H3072 H3072
rightness, righteousness, justice; what is right, just, or normal in conduct and character
This noun denotes what is straight, right, and just—both in the concrete sense of honest weights and measures and in the moral-theological sense of righteous character and just governance. It describes right paths (Psalm 23:3), just legal judgments, and ultimately God's own righteousness that becomes the standard for covenant faithfulness. The term appears in legal contexts (just weights, Leviticus 19:36), royal contexts (kings judging in righteousness), and cultic contexts (right sacrifices). Frequently paralleled with מִשְׁפָּט (justice) and צְדָקָה (righteousness), it anchors Israel's ethical vocabulary in the metaphor of straightness versus crookedness.
Senses
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† צֶ֫דֶק n.m. Is 1:21 rightness, righteousness;—צ׳ Lv 19:36 + 87 times; צִדְקִי Is 41:10 + 8 times, etc.;— 1. what is right, just, normal; rightness, justness, of weights and measures, אֵי��ָה, אֶבֶן שְׁלֵמָה וָצֶדֶק Dt 25:15 a perfect and a just weight, ephah; מֹאזְנֵי צ׳; אַבְנֵי צ׳, אֵיפַת צ׳, הִין צ׳, בַּת צ׳ Lv 19:36 (H) Jb 31:6; Ez 45:10; מַעְגְּלֵי צ׳ right paths ψ 23:3; זִבְחֵי צ׳ right…