צַדִּיק206 H6662
Just, righteous; of persons who act uprightly, of God's moral perfection, of nations, or of being in the right forensically.
One of the Old Testament's foundational moral terms, tsaddiq describes conformity to a standard of right—whether ethical, covenantal, or legal. Noah is the first person called tsaddiq (Gen 6:9), and Abraham's intercession for Sodom turns on the distinction between the tsaddiq and the wicked (Gen 18:23–25). When predicated of God, the word takes on deeper resonance: YHWH is righteous in all his ways (Ps 145:17), faithful in judgment (Ps 119:137), and just even when his people suffer (Lam 1:18). Korean honorific forms like '의로우시다' and German 'der Gerechte' both reserve a special register for this divine usage, hinting at how universally translators sense the elevated force of the term applied to God.
4. right, correct, in the right — In the right, forensically correct: A judicial sense where tsaddiq means not 'morally virtuous' but 'having a just cause' or 'being correct.' Isaiah 41:26 asks who declared this from the beginning, 'that we might say: he is right.' Hindi 'सही' (sahī, correct/accurate) and Swahili 'Sahihi' (precise, accurate) both choose words from the domain of factual correctness rather than moral character—revealing that translators across language families perceive this forensic nuance as distinct from general righteousness. 1×
AR["صَادِقٌ"]·ben["ধার্মিক"]·DE["Gerechter"]·EN["righteous"]·FR["juste"]·heb["צדיק"]·HI["सही"]·ID["Benar"]·IT["giusto"]·jav["Leres"]·KO["옳다"]·PT["justo"]·RU["праведен"]·ES["justo"]·SW["Sahihi"]·TR["dogru"]·urd["سچ-ہے"]
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
1. righteous person (substantive) — Righteous person (substantive): The overwhelmingly dominant use—tsaddiq as a noun or substantivized adjective describing a morally upright individual or group. From Noah walking blamelessly (Gen 6:9) to the Psalmist's confidence that the righteous will flourish like a palm tree (Ps 92:12), this sense pervades Wisdom literature and narrative alike. Spanish 'justo,' French 'juste,' and German 'Gerechte/Gerechter' all treat this as a near-technical term for the person who lives in conformity with God's standards. The plural tsaddiqim in Exodus 23:8 warns that bribes blind the eyes of the righteous—showing the word's forensic overtones even in its ethical core. 195×
AR["أبَرُّ","البَارَّ","البَارِّ","البَرِيءَ","الصَّدَّيقُ","الصِّدِّيقُ","الصِّدّيقَ","الـ-بَارَّ","بارٌ","بارٌّ","بَارًّا","بَارٌّ","صِدِّيقٌ","صِدّيقٌ"]·ben["ধার্মিক","ধার্মিককে"]·DE["Gerechte","Gerechter","den-Gerechten","gerecht"]·EN["are-righteous","righteous","the-Righteous","the-righteous"]·FR["juste"]·heb["צדיק"]·HI["और-कहा","धरमि","धर्मी","धर्मी-को","धारमिक","धार्मिक"]·ID["benar","orang-benar","yang benar","yang-adil","yang-benar"]·IT["giusto"]·jav["adil","leres","mursid","tiyang-bener","tiyang-leres","tiyang-mursid"]·KO["의로우시다","의로우신","의로운","의로운-자","의로운-자가","의로운-자다","의로운-자를","의인","의인을"]·PT["justo","justo-é"]·RU["праведен","праведнее","праведник","праведника","праведного","праведный","праведным","правого"]·ES["al-justo","el-justo","justo"]·SW["mwenye-haki"]·TR["Adil","adil","doğru","doğru-kişi","doğrusun","doğruyu"]·urd["راست","راستباز","راستباز-کو","صادق"]
Gen 6:9, Gen 7:1, Gen 18:23, Gen 18:25, Deut 32:4, 1 Sam 24:17, 2 Sam 4:11, 2 Sam 23:3, 1 Kgs 8:32, 2 Chr 6:23, 2 Chr 12:6, Ezra 9:15 (+38 more)
2. righteous (divine attribute) — Righteous as divine attribute: When tsaddiq is predicated of God or used as a divine title, it shifts from describing human virtue to proclaiming YHWH's essential moral perfection. Pharaoh's confession 'YHWH is the righteous one' (Exod 9:27) and the Psalmist's declaration 'righteous are you, O LORD' (Ps 119:137) use the same lexeme but in a distinctly theological register. Korean translations employ honorific verb endings ('의로우시다/의로우시도다') that are never used for human subjects, and English capitalizes 'the Righteous One'—both languages sensing the need to mark this as qualitatively different from human righteousness. 8×
AR["الصَّدَِيقُ","الصَّدِّيقُ","الْبَرِيءَ","صَادِقٌ","صِدِّيقٌ","صِدّيقٌ"]·ben["ধার্মিক","ধার্মিকটিকে"]·DE["Gerechte","Gerechter","der-Gerechte","der-gerecht"]·EN["Righteous","righteous","the-righteous"]·FR["juste","le-juste"]·heb["ה-צדיק","צדיק"]·HI["धर्मी","धर्मी-है","धार्मिक"]·ID["Benar","Orang-benar","Yang-pertama","benar","yang-benar"]·IT["giusto","il-giusto"]·jav["Bener","Leres","Mursid","Tiyang-mursid","ingkang-bener","ingkang-leres","tiyang-leres"]·KO["그-의로운-자를","의로우니라","의로우시네","의로우시다","의로우시도다","의인-은"]·PT["Justo","O-justo","o-justo"]·RU["-правого","Праведен","прав","праведен","праведник"]·ES["Justo","el-justo"]·SW["Mwenye-haki","mwenye-haki","ni-mwenye-haki"]·TR["Doğru","doğru","haklı-olanı"]·urd["حق-پر-ہے","راست","راستباز","صادق"]
3. righteous (of nation or community) — Righteous nation or community: Applied attributively to a collective entity—a nation or city characterized by justice. Isaiah 26:2 invites the 'righteous nation' that keeps faith to enter the gates, and Genesis 20:4 has Abimelech appealing to God as one who would not slay a 'righteous nation.' Arabic uses the feminine form بَارَّةً (bārratan) and Swahili 'lenye haki' (having justice), both reflecting collective agreement. The rarity of this use (2 occurrences) underscores how tsaddiq typically characterizes individuals rather than groups. 2×
AR["الصَّادِقَةُ","بَارَّةً"]·ben["ধার্মিক"]·DE["Gerechter","ein-gerechtes"]·EN["nation","righteous"]·FR["juste"]·heb["צדיק"]·HI["धरमि","धार्मिक"]·ID["yang-benar"]·IT["giusto"]·jav["ingkang-bener","mursid"]·KO["의로운"]·PT["justa"]·RU["праведный"]·ES["justa"]·SW["lenye-haki","pia"]·TR["dogru","doğru"]·urd["راستباز"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
צַדִּיק206 adj. just, righteous;—abs. צ׳ Gn 6:9 +; pl. צַדִּיקִים Ex 23:8 +, etc.;— 1. just, righteous, in government: a. of Davidic king 2 S 23:3; צֶמַח Je 23:5; Zc 9:9 (‖ victorious). b. of judges, Ez 23:45; Pr 29:2 (v. Toy; Kau questions this meaning in all these). c. of law, מִשְׁפָּטִים צ׳ Dt 4:8. d. of God Dt 32:4 ψ 119:137; 129:4; Jb 34:17, opp. Pharaoh Ex 9:27 (J); in discrimination Je…