Hebrew Word Study On Righteous Essay, Research Paper

Tsedaqah- Righteousness

The Hebrew word for righteousness is Tsedaqah.Tsedaqah is a noun in the feminine form; the masculine form of the word is tsedeq. To most scholars, the words are interchangeable. However, A. Jepsen contends that tsedeq means, right order and that tsedaqah is the idea of human well being or right behavior. Since it more often used interchangeably, that is how it is taken in this paper. However, the passages that were taken into account for this paper used tsedaqah only. The stem attached to Tsedaqah is a verb (קרצ), which means to be righteous, to be just, to be in the right, or to be straight. To most commentators, to be straight appears to be the most accurate definition. In later Jewish writings, tsedaqah is most often used as a term of ethical conduct.

All three versions of the word (the stem, the feminine form, and the masculine form) have a variety of ways in which they are applied. For example, in Isaiah 46:12 and in Micah 7:9 it means deliverance. Isaiah 5:23 defines it as right. In other Biblical books outside the eighth century prophets, tsedaqah is used as vindication , saving deeds , saving help , righteous help , salvation , equity , uprightness , prosperity , and integrity. Interestingly, The Jerusalem Bible most frequently translates the word as integrity. The common thread of all of these different renderings of the word is that it is relational.

Righteousness in the Old Testament is best understood from the Hebraic concept of the word. Some Christian scholars think of righteousness in the Old Testament as a call to a legalistic religious system rather than to a compassionate religious system. Tsedaqah was definitely a call to justness, fairness, and upright living, but it was more a demand for a personal relationship with God. More precisely, righteousness in the Old Testament is the fulfillment of the demands of a relationship, between God and with one s fellow people, as given in the Torah. Every relationship has specific but different demands. The relationship that one has with a spouse is quite different with different expectations than that of a relationship with a co-worker. However, both relationships require certain guidelines and parameters; and the association is only good when the criterion are faithfully observed. When God or humanity performs the elements dictated upon it by a relationship, that is the culmination of the Old Testament concept of righteousness.

A necessary component in the covenantal relationship between the Israelites and Yahweh was trust. The Hebrews were required to put all their trust in Yahweh and submit their lives to Him. Their tsedaqah would come from meeting these requirements. In relationship to Yahweh, the Israelite was considered righteous when the demands of the covenant were fulfilled. They were not righteous because they were sinless, they became righteous when they honored the requirements of the covenantal relationship. The righteous person does what is honest, fair and essential to maintain friendly relationships within a family or community; the covenantal guidelines are honored.

Yahweh epitomizes the concept of tsedaqah within the relational aspect of its definition. He fulfilled His part of the covenant by restoring the remnant. He kept his relationship with Israel even when they had turned against Him. Yahweh also maintained tsedaqah by justifying Israel. Since Israel was in a covenant relationship, tsedaqah also had a religious connotation. They had to obey the law of Yahweh. However, Israel s relationship with Yahweh was not only based on its own righteousness, but on her fulfillment of the demands of the relationship. Nevertheless, their worship became meaningless when Israel was not participating in the relationship with God. Obedience to the law is not what constitutes righteousness, it is the desire to and the fulfillment of the terms of the relationship that make one righteous.

The idea of tsedaqah is also used in a legal sense. It is often used in conjunction with the Hebrew word that means, to judge. The prophets repeatedly warn against the lack of righteousness in legal trials. The bribery and unfairness at the court was breaking up the basis of the shared relationships of the Hebrews. For instance, Amos 5:7 You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground. However, tsedaqah can not be viewed solely as a legal term. Indeed, someone who is righteous is one who is judged to be in the right, but the demands of communal relationships are constant. Something that is right in the legal sense fulfills the requirement of maintaining the community, and the judge is to be honest in his ruling in order to maintain this community- to restore order and rightful ownership, etc.

All of the eighth century prophets repeat the fact that Yahweh, by His very nature demands right conduct from his followers. This dedication to Yahweh is to be done in tsedaqah; that is to say that the Hebrews could see the holiness of Yahweh through the practice of righteousness in their community.

Amos charged the people with injustice and fornication, he condemned the rich for oppressing the poor and abusing the legal system for personal gain. His charges were a call to return to righteousness through Yahweh worship and through righteousness in their communal relationships.

Hosea s charges were more broad than Amos , he felt that all of Israel was corrupt, not just the rich and powerful. The people were practicing the ritual worship of Yahweh but not the social contract that went along with it. They were unrighteous in their treatment to each other due to a lack of reverence to God and his contract with them. Micah made charges against the rich. He accuses them of staying awake at night to find new ways of cheating the poor (Micah 2:1-2). The leaders of the community are immoral and greedy. All God required of them was that they walk justly in tsedaqah, to love keeping the truth and to walk humbly with their God. They were far from tsedaqah in their relationships and with God; but God was still keeping his promise to them.

Isaiah joins in the same manner, condemning the corruptness of their relationships with each other and their involvement with cults. He pleads with the people to repent, to stop honoring God with their lips and not with their hearts. In Isaiah 5:7, Isaiah uses tsedaqah in a word play to show them how faraway from righteousness they were, he looked for judgment (mishpat), he found oppression (mispach), and instead of righteousness (tsedaqah), he heard a cry (tse aqah). Repeated again throughout these prophets is the message that Yahweh demands right conduct from his worshippers. Tsedaqah can mean justice, honesty, and fair dealings between the people. By the time of Isaiah s prophesying, the righteousness of God had come to include the obligations of power, Isa 63:1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. God would save His people, simply because he must. He is righteousness; therefore, He had to do what he promised. Isaiah took the idea of tsedaqah as judgment to look forward to the coming of the Messiah. He states that His kingdom will prosper through righteous judgments which will defend the people against all evil (Isaiah 9:7; 11:3-5; 16:5, 32:1-8).

The model of tsedaqah that the eighth century prophets based their explanations of the people s unrighteousness came from their personal knowledge and relationship with Yahweh, not from a code of ethics written by man and subject to change. Yahweh is unchanging that is why his tsedaqah never changed. He remained constant in his relationship to His people.

One way that God sought to establish tsedeq with his people was through his relational attention to the poor, downtrodden members of the tribe. However, the word tsedaqah was more than just an idea of ethical treatment. It came to be a part of the redemption terminology. While tsedaqah does indeed stand for the establishment of justice in the land, it was not only social justice, but also Yahweh s justice. He will also judge righteously those that oppress his people. He will vindicate all nations equally. In this sense, tsedaqah is the norm by which all must be judged. It is the grace and love of God that determines what the requirements are that makeup tsedaqah.

The current tendency of thought is that righteousness is both changing and unchanging. That what is right for one person may not be right for someone else. Culture, religion, and humanism all have different ideas of righteousness. Many today believe; it is the desire to do what is right, but with the idea that rightness changes . For example, Robin Hood s giving to the poor is righteous to the recipient of his gift; but the owner of the empty money purse would see him as unrighteous; sometimes one appears righteous simply because all the facts are not known. Present day concepts of what is right differ greatly from those of the Old Testament Hebrews. It seems that today the Jewish community accepts tsedaqah to mean charity. They take the literal aspect of the prophet s call to take care of the widows and the needy as a command to give time and monetary funds faithfully. Tracy R. Rich states that, The word charity suggests benevolence and generosity, a magnanimous act by the wealthy and powerful for the benefit of the poor and needy. In Judaism, giving to the poor is not viewed as a generous, magnanimous act; it is simply an act of justice and righteousness, the performance of a duty, giving the poor their due. While this view is not necessarily wrong, tsedaqah has to be more than giving to the needy. It must be giving to the needy because of a desire to do what is right according to God s commands. Righteousness is not picking one part of the covenantal charges and discarding the rest. Righteousness is the honoring of all of the guidelines. Righteousness is gained through careful worship and obedience to the Lord and then to the community. Tsedaqah is still important to the Jews and it should be just as important to Christian believers. We should be continually seeking to honor Christ in our behavior, in our attitudes, in our marriages, in our relationships with our children and then in our communities. Our lifestyles should be that of the Hebrews that honored God first with their hearts and then in their actions. Righteousness comes from an attitude of the heart, not from actions. Actions are just the outward evidence of thoughts on the inside. God created us with the will to do right, we are the ones that choose to ignore this prompting of the heart that turns us from righteousness to unrighteousness. When we sin, we break the relationship we have with our creator. We turn from him. He remains constant and righteous. He honors the covenant always, even when His people do not.