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Righteousness in this article refers to the important theological concept in Judaism and Christianity. In one sense, it is an attribute of God whereby he is said to be holy and righteous. In another sense it refers to the righteousness of man; either his inherent righteousness (or the lack thereof), or his potential right standing before God or as being "judged" or "reckoned" as righteous by God (as the patriarch Abraham was in Genesis).

Etymology

The English word righteous was coined by William Tyndale, who remodelled the word after an earlier word rihtwis, which would have yielded Modern English *rightwise or *rightways. He used it to translate the Hebrew root TzDQ, which appears more than five hundred times in the Hebrew Bible, and the Greek word dikaios (δικαιος), which appears more than two hundred times in the New Testament.

Righteousness in the Hebrew Bible

Righteousness is one of the chief attributes of God. Its chief meaning concerns ethical conduct. (E.g., Leviticus 19:36; Deuteronomy 25:1; Psalm 1:6; Proverbs 8:20) It is used in a legal sense; while the guilty are judged, the guiltless are deemed righteous. God's faithfulness to His covenant is also a large part of His righteousness. (Nehemiah 9:7-8)

Righteousness also relates to God's rôle as saviour; God is a "righteous saviour"; (Isaiah 61) and a deliverer. (Isaiah 46:12-13) The righteous are those who trust that they will be vindicated by the Lord God. (Psalm 37:12-13).

Hebrew Definition of Righteousness

Righteousness:

The Hebrew word for righteousness is tseh'-dek, Gesenius's Strong's Concordance:6664—righteous, integrity, equity, justice, straightness. The root of tseh'-dek is tsaw-dak', Gesenius's Strong:6663—upright, just, straight, innocent, true, sincere; (the same root as for charity). Based on this etymology, righteousness is the Golden Rule (ethics) in working clothes—enlightened self-interest. It is what one lung does when the other collapses; it takes over, for its very OWN survival; it is not altruism.

Righteousness in the New Testament

The New Testament continues the Hebrew Bible's tradition of the ethical (1 Thessalonians 2:10) and legal (1 Corinthians 4:4) aspects of righteousness, but adds the element that Jesus embodies righteousness, (Acts 3:14). According to the NT, Jesus came to the world to address the needs, not of "the righteous", but of "sinners," (Mark 2:17). Righteousness, like the Kingdom of Heaven, is God's gift through grace, (Matthew 5:6, 6:33).

Paul of Tarsus speaks of two ways, at least in theory, to achieve righteousness: through the Torah, the law of Moses; and through faith in the atonement made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, (Romans 10:3-13). The NT speaks of a salvation founded on God's righteousness, as exemplified throughout the history of salvation narrated in the Old Testament, (Romans, ch. 9-11).

The apostle James speaks of the relationship between works of righteousness and faith (Epistle of James 2:14-26), saying that "faith without works is dead." Righteous acts according to James include works of charity (James 2:15-16) as well as avoiding sins against the law of Moses (James 2:11-12).

See also:

• Christian perfection
• Holiness
• Imparted righteousness
• Imputed righteousness
• Justification
• Salvation
• Sanctification
• Tzadik

• Theology
• Christian theology