Friday, March 27, 2020

Joseph Boot on Justice/Righteousness in the Bible


Notwithstanding being Reformed, Joseph Boot, in a work defending theonomy wrote the following about justice/righteousness in the Bible:

In the Bible, the original meaning of the word justice is coextensive with righteousness, so they are interchangeable, or related themes that often come together in the same verse (Ps. 33:5; Job 37:23). They are related because justice is an aspect of God’s righteous character, as are mercy and compassion. (Joseph Boot, The Mission of God: A Manifesto of Hope for Society [London: Wilberforce Publications, 2016], 199)

In the endnote or the above, we read:

Righteousness/Justice (tsedeq), rightness, righteousness what is right or just or of judges, rulers, kings of law of Davidic king, Messiah of Jerusalem as seat of just government of God’s attribute righteousness, justice (as vindicated), justification (in controversy), deliverance, victory, prosperity of God as covenant-keeping in redemption in name of Messianic king: Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon – King James Version. (Ibid., 610 n. 27)

As God’s righteousness/justice is an intrinsic part of his nature (it is not a quality that is merely imputed to God [!]), such shows that the צדק- and δικ- word groups do not support the concept of legal fiction. Indeed, even when used in the sense of “vindication,” it is due to the defendant being judged based on an intrinsic reality (their being truly innocent or guilty, not an imputation of such), per texts such as Old Testament judicial texts such as Lev 17:3-4 and Deut 25:1.

For a fuller discussion of the concept of imputation and how it is anti-biblical, see: