Bible word study

Tsedeq (Strong’s H6664): Meaning in the Bible

Tsedeq (צֶדֶק) is the Hebrew word numbered H6664 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as the right (natural, moral or legal); also (abstractly) equity or (figuratively) prosperity. In the King James Bible it is translated (un-)right(-eous) (cause, -ly, -ness)..

• Original wordצֶדֶק
• Transliterationtsedeq
• Pronunciationtseh'-dek
• Part of speechnoun (masculine) (n-m)
• Strong’s numberH6664
• LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. from H6663;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Tsedeq appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Tsedeq (H6664) stands behind 116 English renderings in 109 verses across 12 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Psalms (49), Isaiah (25), Proverbs (8).

How the King James Bible renders Tsedeq, by count

• righteousness77 of 116 (66 percent)
• just11 of 116 (9 percent)
• justice10 of 116 (9 percent)
• righteous8 of 116 (7 percent)
• right3 of 116 (3 percent)
• righteously3 of 116 (3 percent)

Three places to read Tsedeq

• Leviticus 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
• Psalms 52:3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
• Ecclesiastes 5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

And Christ

Righteousness in the Hebrew Scriptures is God setting things right and keeping faith. Christians believe this rightness is given to us as a gift in Christ, who is himself our righteousness.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

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