From a root meaning to be bright or clear. Describes moral purity and innocence, particularly in a judicial or ethical sense. Related to H2134 (zak, clean/pure). The word probes one of the deepest questions in Scripture: Can any human stand pure before God?
Job's great anguish revolves around this word. 'How can a man be zakah before God?' (Job 25:4). The implied answer throughout the Old Testament is devastating: no one can. Even the heavens are not pure in His sight (Job 15:15). This impossibility is precisely what drives the entire sacrificial system β and ultimately, the need for a spotless Lamb. The New Testament answer to Job's question is Christ: the one who was zakah in our place.