📖 Biblical Definition
Hebrew tzaddik, righteous one / just person, the OT designation of the morally upright person who stands in covenant relation to the LORD and is conformed to His revealed will. The term covers both forensic standing (the righteous person as one declared just by the LORD's verdict) and ethical character (the righteous person as one whose conduct conforms to the LORD's commandments). The OT lexicon of tzaddik is rich: Noah is described as a tzaddik in his generations (Genesis 6:9, Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations); Abraham believed the LORD and it was counted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6, the foundational text Paul cites for the doctrine of justification by faith); the Psalms repeatedly contrast the tzaddik and the wicked (Psalm 1; Psalm 37; Psalm 73). The wisdom tradition treats the tzaddik's flourishing and the wicked's destruction (Proverbs throughout). The NT continues the doctrine and clarifies it in Christ: the Lord Jesus Himself is THE Tzaddik (Acts 3:14, the Holy One and the Just; 1 John 2:1, Jesus Christ the righteous); the believer is reckoned tzaddik by faith in Him (Romans 4:5, him that justifieth the ungodly). The patriarchal-Reformed reader holds the OT-NT integration: the believer is forensically a tzaddik by faith in Christ's imputed righteousness, and the same believer is being progressively conformed to Christ's righteous character through sanctification.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Hebrew tzaddik (H6662), righteous one / just person; OT designation of the morally upright in covenant standing with the LORD; fulfilled in Christ as THE Righteous One (Acts 3:14; 1 John 2:1).
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TZADDIK, Hebrew noun (H6662; righteous one, just person) From tzadaq (H6663, to be righteous, just); cognate with tzedaqah (righteousness). The OT designation of the morally upright person in covenant standing with the LORD — both forensic standing (declared just by the LORD's verdict) and ethical character (conduct conformed to His commandments). Noah a tzaddik in his generations (Genesis 6:9); Abraham reckoned righteous by faith (Genesis 15:6, Paul's foundational text). Psalms and Proverbs contrast the tzaddik and the wicked. Fulfilled in Christ as THE Tzaddik: the Holy One and the Just (Acts 3:14); Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1). The believer is reckoned righteous by faith in Him (Romans 4:5).
📖 Key Scripture
Genesis 15:6 — "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
Psalm 1:6 — "For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish."
Acts 3:14 — "But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you."
Romans 4:5 — "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Jewish-cultural usage of tzaddik sometimes refers to a holy rabbi or sage in a way detached from forensic standing before God; the biblical sense holds both forensic and ethical dimensions in Christ.
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Tzaddik as a Hebrew term is occasionally used in modern Jewish-cultural-religious discourse (particularly in Hasidic and Kabbalistic traditions) to refer to a holy rabbi or spiritual master in a way that detaches the term from its forensic-covenantal substance in the OT. The biblical tzaddik is righteous before God by His verdict (the forensic dimension, fulfilled in the imputed righteousness of Christ) and is conformed to His revealed will in conduct (the ethical dimension, fulfilled in the believer's progressive sanctification). The Reformed-confessional doctrine of justification by faith (Westminster XI; Heidelberg Q. 60-61) is the precise systematic articulation of the OT-NT tzaddik doctrine: the believer is forensically righteous by faith in Christ's imputed righteousness, accepted by God as if he had himself fulfilled the law, and is at the same time being progressively conformed to Christ's character through the work of the Spirit.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
H6662; from tzadaq (H6663); OT designation of the righteous in covenant standing; fulfilled in Christ.
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['Hebrew', 'H6662', 'tzaddik', 'righteous one, just person']
['Hebrew', 'H6663', 'tzadaq', 'to be righteous, just (verbal root)']
['Hebrew', 'H6666', 'tzedaqah', 'righteousness (cognate noun)']
Usage
"Tzaddik: righteous one; OT designation of the upright in covenant standing."
"Abraham reckoned righteous by faith (Genesis 15:6)."
"Christ is THE Tzaddik; the believer is reckoned righteous by faith in Him."