📖 Biblical Definition
Tsedaqah (צְדָקָה) is the Hebrew word for righteousness — but the concept is relational and covenantal rather than abstract moral perfection. Tsedaqah is right-relating: faithful to covenant obligations, just in dealings, generous to the poor (in later Jewish usage tsedaqah came to mean almsgiving itself). YHWH’s tsedaqah is His covenant faithfulness expressed in saving action: "My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth" (Isaiah 51:5); "The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen" (Psalm 98:2). Christ is the fulfillment: God’s tsedaqah revealed in Him, imputed to His people (Romans 1:17; 3:21-26). Righteousness is therefore not a private virtue but a covenant verdict.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Hebrew "righteousness" — relational covenant-faithfulness.
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The Hebrew word for righteousness, broader than abstract moral standing. Tsedaqah is right-relating: faithful to covenant obligations, just in dealings, generous to the poor (tzedakah in later Jewish usage means almsgiving precisely because giving to the poor is part of being righteous). YHWH's tsedaqah is His own covenant faithfulness expressed as saving action toward His people.
📖 Key Scripture
Genesis 15:6 — "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
Isaiah 51:5-6 — "My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth... my righteousness shall not be abolished."
Micah 6:8 — "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Reduced to private moral correctness; the covenantal-relational depth and the included-justice for the poor get lost.
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Modern "righteousness" sounds private and moralistic — clean-living. Hebrew tsedaqah includes how you treat the widow, the orphan, the sojourner, the worker. There is no private righteousness in the prophets — right-relating to God is inseparable from right-relating to your neighbor.
Recover the covenant-frame: tsedaqah is faithfulness in relationship. The God whose tsedaqah is His covenant faithfulness expects His people's tsedaqah to look like covenant faithfulness too.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew tsedaqah.
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['Hebrew', 'H6666', 'tsedaqah', 'righteousness']
['Hebrew', 'H6664', 'tsedeq', 'rightness, justice']
['Greek', 'G1343', 'dikaiosynē', 'righteousness (LXX)']
Usage
"Tsedaqah is right-relating, not private morality."
"YHWH's tsedaqah is His saving covenant faithfulness."
"Almsgiving is righteousness in the Hebrew frame."