallen in the public squares and nĕkoḥâ (equity) is no more. Yahweh was displeased that there was no more ʾĕmet and mišpāṭ (v 15), i.e., no loyalty to his ordinances. There was no one to set the situation right, so Yahweh himself had to intervene. Then his own arm brought salvation (verb yšʿ), his own ṣĕdāqâ (saving action) sustained him (v 16). Like a leader going out to battle, Yahweh clothed himself with the breastplate of ṣĕdāqâ and the helmet of yĕšûʿâ (v 17); he clothed himself too with “vengeance” and “fury.” There is always the double aspect of Yahweh’s saving intervention—judgment for those who remain firm in opposition (v 18), salvation for those “who turn from transgression” (v 20).

5. Ezekiel, Malachi, Joel. The words ṣedeq and ṣĕdāqâ occur almost exclusively in the context of personal responsibility in Ezekiel and are restricted virtually to passages of hortatory repetition (3:16–21; 18; 33). The leaders of Jerusalem are urged to do (ʿāsāh) mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ (18:5, 19, 22, 27; 33:14, 16, 19; 45:9), i.e., to act as they ought in accordance with Yahweh’s precepts and ordinances from ritual observance to care for the poor and needy (chap. 18). This constitutes a person’s mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ. Were Noah, Daniel, and Job living in the midst of this sinful people, they would deliver their own lives by their own ṣĕdāqâ, proper conduct (14:14, 20). Ezekiel destroys the traditional proverb: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (18:1–4; cf. Jer 31:29–30). The refrain ṣĕdāqâ throughout chap. 18 vv 5, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27) describes that proper conduct which is each one’s personal responsibility; a catalogue of acts lists what the righteous one does (vv 6–9a); this constitutes his ṣĕdāqâ. The phrase “to do (observe) mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ” belongs to the royal ideology; it is the king who, in the first place, must preserve proper order; he does this by virtue of God’s ṣedeq, ṣĕdāqâ, and mišpāṭ (Ps 72:1–3; Isa 32:1). But anyone who does this is ṣaddı̂q. The word ṣĕdāqâ carries the same tones and echoes throughout chap. 33 (vv 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19). The deeds of the ṣaddı̂q are ṣĕdāqôt (pl.) (3:20; 18:14; 33:13).

Malachi, God’s messenger, will refine the people until they present their offerings biṣdāqâ, as is proper (3:3). Joel cries out: “Be glad, O sons of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God because Yahweh liṣdāqâ, in accordance with the order that he has established, has given the appropriate rains at their proper time.”

6. Joshua–2 Kings. The word ṣedeq is not found in the former prophets; ṣĕdāqâ only 11 times. When David spares Saul’s life at Ziph, he says to the king: “The Lord rewards every man for his ṣĕdāqâ and ʾĕmûnâ; for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put forth my hand against the Lord’s anointed” (Sam 26:13). David had acted properly. When Mephibosheth meets David on his return from his flight before Absalom, he acknowledges that the king has made a place for him at the royal table: “What futher ṣĕdāqâ have I that I should complain to the king” (2 Sam 19:28–29[27–28]). David has observed all propriety so that Mephibosheth has no just claim (for ṣĕdāqâ as claim, cf. Neh 2:20; also Isa 5:23, see above). The word ṣĕdāqâ in 2 Sam 22:21, 25, is a repetition of Ps 18:21, 25 [20, 24]. David ruled over Israel ʿośeh (doing) mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ (2 Sam 8:15; cf. 1 Chr 18:14). He ruled as king by virtue of mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ which came from God (1 Kgs 10:9; Ps 72:1–3; Isa 32:1). When Yahweh asks Solomon what he should give him, Solomon replies that Yahweh showed ḥesed (steadfast love) to David because he had conducted himself bĕʾemet, biṣdāqâ, bĕyišrâ, i.e., loyally, as he ought. At the dedication of the temple Solomon prays that the just be justified according to his ṣĕdāqâ (1 Kgs 8:22). If the just man conducts himself according to Yahweh’s order, that will justify him. The Queen of Sheba remarks that Solomon’s God made him king in love for Israel so that he might do mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ (1 Kgs 10:9; 2 Chr 9:8), i.e., observe and communicate through his observance Yahweh’s order. According to the Chronicler, Solomon requires that the righteous be judged according to his ṣĕdāqâ (his proper conduct) (2 Chr 6:23).

Nehemiah said to the governors of the province beyond the river: “It is the God of heaven who will make us prosper, and we, his servants, shall arise and build; but for you, you have no portion, no ṣĕdāqâ, no memorial in Jerusalem” (Neh 2:20). Only true Israelites can stake a claim there.

7. Job, Proverbs, Qoheleth. The verb ṣdq is used predominantly in a forensic sense in Job (see above). The nouns ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ move between proper conduct and proper order with legal nuances. Job replies to Eliphaz: “Turn, I pray, let no wrong be done; turn, now, my vindication (ṣidqı̂) is at stake” (or “relent, for my cause is just,” AB 6: 29). Job claims: “I put on (my) ṣedeq and it clothed me, my mišpāṭ was like a robe and a turban” (29:14; cf. Isa 61:10–11). If Job is weighed in a balance of ṣedeq; if he is tried according to proper procedure, his integrity will be vindicated (31:6). Bildad asks: “Does God pervert mišpāṭ, does Šaddai pervert ṣedeq?” (8:3). The implication is that God does not interfere with proper order. Bildad objects that, if Job were pure and upright, God would be on his side and give him nĕwat ṣidqekā, a dwelling place or pasture that he deserves because of his conduct (8:3; for the phrase, cf. Jer 3:23; 50:7). Job maintains that he has not sinned; but if that is the case, asks Elihu, does his present state represent his mišpāṭ and ṣedeq before God? (35:2). Because God observes proper order, Job’s state must be the result of his nonobservance of it. Elihu asserts: “… to my maker I will give ṣedeq” (36:3); he will vindicate God by showing that God observes proper order in punishing Job for his transgressions. Job maintains his claim that he has observed proper order, ṣĕdāqâ (27:6; cf. 29:14; 31:6). Elihu speaks of ṣĕdāqâ twice in the context of human conduct (33:26; 35:8); he observes too that God will not violate mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ (37:23).

In Proverbs, ṣedeq (9 times) and ṣĕdāqâ (18 times), and in Qoheleth, ṣedeq (3 times), the idea of proper order predominates. The sayings in Proverbs are directed to knowing wisdom and instruction, to perceiving words of insight, to receiving instruction in discernment and ṣedeq, mišpāṭ, mêšārı̂m (1:2–3). The wise man teaches the proper way to act and how to perceive what constitutes proper order. Yahweh gives ḥokmâ (wisdom) and daʿat (knowledge); he guards the paths of mišpāṭ (justice, 2:6–8). If you follow Yahweh’s way, says the writer, you will come to an insight into ṣedeq and mišpāṭ (2:9), i.e., you will understand what proper order is. Wisdom herself speaks in chap. 8: all the words of my mouth are bĕṣedeq, proper order itself (v 8); by me kings rule and decree ṣedeq, my proper order (v 15); by me princes and nobles give judgment (Heb uncertain) in ṣedeq, as they ought (v 16); riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and ṣĕdāqâ (prosperity, v 18); I walk in the path of ṣĕdāqâ, in the midst of the way of mišpāṭ, i.e., as is proper (v 20). A legal proverb says that he who speaks ʾĕmûnâ declares ṣedeq (12:17), i.e., to speak the truth is to observe proper order. A king’s throne is based on ṣĕdāqâ, proper order (16:12); lips of ṣedeq, i.e., one who speaks what is proper, are a joy to the king (16:13). When the wicked are removed from the presence of the king, this throne is based on ṣedeq (25:5). In the words of Lemuel, judging ṣedeq means passing just judgment on the poor and needy (31:9). All will go well with the one who comports himself with ṣĕdāqâ, according to proper order (11:4, 5, 6, 28, 29; 13:6); ṣĕdāqâ guarantees life (12:28; 21:21), prosperity to a nation (14:34), and to the old (16:31); ṣĕdāqâ is acceptable to Yahweh (15:9), and he who does mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice (21:3).

Qoheleth has seen mišpāṭ and ṣedeq, proper order, overturned (3:16; 5:7[8]). He has even seen the righteous man perishing in his ṣedeq, as he does what is right (7:15); the ṣaddı̂q, though he observes proper order, perishes like the rest.

8. Daniel. Daniel confesses to Yahweh that the people have sinned and not listened to the prophets (9:3–6). Yahweh has kept the covenant and shown ḥesed, steadfast love; the people have not: “To thee, O Lord, belongs ṣĕdāqâ, but to us confusion of face” (v 7). Yahweh has fulfilled his part, but the people have not fulfilled theirs. Gabriel announces to Daniel that the people have been granted seventy weeks to put an end to sin and transgression and to bring about ṣedeq ʿolāmı̂m, lasting order (9:24).

9. ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ + mišpāṭ. The word pair ṣedeq or ṣĕdāqâ + mišpāṭ occurs in parallelism, in coordinate relationship, and in the phrase to do (ʿāśâ) or to observe (šāmār) ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ and mišpāṭ. The pair is a hendiadys and designates the order in Israelite society which God wills and transmits through the king to the people who are required to respond to God’s action by living according to that order. The king is the trustee or guarantor of the order.

ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ and mišpāṭ are the foundation of Yahweh’s throne (Pss 89:15[14]; 97:2). His rule is proper order and he sustains it through the throne (i.e., the king). The ideal king will establish lasting peace upon the throne of David and over his kingdom and uphold it bĕ-mišpāṭ û-biṣdāqâ (Isa 9:6[7]). Because the throne is based on ṣĕdāqâ, the doing of evil is an abomination to kings (Prov 16:12; 25:5). The base of the throne of the Egyptian king takes the form of the sign mʿ.t, a hieroglyph standing for justice, order, proper divine order, which can only be rendered in Hebrew by ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ. By the 19th and 20th Dynasties the throne base, because of its form, was understood as justice, right order (Brunner 1958; Schmid 1968: 61). Much Israelite throne ritual was dependent either directly, or indirectly through Canaanite tradition, on Egypt (cf. 1 Kgs 10:18–20).

E. God’s ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ: Saving Action.

God’s ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ is very often his saving action on behalf of his people, especially in the Psalms and Isaiah 40–66.

