The following commentary on “Righteous” (δικαιος) comes from Gottlob
Schrenk, “Δίκη, Δίκαιος, Δικαιοσύνη, Δικαιόω, Δικαίωμα, Δικαίωσις,
Δικαιοκρισία,” eds. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard
Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich:
Eerdmans, 1964–), 2:185–187, 188-91:
2. δίκαιος in the LXX.
In
spite of all the similarities mentioned, the LXX attests a decisive change in
the use of the word under the influence of OT motifs. The fundamental belief in
God links it firmly to the judgment of God. The concept of virtue is replaced
by the basic question how man is to stand before this judgment expressed in the
Law as a standard. If in the rest of the Greek world a man is δίκαιος who satisfies ordinary
legal norms, fulfilling his civic duties in the most general sense, here the δίκαιος is the man who fulfils
his duties towards God and the theocratic society, meeting God’s claim in this
relationship. It is as he satisfies the demand of God that he has right on his
side and therefore a righteous cause before God.
This distinctive religious rootage is even more
clearly shown by the antonyms. Over against the δίκαιος as the just and pious man there stands the ἄδικος (Prv. 12:17; 29:27),
or the ἁμαρτωλός (ψ 124:3; Tob. 4:17); the ἀσεβής (Gn. 18:23; Prv. 10:28; Wis. 3:10) or the παράνομος (Job 17:8).
In the
background is the fact that God Himself is δίκαιος. The fact that in Hellenistic Judaism, too, God
can be called δίκαιος, the One who is
infallibly consistent in the normative self-determination of His own nature,
and who maintains unswerving faithfulness in the fulfilment of His promises and
covenant agreements, prepares the ground for the crucial religious importance
of the term in the NT. We can see this in 1 Βασ.
2:2: καὶ οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιος ὡς ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν; 2 Esr. 9:15; Tob. 3:2. In relation to God, δίκαιος is linked with ὅσιος in Dt. 32:4; ψ 144:17. God is δίκαιος, not merely as the righteous Judge who exercises
justice, but also as the One who gives salvation: ψ 114:5: ἐλεήμων ὁ κύριος καὶ δίκαιος καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐλεεῖ (→ δικαιοσύνη, 195).
B. The Righteous in the Synagogue.
1. The
Righteous.
The Synagogue inclines to a onesided application of
the schema righteous/ungodly which serves the concept of rewards, which
logically decides everything and which optimistically reckons with the ability
of man to attain to righteousness before God. To the δίκαιος there corresponds the צַדִּיק or יָשָׁר or כָּשֵׁר (Aram. צַדִּיקָא, כָּשְׁרָא, כַּשִּׁירָא or זַכָּאָה, זַכַּאי). He has
kept the Law in all its fulness, and his merits outweigh his transgressions.
The ungodly (רָשָׁע for ἀσεβής and πονηρός; Aram. רַשִּׁיעָא, בִּישָׁא ) is the one whose transgressions are the heavier. There is,
however, a more precise distinction between the wholly righteous (צַדִּיק גָּמוּר), as
the wholly ungodly (רָשָׁע
גָּמוּר), the average (בֵּינוֹנִי) and the penitent ((בַּעַל תְּשׁוּבָה). The first have kept the Torah perfectly; the second have more
transgressions than merits; the third have an equal balance of observance and
violation (Hillel and Shammai taking different views of them); the
fourth are also the subject of hot debate as to whether they should be ranked
above the first. The patriarchs were put in the first category, sometimes as
those who had completely overcome the evil impulse. The Synagogue does not give
to Abel the prominence which he receives in the NT (→ Ἅβελ, I, 7). Precedence is rather given to Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob and others, and in the case of Philo to Noah. (On the merits of
the patriarchs → δικαιοσύνη, 197).
Many
teachers are specifically numbered among the righteous. Prophets and righteous
men are often associated. The prayer of the righteous, which God seeks, turns
His thoughts from severity to mercy.
2. The
Messiah as the Righteous.
The Messiah is called righteous because His whole
nature and action are in conformity with the norm of the divine will. This
predicate of the Messiah is common both in the Synagogue and in Apocalyptic.
The Synagogue is fond of the designation “the Messiah our righteousness.” Texts
specifically related to the righteous Messiah are Jer. 23:5, 6; 33:15; Zech.
9:9. On the other hand, Is. 53:11b and Da. 12:3 are referred to the saints and
to Israel. Only from the 3rd cent. a.d.
is the former linked with the Messiah. “The Righteous” is often used as a name
for the Messiah in Wis. (e.g., 2:18: εἰ γάρ ἐστιν ὁ δίκαιος υἱὸς θεοῦ, ἀντιλήμψεται αὐτοῦ; Ps. Sol. 17:35: καὶ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς δίκαιος). In Ps. Sol. δικαιοσύνη is often connected with Him (e.g., 17:25,
28, 31, 42; 18:8 f.). In Eth. En. (38:2; 53:6) one of the basic themes is that
righteousness is a mark of the Messianic period. Revelation in the coming time
of salvation is particularly for the righteous, whose fulfilment of works
carries with it the greatest promises.
Hab. 2:4 is interpreted as a comprehensive
fulfilment of the commandments in meritorious faithfulness . . .
[In the New
Testament]
In content, δίκαιος in the NT is very largely determined by the OT.
Our task is to show how the OT view is both adopted and superseded, and how a
new emphasis is given to it. a. That God is called the δίκαιος from the standpoint of judgment may be seen
particularly clearly in Rev., the language of which is very largely taken from
the OT, cf. the δίκαιος εἶ, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν,
ὁ ὅσιος in 16:5, and the references to His δίκαιαι κρίσεις in 16:7; 19:2; and δίκαιαι ὁδοί in 15:3 (→ 184). According to 1 Pt. 2:23 Christ
committed judgment τῷ κρίνοντι δικαίως (→ 185). The πατὴρ δίκαιε in Jn. 17:25 appeals to the righteous judgment of
God which accepts the disciples as distinct from the κόσμος because they have recognised the One whom God
sent. If the judicial quality of God is here more deeply confirmed by faith in
Christ, in R. 7:12, where the Law is called δικαία, Paul underlines the OT truth that the νόμος as a righteous demand
of God bears something of His majesty.
On the other hand—and here we have a new
feature—the εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν δίκαιον of R. 3:26, whether it explains the ἔνδειξις epexegetically or
declares the purpose, in any case expresses the fact that the justice of the
One who is absolutely righteous is demonstrated in the atoning sacrifice of
Jesus. Similarly, in 1 Jn. 1:9: πιστός ἐστιν καὶ δίκαιος, ἵνα ἀφῇ ἡμῶν τὰς ἁμαρτίας, God is called δίκαιος in the sense of a righteousness which both judges
and saves. In both cases there is an unmistakable influence of δικαιοσύνη (→ δικαιοσύνη, 195) as used in
Dt.-Is. and Pl. The new factor is the absolute connection with the atoning
death of Christ in which God shows Himself to be δίκαιος.
b. When δίκαιος is applied as a Messianic designation (→ 186 f.),
the term is first used quite simply in Ac. 3:13 f.: τὸν ἅγιον καὶ δίκαιον, and Ac. 7:52: περὶ τῆς ἐλεύσεως τοῦ δικαίου, to describe the piety of Jesus in fulfilment of
the will of God. This corresponds to OT usage. Yet in terms of the preaching of
the cross in Ac. we can see from the antonyms mentioned in the context (ἀνὴρ φονεύς, προδόται καὶ φονεῖς) that the reference is supremely to the innocent
death of Jesus, cf. the αἷμα δίκαιον of Mt. 27:4 vl. on the lips of Judas. Ac. 22:14
refers to the attestation of this innocent Victim in the resurrection. On the
other hand, in 1 Jn. 2:29; 3:7 there is advanced against libertinism the fact
that those who belong to the δίκαιος, as Jesus is called, must give evidence of
righteous conduct. In 1 Pt. 3:18: δίκαιος ὑπὲρ ἀδίκων, the use of the title for Christ is linked with
the thought of substitution and is thus referred to His death. We have the same
basic thought in 1 Jn. 2:1, though now transferred to the sphere of His
glorification: παράκλητον ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν δίκαιον. In all these passages the righteous Christ is the
Doer of the will of God in the fullest sense. On the other hand, there is
reference to His participation in the righteous judgment of God when Jn. 5:30
speaks eschatologically of Christ’s κρίσις δικαία which, in true Johannine fashion, is rooted in His
total orientation to the will of Him that sent Him (the opp. is κρίνειν κατʼ ὄψιν in Jn. 7:24). Cf. the κύριος as ὁ δίκαιος κριτής in 2 Tm. 4:8.
c. With reference to men who do God’s will, δίκαιος is used in the OT
sense of the patriarchs (Abel: Mt. 23:35; Hb. 1:14; cf. 1 Jn. 3:12) and saints
of the OT (Lot: 2 Pt. 2:7, cf. 8) who stand out from the world with its wicked
works. Together with the saints who render full obedience to God, the main
representatives of the earlier period are the prophets: Mt. 13:17; 23:29: προφῆται καὶ δίκαιοι, cf. Mt. 10:41 and the αἷμα δίκαιον of innocent martyrs (Mt. 23:35). At least in
narrative passages which describe Jewish relationships, the word δίκαιος always refers here to
fidelity to the Law. Sometimes the relationship to God is emphasised, e.g., in
Lk. 1:6 with reference to Zacharias and Elisabeth: δίκαιοι ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ; in Lk. 2:25 with reference to Simeon: δίκαιος καὶ εὐλαβής; in Ac. 10:22 with reference to Cornelius: ἀνὴρ δίκαιος καὶ φοβούμενος τὸν θεόν. Joseph’s way of treating Mary in Mt. 1:19
corresponds to the basic conception of a righteous man.
A particularly striking fact is that in the Syn.
account of the preaching of Jesus the Israelite and Jewish antithesis δίκαιοσ/ἁμαρτωλός (→ 186) or → ἄδικος is seriously adopted but given an ironical
application (Mk. 2:17 and par., cf. Mt. 5:45; Lk. 5:32; 15:7). The Pharisees
are the δίκαιοι, the publicans etc.
the ἁμαρτωλοί. All are called to
conversion, including the righteous; yet the fact that the customary standards
are accepted shows that for all the relativity there is an appreciation of the
moral distinctions and that the zeal of the righteous finds recognition. In R.
5:7 (cf. v. 6) even Paul, notwithstanding his doctrine of justification, can
still describe these relative moral distinctions among men in terms of the
usual categories (antith. δίκαιοσ/ἀσεβής), quite apart from his salvation-centred
anthropology. Like ἀγαθός, however, δίκαιος is to be seen as a
masc. If the usual Jewish distinction is not rejected, there is in the Syn. a
stern rejection of the hypocrisy of a righteous appearance and of the
confidence of the δίκαιος in his own piety (Mt.
23:28; Lk. 20:20; 18:9). This repudiation of the nature of δίκαιος as habit, appearance
and self-confidence, and of the associated contempt for others, means that a
question-mark is put behind the claim of the righteous (→ δικαιόω, C. 3, 4; Lk. 18:14; 16:15).
The adoption of the Pharisaic belief in the ἀνάστασις τῶν δικαίων (Lk. 14:14, though cf. δικαίων καὶ ἀδίκων in Ac. 24:15) gives further evidence of the
persistence of the basic distinctions, which even in Paul are still valid in
the last judgment. The context of Lk. 14:14, however, makes it plain that the
practice of love constitutes the δίκαιος.
d. δίκαιος can also be used of the disciple or the Christian
as the one who truly fulfils the Law or the divine will. It was a common
conviction of the apostolic age that the Christian is the one who truly fulfils
the Law. Thus the δίκαιος in Mt. 10:41, who is
received εἰς ὄνομα δικαίου, is pleasing to God. And the one who receives him
out of regard for the fact (לְשֵׁם) that he
is a righteous man will share his reward. In Mt. 13:49, too, the δίκαιοι from whom the πονηροί will be separated are
Christians. The same is true of Da. 12:3 as quoted in Mt. 13:43. According to
13:41f. they are differentiated from the ποιοῦντες τὴν ἀνομίαν. The δίκαιοι in the last judgment in Mt. 25:37, 46 are those
who have attained to true δικαιοσύνη by practising love in unconscious acts of kindness
to the Son of Man. The OT colouring of the expression in Lk. 1:17 should not
blind us to the fact that here particularly the Messianic time of salvation
carries with it the promise that the ἀπειθεῖς will receive the obedient disposition of the δίκαιοι. The Israelite usage
is again applied to Christians in Jm. 5:16: δέησις δικαίου, and 5:6: ἐφονεύσατε τὸν δίκαιον. The reference is to the oppression of poor
Christians by rich opponents. In 1 Pt. 3:12; 4:18; Hb. 12:23; Rev. 22:11
everything that is elsewhere said of the saints of the OT is transferred to
Christians. As δίκαιοι they are contrasted
with ἀσεβεῖς and ἁμαρτωλοί. We are not told how
they became δίκαιοι. This is the theme of
Paul.
e.
When we turn to the specifically Pauline use of δίκαιος, we recall (→ 189) that Paul can sometimes accept
the distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous apart from the new δικαιοῦσθαι. This is in keeping
with the startingpoint of his whole new train of thought, namely, that the
fulfilment of the divine will is a self-evident demand. Hence he can say in R.
2:13: οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἀκροαταὶ νόμου δίκαιοι παρὰ θεῷ, ἀλλʼ οἱ ποιηταὶ νόμου δικαιωθήσονται. This follows directly from the fact of the
Law. The δίκαιος is the one who as a
doer of the Law will be declared righteous by the divine sentence. On the other
hand, we read in R. 3:10: οὐκ ἔστιν δίκαιος οὐδὲ εἷς, this being followed by a series of quotations
from ψ 14:1–3; Qoh. 7:21, which are designed to show the
general sinfulness of all men. Not to be righteous means not to fulfil the Law
because one is under sin. Hence one becomes a δίκαιος by receiving in faith the revealed δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ as δύναμις θεοῦ and σωτηρία. The Scripture proof from Hab. 2:4 in both R.
1:17: ὁ δὲ δίκαιος (μου C*) ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται, and Gl. 3:11: ὅτι ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται, omits the μου of the LXX text. The Pauline understanding is in
material agreement with the Mas: וְצַדִּיק
בֶּאֱמוּנָתוֹ יִחְיֶה, “the just shall live on the basis of his holding fast (to
righteousness).” This is the sense irrespective of the suffix וֹ. That only the δίκαιος will attain to life is the ancient truth. The
point newly emphasised by Paul is that he cannot have life except by faith. The
δίκαιος, then, is that one who
is justified by faith, elsewhere called δικαιωθείς by Paul.
Cf.
the quotation and understanding of Hab. 2:4 in Hb. 10:38: ὁ δὲ δίκαιός μου (א A H r vg
arm Clem) ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται. This text, which follows the LXX A, makes it
quite impossible to link ἐκ πίστεως with δίκαιος. Here, however, faith has more of an OT colouring
as steadfastness in tribulation, and v. 39 gives ζήσεται an eschatological reference.
R. 5:19: διὰ τῆς ὑπακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται οἱ πολλοί, looks to the last judgment, when they will be
presented righteous, or made righteous, by God’s sentence. The antithetical
structure of the section leads Paul to the juxtaposition of ἁμαρτωλοί and δίκαιοι, and he does not say
that we are now δίκαιοι. On the other hand, we
can see from 1 Th. 2:10: ὡς ὁσίως καὶ δικαιως ἐγενήθημεν, that Paul can use δίκαιος in relation to the Christian life in the sense of
the righteousness which corresponds to divine law.
In the Pauline sphere we should also consider 1 Tm.
1:9: δικαίῳ νόμος οὐ κεῖται. Against the antinomians, who champion a mixture
of νομοδιδασκαλία and libertinism and
whose peculiarity is to be found in their attitude to the Law, the true use of
the Law is treated in such a way that the Christian is set in antithesis to the
lawless as δίκαιος, his freedom from the
Law consisting in the fact that he conducts himself according to the divine
norm. In Tt. 1:8 it is demanded of a bishop, amongst other things, that he be δίκαιος, and this obviously
means that his life should be in accordance with the divine norm, unless the
ability to reach just decisions is in view in this list of special episcopal
qualities.