God’s Righteousness and Justice in the Old Testament

by Jože Krašovec

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2022

Overview

A semantic study of God’s righteousness and justice in the Hebrew Bible that draws exegetical, theological, and philosophical conclusions about the character of God and God’s relationship with humanity.

God’s work of creation and salvation for the good of Israel, humanity, and the world manifests the nature of God’s being. Thus, if we can understand God’s characteristics of righteousness and justice, we can better understand God.

In the Hebrew Bible, these aspects of God are not expressed by abstract concepts but by semantic elements within literary structures. From this premise, Jože Krašovec undertakes the present study to put semantics into dialogue with exegesis and theology to illuminate exactly how God’s righteousness and justice in the Old Testament should be understood.

In the first part of the book, Krašovec analyzes occurrences of the Hebrew root ṣdq (meaning righteous) and other synonyms, working systematically through the entire Old Testament canon. In the second part, he builds off this lexical study with a more broadly exegetical, theological, and philosophical exploration of guilt, punishment, mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Krašovec concludes, among other things, that the biblical writers use “righteousness” as an expression of God’s affection for faithful people, especially those in distress because of persecution. God’s righteousness therefore exists in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the righteousness of human individuals and communities. Justice—whether in the form of forgiveness for the penitent or punishment for those who have hardened their hearts against God—is always carried out with the goal of building better community among God’s people.

Key Features

• Examines themes of guilt, punishment, mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation
• Explores exactly how God’s righteousness and justice in the Old Testament should be understood
• Analyzes occurrences of the Hebrew root ṣdq

Contents

• Introduction

Part One: Dimensions of God’s Righteousness in Acts of Creation and Redemption

• Comparative Scrutiny of the Concept of Justice in Antiquity
• Semantics of Righteousness of God in the Hebrew Bible
• Righteousness of God in the Book of Isaiah and in Its Major Translations
• Righteousness of God in the Book of Psalms and in Its Ancient Translations
• Righteousness of God in Other Books of the Hebrew Bible
• Justification of God and His Word in Psalm 51:6 and Romans 3:4
• The Place of the Word in the Bible and Theology of Justification

Part Two: Dimensions of God’s Righteousness and Justice between Punishment and Forgiveness

• The Place of the Concepts of Justice, Reward, Punishment, and Forgiveness in the Hebrew Bible
• Dimensions of Justice between Cosmic Order and Personal Relations
• Theories on Justification of Punishment
• From a Cosmic and a Judicial Concept of Justice to Actions beyond Justice
• Ontological and Moral Foundations of Compassion, Mercy, and Forgiveness
• Conclusions

Product Details

• Title: God’s Righteousness and Justice in the Old Testament
• Author: Jože Krašovec
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2022
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 457
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. O.T. › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Justice › Biblical teaching; God › Biblical teaching
• ISBNs: 9780802882110, 0802882110
• Resource ID: LLS:GDSRGHTSNTSTMNT
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:13:37Z

About Jože Krašovec

Jože Krašovec is a professor of Old Testament in the Institute of Biblical Studies, Faculty of Theology, at the University of Ljubljana and a full member of the European and of the Slovenian Academies of the sciences and arts.