1. Psalms. a. God’s ṣedeq. (Ps 7:9–10[8–9]; cf. above). The heavens proclaim God’s ṣedeq (Pss 50:6; 97:6), i.e., his action on behalf of his ḥăsı̂dı̂m, who are bound to him by the obligations that they have assumed in a solemn sacrificial rite (50:5). Yahweh reigns (97:1); he comes in a theophany (vv 2–5) and protects his people (v 10); it is this action that reveals his glory (kābôd, parallel to ṣedeq, v 6). Yahweh comes to the help of the afflicted and lamenting psalmist who calls for exultant joy from those who desire his (the psalmist’s) ṣedeq, i.e., his sharing in the effect of God’s saving action (35:27). This meaning derives from the second part of the verse, where the community is called to praise God and to say: “Great is Yahweh, who delights in the šālôm (welfare, prosperity) of his servant.”

The psalmist prays: “Vindicate me, Yahweh, my God, according to your ṣedeq” (35:24). The context is Yahweh’s yĕšûʿâ (saving action, vv 3, 8); he asks Yahweh to be faithful to himself; because Yahweh is faithful, i.e., acts according to his ṣedeq, the psalmist will proclaim this ṣedeq, which will be the tĕhillâ (praise) of Yahweh: “my tongue shall tell of your ṣedeq, of your tĕhillâ all day long” (v 28).

The psalmist announces ṣedeq in the assembly of the people:

I have told the glad news of (your) ṣedeq in the great congregation;

lo, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, Yahweh;

I have not hid your ṣĕdāqâ within my heart,

I have spoken of your ʾĕmûnâ (faithfulness) and your tĕšûʿâ (salvation);

I have not concealed your ḥesed (steadfast love) and your ʾĕmet (loyalty) from the great congregation.

Do not, Yahweh, withhold your raḥămı̂m (compassion) from me,

let your ḥesed and your ʾĕmet ever preserve me (40:10–12[9–11]).

God’s action has many facets which are described by a variety of words whose meanings are not identical but reinforce each other. Yahweh’s ṣedeq in these psalms is his action that saves and restores order, thus demonstrating his fidelity.

b. God’s ṣĕdāqâ. Of the 34 occurrences of ṣĕdāqâ in the Psalms, 29 refer to God’s ṣĕdāqâ.

(1) Psalms of Individual Lament. Yahweh’s ṣĕdāqâ characterizes the Psalms of individual lament. Though the psalmist is surrounded by evildoers, he is sure that they will not harm him because Yahweh is there with his ṣĕdāqâ. He will enter God’s house and worship among the God-fearers, relying on Yahweh’s ḥesed (5:7[6]). He prays that Yahweh will lead him by means of, bĕ, his (Yahweh’s) ṣĕdāqâ (v 9[8]); in paraphrase: “by means of your saving action, that action which preserves proper order, make your way (the observance of your mišpāṭı̂m, instructions) level before me; i.e., remove the obstacles that the wicked may put there to prevent proper order.” ṣĕdāqâ is that action of Yahweh which effects this.

Psalm 22 alternates between distress and trust, between prayer for deliverance and praise of God for his intervention. The final prayer for deliverance is that the psalmist may praise God in the midst of the qāhāl (assembly, congregation, v 23[22]). Yahweh has remained faithful (v 25[24]); all will acknowledge him as king, and all will bow before him (vv 29–30[28–29]). The psalmist’s descendants are to tell of God forever; they are to recount his ṣĕdāqâ, his saving action of deliverance, to a people yet unborn, because he has acted, kı̂ ʿāśâ (v 32[31]). It is this that the psalmist is to proclaim in the assembly (vv 23, 26[22, 25]). Yahweh’s ṣĕdāqâ is invoked or praised or declared (Pss 31:2[1]; 51:16[14]; 69:28[27]). The desolate man asks for Yahweh’s visible, tangible action:

Is your ḥesed (steadfast love) declared in the grave,

your ʾĕmûnâ (fidelity) in Abaddon?

Is your peleʾ (wondrous, miraculous act) made known in Darkness,

your ṣĕdāqâ in the land of Forgetfulness? (88:12–13[11–12]).

A group of words describes God’s action seen from various overlapping viewpoints.

In Psalm 71 the psalmist laments and prays for deliverance, recalling Yahweh’s ṣĕdāqâ 5 times (vv 2, 15, 16, 19, 24). Each time the ṣĕdāqâ is God’s saving action; twice it is in parallelism with a form of the word “save,” yšʿ, with the verb hôšı̂ēnı̂ (save me, v 2), and with the noun tĕšuʿâ (saving action, v 15). Yahweh’s ṣĕdāqâ is without limit; it reaches to the heavens (v 19, cf. Ps 36:6–7[5–6]).

(2) Psalms with Cosmic Dimension. The cosmic dimension permeates Psalm 33. It is a hymn of praise of Yahweh, the creator:

For the word of Yahweh is yāšār (upright),

his every deed is bĕʾĕmûnâ (fidelity itself),

he loves mišpāṭ (justice) and ṣĕdāqâ, his ḥesed (steadfast love) fills the earth.

By the word of Yahweh were the heavens created,

by the breath of his mouth all their host (vv 4–6).

God’s word is act; he is faithful to his created order. Once more, ṣĕdāqâ is found amidst a complex of words which describe God in act.

(3) Psalms of the Kingship of Yahweh. Psalms 98, 99, and 145 celebrate the kingship of Yahweh. He is praised because he

has done niplāʾôt (wonders), his right hand hôšı̂ʿāh (has saved).

Yahweh has made known his yēšaʿ (salvation),

in the eyes of the nation he has revealed his ṣĕdāqâ.

He has remembered his ḥesed (steadfast love) and his ʾĕmûnâ to the house of Israel (98:1–3).

The same word group describes Yahweh’s action and its effects as in Ps 88:12–13[11–12]. Yahweh, the mighty king, “is a lover of mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ” (99:4).

Psalm 145 celebrates Yahweh and his kingship. All will praise Yahweh’s actions:

They shall pour forth the memory of your ṭôb (bounty),

and shall sing aloud your ṣĕdāqâ.

Yahweh is ḥannûn (gracious) and raḥum (merciful), …

Yahweh’s ṭôb (bounty) is to all, his raḥămı̂m (pl. merciful acts) are to all his creation (145:7–9).

Yahweh acts true to himself; he is a gracious God who brings prosperity. (For Psalm 24, see above).

(4) Royal Psalms. These psalms also sing of Yahweh’s saving action, his loyalty and fidelity, his steadfast love in act. Psalm 40 is a royal psalm of thanksgiving. Yahweh has raised the psalmist from the pit of desolation, from the miry bog (v 3[2]). The psalmist then tells of Yahweh’s ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ in the assembly of the people (vv 10–11[9–10]). Yahweh’s throne is based on ṣedeq and mišpāṭ and preceded by ḥesed and ʾĕmet. The people, therefore, will experience Yahweh’s radiance and walk in his light, and so rejoice in his šēm (name, glory), and exult in his ṣĕdāqâ; his ṣĕdāqâ, i.e., his intervention, the order that comes from it, and hence his glory, shall be their praise:

ṣedeq and mišpāṭ are the foundations of your throne,

ḥesed and ʾĕmet go before you;

blessed are the people who know the festal shout,

who walk, Yahweh, in the light of your countenance,

who rejoice in your šēm (name) all day,

and exult in your ṣĕdāqâ (89:15–17[14–16]).

The ṣĕdāqâ of v 17[16] reinforces the ṣedeq of v 15[14]. Šēm and ṣĕdāqâ occur together again in the same word-field in Psalm 143. The king prays to Yahweh to hear him “in your ʾĕmûna,” to answer in “your ṣĕdāqâ,” and concludes:

for the sake of your šēm (name), Yahweh, give me life,

in your ṣĕdāqâ, deliver me from strife,

in your ḥesed, destroy my foes (143:11–12).

(5) Wisdom Psalms and Hymns. Psalm 36 contains both wisdom and hymnic elements. The psalmist describes the machinations of the wicked (vv 2–5[1–4]), but over against this,

your ḥesed, Yahweh, is from the heavens,

your ʾĕmûnâ to the clouds;

your ṣĕdāqâ like the towering mountains,

your mišpāṭ like the great deep;

man and beast you save (hôšı̂aʿ), Yahweh,

how precious is your ḥesed, God (vv 6–7[5–6]).

Yahweh is the source of life and light (vv 9–10[8–9]). The psalmist then prays:

extend your ḥesed to those who know you,

your ṣĕdāqâ to the upright of heart (v 11[10]).

Yahweh is again acting; his steadfast love and his saving action are different aspects of one and the same action directed to one end.

Psalm 103 is a hymn of praise with elements of individual thanksgiving. A series of active participles (vv 3–6) describe Yahweh in act, moving to a climax: “Yahweh ʿośeh (the one effecting) ṣedāqôt and mišpāṭim for the oppressed” (v 6). Yahweh restores order to the underdogs by his saving actions, pl. of ṣĕdāqâ. Yahweh, who “knows our frame, who remembers we are dust” (v 14), is eternal; hence his action is from eternity: “the ḥesed of Yahweh is from eternity, and unto eternity … his ṣĕdāqâ to his children” (v 17). His timeless action, ṣĕdāqâ, is underscored again in Pss 111:3; 112:3, 9.

The pious Israelite, meditating on Yahweh’s law, muses:

I have longed for your precepts,

By your ṣĕdāqâ give me life,

Let your ḥesed come to me, Yahweh,

your tĕšûâ according to your promise (119:40–41).

Later he reflects: “your ṣĕdāqâ is ṣedeq for ever (lĕʿôlām, or O Eternal One), your tôrâ is ʾĕmet” (119:142). Yahweh’s saving action is divine order, his teaching is truth.

2. Isaiah 40–55. Yahweh, the God of Israel and the lord of history, has called Cyrus (44:28; 45:1) to victory so that Israel may return home in a second exodus (41:2). He has raised up a savior, ṣedeq, from the east; the abstract noun, “saving action,” is used for the concrete, “savior,” a common device in Canaanite and Hebrew poetry ṣedeq may also be read as the subject of the second colon, “he whom victory accompanies at every step,” or as an adverbial accusative with the first colon, “who has raised up from the east [in his] saving purpose”). The context is salvific; Yahweh acts on behalf of his people. The salvific context continues; Yahweh will remain faithful to Israel “my servant,” and uphold his people with his saving right hand, lit. “with the right hand of my ṣedeq” (41:10).

Yahweh the creator (42:5; 45:11–12) has called both his servant (42:6) and Cyrus (45:13) bĕṣedeq, in his saving purpose. Yahweh, “because of his ṣedeq,” was pleased to magnify his tôrâ; ṣedeq takes on nuances of ḥesed and fidelity (42:21). Ṣedeq, God’s saving action, is to drop down from the clouds; yēšaʿ, salvation, is to blossom from the earth, and ṣĕdāqâ, prosperity, the result of Yahweh’s saving action, is to bud (45:8). Creation, saving action, and prosperity are linked. The prosperity follows on Yahweh’s saving action through Cyrus; Yahweh can effect this marvelous response in nature in his ultimate intervention because he is the creator (a polemic against the nature gods of Canaan may lie in the background). Yahweh the creator is not found in precreation chaos, tohû (45:18–19; cf. Gen 1:2); he is found in the order and stability that comes from his creative word: “I, Yahweh, speaking order (ṣedeq), declaring what is proper (mêšārı̂m).”

Each of the three stanzas 51:1–3, 4–6, 7–8, begins with a rousing imperative. The theme is “deliverance” (RSV) or “saving action.” Ṣedeq is used 3 times (vv 1, 5, 7) and ṣĕdāqâ twice (vv 6, 8). The words are parallel to Yahweh himself (v 1a), to yēšaʿ and yĕšûʿâ (vv 5a, 6c, 8b), and to tôrâ (v 7a). The context is salvific; ṣedeq and ṣĕdāqâ describe God in act toward his people. The word group is extended by mišpāṭ, parallel to tôrâ (v 4b). Verse 7a speaks of “you who know righteousness (yodʿê ṣedeq) … in whose heart is my law (tôrâ), fear not the reproach of men” (RSV), i.e., you who have experienced God’s saving action and have grasped his teaching with all your being (Whitley 1972). The word ṣĕdāqâ occurs twice in 54:14, 17 (cf. 51:6, 8 above). Yahweh assures Jerusalem that “you shall be established in ṣĕdāqâ.” The city is to be restored by his saving action, a promise made in the context of well-being or prosperity (šālôm, v 13b). The promise of blessing and the promise of salvation are correlative; they are to introduce a new era. Any attack on Zion must fail because Yahweh has created (bārāʾ, twice in v 16) the forgers of weapons and those who seek to destroy. But the citizens of Jerusalem are to enjoy the fruits of Yahweh’s saving action because “their ṣĕdāqâ is from me” (v 17b). The word ṣĕdāqâ has gone out from Yahweh’s mouth, a word that will not return (45:23a), and that does not return until it has accomplished its purpose (Isa 55:10–11). It is saving action, it will effect proper order. Yahweh’s ṣĕdāqâ, deliverance (RSV), is his saving action which will restore Israel and adorn her (46:12–13, twice). (For Yahweh’s saving action in Isaiah 32–33, see above.)

3. Isaiah 56–66. In chap. 62 the prophet assures Zion of salvation through Yahweh’s intervention. Then, Jerusalem’s ṣedeq will shine forth like a light and her yĕšûʿâ will blaze like a torch (v 1); nations will see her ṣedeq and kings her kābôd (v 2). Because Yahweh will intervene, Jerusalem in her ṣedeq will reflect Yahweh’s ṣedeq and kābôd (cf. 58:8). Chap. 60 describes Zion in glory after Yahweh has effected his definitive saving action in the city. Zion shall no longer be under foriegn rule; her foremen shall be šālôm (peace, prosperity) and her taskmasters ṣĕdāqâ (the fruits of Yahweh’s action, v 17). Yahweh has countered the harsh oppression; the walls and the gates, now rebuilt, assure yĕšûʿâ (salvation) and tĕhillâ (praise, v 18). The theme continues in chap. 61. Yahweh has clothed Zion with yesaʿ and ṣĕdāqâ (v 10). He had already put on these “weapons” to save her (59:17). He will cause the effects of his actions, ṣĕdāqâ and tĕhillâ, to spring from the earth (v 11; cf. 45:8).

The colorful warrior who intervenes in chap. 63 identifies himself with Yahweh: “It is I who speak: by (my) ṣĕdāqâ (saving intervention) mighty to bring salvation (lĕhôšiaʿ)” (v 1). The oaks of righteousness, ʾêlê ṣedeq, 61:3, may well mean the oaks of the Just One, reading ṣaddı̂q for ṣedeq (Rosenberg 1965; Scullion 1971: 345).

It is not easy to determine the meaning of ṣedeq in 64:4a[5a] and of ṣĕdāqâ in v 5a (6a; pl. with suffix of 1st s.). The passage is part of a communal lament (63:7–64:11[12]). Yahweh has been called on to intervene (63:19b–64:2[64:1–3]). Then: “never have people heard, never has ear perceived, never has eye seen, any God but you (who) act toward those who hope in him” (v 3[4]). Yahweh struck those who were “doing ṣedeq”—carrying out the ritual formally, but still sinning (v 4b[5b]). What no one has heard of (v 3[4]) is of a God who punishes those who fulfill formally his ritual instructions (v 3[4]). The pl. ṣĕdāqôt (v 5[6]) refers to those external observances by which a sinful people sought to justify itself.

4. Hosea, Micah, Isaiah 1–39. The words ṣedeq and ṣĕdāqâ occur in Hosea and Micah in the context of saving action. God’s intervention effects proper order (Hos 2:21–22[19–20]; 10:12; Mic 6:5, 8; see above). In the lament of chap. 7, Micah acknowledges that he is a sinner; but Yahweh will plead his cause; he will bring him to the light where he (Micah) will see Yahweh’s ṣĕdāqâ, saving action (7:9).

Only a remnant of Israel will survive (Isa 10:22), even though her numbers are as the sand of the sea; “destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness” (RSV; šotep ṣĕdāqâ; or “making ṣĕdāqâ overflow”). It is ṣĕdāqâ to the full; God’s action has a punitive as well as a salvific side. Though punishing Israel, God will ultimately preserve it.

5. Jeremiah, Zechariah, Malachi. The oracle against Babylon in Jeremiah 51 tells of Yahweh’s deliverance of his people. He has brought forth, or caused to shine out, “our ṣĕdāqâ” (v 10). He has acted and saved his people; therefore “let us tell in Zion the work, maʿăśeh, of Yahweh, our God” (v 10). It is God, the savior, deliverer, and vindicator, at work.

Zechariah takes up an old covenant formula when he speaks of Yahweh’s saving action: “I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be my people and I will be their God bĕʾemet and biṣdāqâ” (8:8). Yahweh will show that he is true to himself in his saving action.

According to Malachi, the “sun of righteousness,” šemeš ṣĕdāqâ, will rise with healing wings on those who fear the name of Yahweh (3:20[4:2]). From 2500 b.c.e. through to the late Roman Empire, the winged sun disc, representing the sun as a god, was well known in the ANE. It provided warmth, light, fertility, and general well-being. But it is Yahweh who shines on his people and gives them prosperity.

F. Plural of ṣĕdāqâ

The word ṣedeq does not occur in the pl. in the OT; ṣĕdāqôt, the pl. of ṣĕdāqâ, occurs 15 times, designating either the victorious, triumphal, and saving acts of God in favor of his people, or the acts of the people in real or alleged conformity with God’s order. Deborah sings of the triumphs of Yahweh after the battle of Kishon (Judg 5:11, twice). Samuel reminds the people of “all the saving deeds (ṣĕdāqôt) of the Lord which he performed for you and your fathers” (1 Sam 12:7). “Only in Yahweh … are saving acts (ṣĕdāqôt) and strength (ʿoz)” (Isa 45:24; cf. Mic 6:5; Ps 103:6; Dan 9:16). Yahweh has effected saving acts in our favor (lit. our righteous acts, Jer 51:10); the ṣĕdāqôt are the work (maʿăsēh) of Yahweh our God. Yahweh is the just one who loves ṣĕdāqôt, i.e., acts in accordance with his mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ (Ps 11:7; for Yahweh as a lover of mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ, cf. Pss 33:7; 99:4). Ṣĕdāqôt are the acts of the upright, parallel to mĕšārı̂m (proper acts, Isa 33:15; cf. Ezek 3:20; 18:14; 33:13; Dan 9:18). For Isa 64:5[6], ṣĕdāqôt as the external observance of a deluded and sinful people that seeks to justify itself, see above.

G. Parallels and Word-fields

In the Psalms ṣĕdāqâ is in parallelism with tōm (innocence), mišpāṭ (ordinance, right conduct, justice), tĕhillâ (praise), kābôd (glory), mĕšārı̂m (equity), ʾĕmet and ʾĕmûnâ (truth, fidelity), ḥesed (steadfast love, loyalty), hāqı̂ṣ (to wake up); ṣedeq with bĕrākâ (blessing), šālôm (peace, prosperity, well-being), tĕšûʿâ and yĕšûʿâ (salvation, saving action), peleʾ (a wonder), šēm (name), ṭôb (good, prosperity, [in certain context, rain?]). Ṣedeq and ṣĕdāqâ are not identical with these words; rather the parallels complement and intensify each other or their meanings overlap or both. They describe a realitù—the multi-faceted action of Yahweh and its correlative multifaceted effects on the life and land of his people and their response. These 16 words, and others, are often used in groups, creating a word-field, over two or more verses, describing the same reality: Pss 33:5, ṣĕdāqâ, mišpāṭ, yāšār (upright[ness]), ʾĕmûnâ; 36:1, 11, ṣĕdāqâ, mišpāṭ, ḥesed, ʾĕmûnâ; 40:10–12[9–11], ṣedeq, ṣĕdāqâ, ʾĕmûnâ, tĕšûʿâ, ʾemet (2x), raḥămı̂m (compassion), ḥesed; 72:1–3, mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ, ṣedeq and mišpāṭ, šālôm and ṣĕdāqâ; 85:10–14[9–13], yēšaʿ, kābôd, ḥesed, ʾĕmet (2x), ṣedeq (3x), šālôm, ṭôb, yĕbûl (produce), yśm (v 14[13] beauty?). These parallels and vast word-fields are used in other books of the OT, especially in Isaiah 40–66 with the additional parallels maʿăśeh (deeds) Isa 57:12; tôrâ Isa 51:1; yēšaʿ Isa 45:8; cf. Hos 2:21[19–20].

H. The Just or Righteous One (Heb s\addéÆq)

The ṣaddı̂q is the just or righteous one, mentioned so often in Proverbs and in the Psalms. Neither of these two books says what makes one ṣaddı̂q, nor is one exhorted to be ṣaddı̂q. The ṣaddı̂q, the person’s conduct and the state resulting from it, is constantly contrasted with the wicked by means of antithetic parallelism. This is especially so in Proverbs 10–15, where the ṣaddı̂q is named 39 times. Virtually every one of the 13 examples in chap. 10 are of this kind (vv 3, 6, 7, 11, 16, 20, 24, 25, 28, 30, 32, with a slight variation in vv 21, 31).

In the Psalms, the righteous (sing. or pl.) will prosper (e.g., 72:7; 92:13[12]), be exalted (e.g., 75:11[10]); the righteous are called to rejoice and cry out, confident in Yahweh’s saving action (e.g., 64:10; 68:3); they are contrasted with the wicked (e.g., 1:5, 6; 5:13[12]). However, the ṣaddı̂q, like the wicked, will return to the dust (Qoh 3:16–22).

Yahweh is ṣaddı̂q (e.g., 11:7; 112:4; 116:5; 119:137; 129:4; 145:17). The ideal king to come is described as ṣaddı̂q and nôšāʿ (Nipʿal part. Zech 8:8), “his cause won, his victory gained” (NEB), “triumphant and victorious” (RSV). The nuance of saving action, so prominent with ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ in the Psalms and Isaiah 40–66, is evident. The ṣaddı̂q elsewhere is the one who is innocent (e.g., Gen 18:22–32), or the one without fault who stands before the court and merits acquittal (e.g., Deut 16:19; 25:1). He is the one who acts on his own responsibility and is guiltless before God (Ezekiel 18). The statutes and ordinances of Israel are ṣaddı̂q (Deut 4:8).

I. Current Research

An outline of scholarly interpretation of ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ since the 1920s has been given under B above. Reventlow (1971), Ziesler (1972), Reumann (1982), and Mogensen (1984) have synthesized the history of research. Important contributions to the study have been made by Schmid (1968), Reventlow (1971), Crüsemann (1976), and Scharbert (TRE 12: 404–11). See also RAC 10: 234–360.

Schmid (1968: 166) considers ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ under the heading of “world order.” Ṣdq touches order in six areas: (1) law, (2) wisdom, (3) nature, (4) cult, (5) kingship, and (6) war. “The word is constant, the idea, the understanding of the word, is variable. What is ‘right’, ‘in order’, does not derive from an inherent ‘meaning’ of the word, but from the theology of each particular author. It is not the word, with all that is implied in the history of its usage, that defines what order is; rather the word, more or less in accord with its past, is always given new conceptual dimensions so as to formulate what the author wants to express by ‘order’ ” (1968: 169–70). This might be reformulated: the word receives its new conceptual dimensions from its juxtaposition to, its parallelism with, its setting within the context of, other words or groups of words which together describe the reality of God’s action and its effects. To say that ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ looks to cosmic order or to order in nature also requires some modification. It is rather that the creator God, the prime orderer, is the one who restores order in society, who demands proper order in worship, and who acts in his restoring, saving way to effect this. The creator God admits the ritually pure into the temple (Ps 24:1–2, 3–6); he effects ultimate well-being and prosperity (Is 45:8). It is Yahweh, who made the earth and created, bārāʾ, ʾādām (the human in general) upon it, who also roused Cyrus bĕṣedeq, in his saving purpose, (Isa 45:12–13). Yahweh demands and effects order, he is savior and restorer because, as creator, he is the source of order. Schmid writes: “One can say then with a certain simplification: the interpretation of ṣdq as ‘conformity to a norm’ is clearly close to the original meaning and usage of ṣdq; the translation, ‘community loyalty’, however, embraces better the concrete application by the OT in a great number of cases. A survey of the history of scholarship clarifies the basic problem of OT language which comes nicely into focus in the case of ‘righteousness’: a distinction must be made between the original Canaanite idea and its usage in the OT” (1968: 185–86). But, though the word, or rather ṣdq, is West Semitic, we know virtually nothing about “the original Canaanite idea.” To speak merely of ṣdq, however, comes dangerously close to imposing a “ṣdq-Begriff” (concept, notion) on uses of the words deriving from the root, though Schmid does not do this. There is much of value in Schmid’s approach, in particular in his emphasis on Yahweh in action, exercising ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ, and on the individual responding by following Yahweh’s order. However it seems too systematic to lay ṣdq on a six-point Procrustean bed. Better to say that Yahweh’s ṣdq touches all areas of life.

Reventlow gives a comprehensive account of the discussion of justification in the OT among scholars in the German-speaking regions and of its ramifications into the NT and systematic theology. He too looks to the divine action: “Justification is centred around ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ, around something related to the order of the world. But one must bear in mind at the same time that the Old Testament as a whole attests to a divine action that bursts through this order, alters it, renews it” (1971: 37).

Crüsemann (1976) notes that most studies in recent decades have dealt with the meaning and translation of ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ; attention to “Yahweh’s ṣedeq” has been a by-product. For Crüsemann, Yahweh’s ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ describes an action of God, but an action that varies in the course of Israel’s history:

(1) in the premonarchical period, ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ describes the military success given by Yahweh to Israel;

(2) in the monarchy, Israel calls ṣĕdāqâ (a) the actualization of the normal state of ṣedeq in cult, or (b) the rescue of an individual in distress;

(3) in the exilic period, ṣĕdāqâ is God’s saving action in the future.

That Yahweh’s ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ is an action that saves and restores, commands assent. But one must be cautious in assigning such a definitive and restricted meaning to the word(s) in the premonarchical period; there are at most two examples (Judg 5:11; Deut 33:20–21) in both of which the pl., ṣĕdāqôt, is used. The meanings assigned to ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ in the monarchical period are correct, but too restrictive; Amos, for example, envisages a broader social ṣĕdāqâ (5:7, 24); and the Psalms, while often the prayer of one in distress, reach beyond the individual (e.g., Pss 22:32[31]; 50:6; 97:6; 99:4; 103:7[6]; 145:7). Further, the Psalms are notoriously difficult to date, and they contain elements both old and new. Crüsemann’s positive contribution is in the area of Yahweh’s ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ as action. But his systematization is too linear and restrictive.

Scharbert has emphasized the aspect of “saving action,” particularly in the Psalms, where “Yahweh’s righteousness is praised as a saving intervention on behalf of the pious over against persecutors and exploiters, or on behalf of Israel against its enemies” (TRE 12: 410). He also makes the important observation: “It is to be noted that the OT regards legal decisions primarily as liberating decisions in favour of the oppressed, exploited, unjustly accused, and less as sentences pronounced on the justly accused. This is important for making any judgment about the righteousness of God” (TRE 12: 408).

J. Summary and Conclusion

It is not sufficient merely to determine the meaning of ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ in isolation and propose an adequate translation in each case. The question arises: whose ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ? If God’s ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ, then the context, especially in the Psalms and Isaiah 40–66 (cf. E above), is usually God’s saving action, directed to the šālôm (well-being, prosperity) of the people, where the words are found in word-fields or in parallelism (cf. G above). If Israel’s or the person’s ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ, then the words are often in parallelism with mišpāṭ (e.g., Pss 37:6; 72:2; 106:2; Isa 1:27; 28:17; 56:1), in coordination with mišpāṭ (e.g., Deut 16:18; Pss 72:1; 99:4; Isa 5:16; 33:5; 58:2), or the object of the verbs ʿāśāh (to do) and šāmār (to observe) mišpāṭ and ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ (e.g., Gen 18:19; Deut 33:11; 2 Sam 8:15). This hendiadys describes the conduct of the people in response to Yahweh’s saving action, which itself is described by ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ transmitted through the king who is the custodian of God’s mišpāṭ and ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ (e.g., Ps 72:1–3; Isa 32:1). The meaning of the word-pair is proper comportment in every area of life, social and cultic (see D above). Ṣĕdāqâ, standing by itself, describes God’s action (Deut 6:25) and the people’s reaction (Deut 6:25; 9:4, 5, 6); ṣedeq by itself means conduct according to what is proper, according to law (Deut 17:19). Ṣĕdāqâ also means claim or right (1 Sam 19:2–8; Neh 2:20), while ṣedeq used adjectivally describes what ought to be following what is laid down.

The ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ of the community and the individual is comportment according to God’s order in every area of life, in just and proper social order (justice to the helpless, the poor, the oppressed, the widow, the orphan, the resident alien), in legal procedure, in the ritual of worship, all effected by God’s ṣedeq-ṣĕdāqâ.

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RSV Revised Standard Version

JB Jerusalem Bible

1st first

RSV Revised Standard Version

JB Jerusalem Bible

NEB New English Bible, Oxford, 1961–70

NIV New International Version

AB Anchor Bible

CAD The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

GN geographical name

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ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3d ed. withsuppl., ed. J. B. Pritchard, Princeton, 1969

KAI Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften, 3 vols., ed. H. Donner and W. Röllig, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1962

KAI Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften, 3 vols., ed. H. Donner and W. Röllig, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1962

3d third

KAI Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften, 3 vols., ed. H. Donner and W. Röllig, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1962

ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3d ed. withsuppl., ed. J. B. Pritchard, Princeton, 1969

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3d third

masc. masculine

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E east (ern); or “Elohist” source

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KAI Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften, 3 vols., ed. H. Donner and W. Röllig, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1962

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TRE Theologische Realenzyklopädie

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lit. literally

MT Masoretic Text

AB Anchor Bible

inf. infinitive

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OTL Old Testament Library

MT Masoretic Text

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LXX Septuagint

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MT Masoretic Text

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AB Anchor Bible

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AB Anchor Bible

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RSV Revised Standard Version

RSV Revised Standard Version

pl. plural or plate

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RSV Revised Standard Version

ANE Ancient Near East (ern)

pl. plural or plate

pl. plural or plate

lit. literally

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B Codex Vaticanus

TRE Theologische Realenzyklopädie

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TRE Theologische Realenzyklopädie

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RB Revue biblique, Paris

EvT Evangelische Theologie, Munich

ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, Berlin

HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology, Pittsburgh, PA

TLZ Theologische Literaturzeitung

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