H6664 H6664
Righteousness, justice, rightness; the moral standard of what is upright, fair, and correct before God and in society.
One of the Hebrew Bible's foundational ethical terms, tsedheq names the standard by which weights are honest (Lev 19:36), judges rule fairly (Deut 1:16), and God acts faithfully (Ps 4:2; Isa 45:19). German Gerechtigkeit and French justice both capture the broad moral-legal scope. The word governs concrete commercial fairness ('just weights and measures,' Lev 19:36; Deut 25:15) as readily as it describes the character of the messianic king who will reign in righteousness (Isa 32:1). In a few passages it functions predicatively as an adjective -- 'a just judgment' (Deut 16:18), 'a just and full weight' (Deut 25:15) -- where Spanish justa and German gerecht confirm the adjectival shift.
Senses
1. righteousness, justice — The abstract moral quality of being right, just, or upright -- the dominant sense encompassing God's righteousness (Ps 4:2; Isa 41:10), judicial fairness (Deut 1:16; Prov 31:9), honest commercial standards (Lev 19:36, 'just balances, just weights'), and the righteous character of the ideal king (Isa 32:1). German Gerechtigkeit, French justice, and Spanish justicia all converge on this unified ethical-legal quality. 116×
AR["البِرَّ","البِرِّ","العَدْلَ","الْبِرِّ","بِ-البِرِّ","بِ-بِرٍّ","بِرًّا","بِرٍّ","بِرّ","بِرّاً","عَدلٍ","عَدْلًا","عَدْلٍ","وَالبِرِّ"]·ben["ধার্মিকতা","ধার্মিকতাকে","ধার্মিকতার","ন্যায়","ন্যায়ের"]·DE["Gerechtigkeit","mit-Gerechtigkeit"]·EN["justice","righteousness","with-righteousness"]·FR["justice"]·heb["צדק"]·HI["धर्म","धर्म-के","धार्मिक","धार्मिकता","धार्मिकता-का","धार्मिकता-के","धार्मिकता-को","धार्मिकता-से","बीच-में"]·ID["benar","keadilan","kebenaran"]·IT["giustizia"]·jav["adil","ingkang-remuk","kaadilan","kabeneran","kaleresan"]·KO["공의-의","공의를","의-를","의-의","의로움","의로움-을","의로움-이","의를","의의","정의-로"]·PT["a-justiça","com-justiça","de-justiça","justiça","justiça.","retidão"]·RU["правду","правды","праведности","праведность","праведностью","праведный","справедливая","справедливость","справедливые","справедливый"]·ES["justicia","la-justicia?","y-justicia"]·SW["haki","za-haki"]·TR["adalet","adaletin","adaletle","doğru","doğruluk","doğruluğu","doğruluğun","doğruyu"]·urd["انصاف","انصاف کے","راستباز","راستبازی","راستبازی-سے","راستبازی-کو","راستبازی-کی","راستبازی-کے","سچ-کا"]
2. just, righteous (predicative) — A predicative-adjectival use where tsedheq qualifies a noun as 'just' or 'righteous' -- 'a just judgment' (Deut 16:18), 'a full and just weight' (Deut 25:15). Spanish y justa, German gerecht, and Hindi seedha (straight, upright) all shift to adjectival forms, confirming that in these few passages the word functions as a modifier describing the quality of the thing rather than naming the abstract virtue itself. 3×
AR["عَدْلٍ","وَعَادِلٌ"]·ben["এবং-ন্যায্য","ন্যায়ের"]·DE["gerecht","und-gerade"]·EN["and-just","righteous"]·FR["et-juste","juste"]·heb["ו-צדק","צדק"]·HI["और-सीधा","धर्मी"]·ID["adil","dan-adil"]·IT["e-appena","giusto"]·jav["ingkang-adil.","lan-leres"]·KO["그리고-공정한","의로운"]·PT["e-justa","e-justo","justiça"]·RU["и-праведная","праведным"]·ES["justicia","y-justa"]·SW["na-la-haki","na-ya-haki","ya-haki"]·TR["adil","ve-doğru"]·urd["اور-صحیح","راستبازی-سے"]
Related Senses
H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)H7563 1. wicked person (259×)H7451c 1. moral evil or wickedness (234×)H5771 1. iniquity, sin, wrongdoing (222×)H6662 1. righteous person (substantive) (195×)G0266 1. sin, failure, transgression (173×)H2403b 1. sin, transgression (170×)H2617a 1. Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love (167×)H2398 1. Qal: to sin, commit sin (165×)H6666 1. righteousness, moral uprightness (145×)G5485 1. grace, divine favor (141×)H7451a 1. morally evil, wicked (129×)H2403b 2. sin-offering, sacrifice for sin (120×)G2570 1. good, right, excellent (98×)G1343 1. (92×)H6588 1. transgression, offense against God (88×)G0018 1. good (moral quality) (85×)H2896b 1. good, what is good (85×)H7451b 1. evil, wickedness (moral) (83×)H7451a 2. evil, harm, calamity (80×)
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…