After
finding out Jacob's deception, Esau said:
And he said, is not he rightly named Jacob?
For he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and,
behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved
a blessing for me? (Gen 27:36)
In the LXX,
the term “rightly” is δικαιως. In this verse, Esau, while making a statement of
judgment, agrees that Jacob
(which can be a word-play on “betray”) is rightly
or correctly named thusly. In other
words, while used in a declarative sense, such a declaration is based on an intrinsic
reality, not a mere imputation. Another example of δικαιως being used in the same way can be
seen when the Good Thief rebukes the other thief vis-à-vis their condemnation:
And we indeed have been condemned justly
(δικαιως), for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has
done nothing wrong." (Luke 23:41 NRSV)
In other
words, the legal declaration of their being condemned is based on what they did
(i.e., an intrinsic reality), but reputation merely. Such is strengthened by Luke 23:41 coupling δικαιως with the adjective αξιος ("worthy"). Both the adjective and the verb (αξιοω) denotes someone/something being truly worthy of the declaration it receives. On this, see the discussion of αξιοω at Response to Leon Morris on -οω verbs and the meaning of δικαιοω.
All of this
flies in the face of the common Reformed Protestant (mis-)understanding of the δικ- word group and, related to
this, the meaning of λογιζομαι. For more, see, for e.g.:
λογιζομαι in texts contemporary with the New Testament:
