Righteousness, justice or vindication: the meaning of צְדָקָה in Ps 98.2 (Ervais)

Introduction

The meaning of צְדָקָה in Ps 98.2.

The traditional MT Hebrew text of Ps 98.2 reads as follows: הוֹדִ֣יעַ יְ֭הוָה יְשׁוּעָת֑וֹ לְעֵינֵ֥י הַ֝גּוֹיִ֗ם גִּלָּ֥ה צִדְקָתֽוֹ׃
Among the key words of Ps 98.2, one may point the hebrew term צְדָקָה. Stigers (1999:752) notes rightfully “the original significance of the root ṣdq to have been ‘to be straight.’” It centers here on keeping an established norm. Nonetheless, interpreters differ in their understanding here as one can see with the renderings in different translations. The ESV, renders our hebrew term as follows:

he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations

RSV prefers the following rendering:

he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations

The vast majority of French translations follow the interpretation of CEV. For example, the French TOB reads here:

aux yeux des nations il a révélé sa justice

These different interpretations come from the fact that can צְדָקָה be understood from three major perspectives. How should one therefore understand the meaning of צְדָקָה in the context of Ps 98?

1. Option 1: צְדָקָה as a divine ethical act, righteousness (ESV, NIV, NABS, NLT, REB)
2. Option 2: צְדָקָה as a divine legal act, justice (CEV, NFC, PDV, BDS, NBS, TOB, S21, NVSR)
3. Option 3: צְדָקָה as a divine salvific and redemptive act, vindication (RSV, NRSV)

Argument Map(s)

 
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[צְדָקָה as righteousness]: Divine and ethical act.
 + <Basic meaning of צְדָקָה>: This noun primarily signifies “righteousness” and is not a common way of communicating faith or faithfulness in the Bible, but in some places it does express such concepts. (Kugler 2014 :L:).
 + <Context of general divine judgment>: Tanner and Jacobson see Psalm 98 as portraying the divine judgment as ultimate (Tanner and Jacobson 2014: 727–728 :C:).
 + <Context of covenantal divine deeds >: Brueggemann notes that the praise here is set within the context of Israel’s history, both with the broad reference to salvation and reference to “righteousness, steadfast love, faithfulness” that are central to the covenant tradition (Jer. 9:24). (Tanner and Jacobson 2014: 727 :C:).

 
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[צְדָקָה as justice]: Divine and legal act.
 + <Context of universal act of justice>: The Lord displays his righteous rule to all the nations throughout the earth, which will culminate in a worldwide kingdom of justice. (Stream 2008:Ps 98 :C:).
 + <Context of judgment, צְדָקָה as justice >: The earliest usages of ṣedeq or ṣĕdāqâ (except Gen 15:6; 18:19; 30:33, sĕdāqâ) occur in relation to the functions of judges. All of their deliverances or decisions are to be according to the truth and without partiality (Lev 19:15). It is applied similarly to weights and measures (Lev 19:36). (Stigers 1999:752  :C:)
  + <Ps 98, context of judgment>: The Hebrew root שׁפט is used twice at the end of the Psalm

 
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[צְדָקָה as vindication]: Divine and salvific and redemptive act.
 + <salvific context>: The Lord’s sovereign rule over all people, not just his own people, is a hallmark of Pss 93–99. Here God makes known his acts of salvation to the nations, intimating that his plan of salvation includes them. Carson 2018:993 :C:)
  + <salvific language>: The hebrew root ישׁע is used in verses 1 and 2.
 + <communal salvation and redemptive context>: The term salvation appears in each verse of this section; it describes the great deeds of God for the sake of his people as a whole, providing protection from their enemies and the conditions in which piety can flourish (as did the deliverance from Egypt, Ex. 14:13, 30; 15:2). Several other terms are used for the same deeds”(Crossway Bibles 2008:1062 :B:).
   + <communal language>: We have a number of terms referring to human groups: תֵּ֝בֵ֗ל וְיֹ֣שְׁבֵי בָֽהּ , כָּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ , הַ֝גּוֹיִ֗ם, כָל־אַפְסֵי־אָ֑רֶץ, בֵ֪ית יִשְׂרָ֫אֵ֥ל
 + <Victory and triumph over foes>:In verse 2a victory is parallel with vindication (tsedeq), which NEB translates “righteousness”; NAB “justice”; NJB “saving justice”; FRCL “faithfulness”; NJV “triumph.” RSV vindication emphasizes the element of retribution and can be represented by “the punishment he inflicted (on his enemies).”
(Robert G. Bratcher et William David Reyburn, 1991:845 :C:).
 - <Only few versions prefer this interpretation>: RSV and NRSV

Conclusion

It seems to us that צְדָקָה as justice is less probable, especially because there is nothing explicitely mentioned about the law or any other established norm. On the other hand, the general context of the Psalm is redemptive and should be understood in the salvific deed of God for his people, as many commentaries point out. We favor צְדָקָה as vindication despite the fact that many translations do interprete it this way, probably because it is more tempting to have a straight forward translation of צְדָקָה as righteousness here.

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: ἀπεκάλυψεν τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ
• “He revealed his justice/justification/righteousness”
• Peshitta Holy Bible Translated: to the eyes of the people he has revealed his righteousness
• Targum: in the sight of the Gentiles he has revealed his righteousness

Modern

• he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations (ESV)
• and revealed his righteousness to the nations (NIV)
• He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations (NABS)
• and has revealed his righteousness to every nation! (NLT)
• he has displayed his saving righteousness to all the nations (REB)
• he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations (RSV)
• he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations (NRSV)
• he made his saving power known to the nations (GNT)
• has displayed His triumph in the sight of the nations (NJPS)
• that he has the power to save and to bring justice (CEV)
• aux yeux de tous il a révélé sa justice (NFC)
• il a fait connaître sa justice (PDV)
• aux yeux des autres peuples, ╵il a révélé sa justice (BDS)
• il a dévoilé sa justice sous les yeux des nations (NBS)
• aux yeux des nations il a révélé sa justice (TOB)
• il a révélé sa justice sous les yeux des nations (S21)
• Il a révélé sa justice aux yeux des nations (NVSR)

DL Comments

• Hebrew inverted in title
• Options: I'm not sure about these distinctions. How distinct are the options? There seems to be a large amount of semantic overlap between them, and the English glosses don't seem to align clearly with the ethical/legal/redemptive scheme. And why only discuss acts instead of the character trait of God's righteousness? Why would vindication necessarily be redemptive? What if God himself is vindicated? When reading your options, it's not at all clear to me what they mean, what the differences are, and why they are important.
• Wouldn't this be more appropriate for a lexical semantics note, rather than an exegetical issue?
• Your argument maps are almost entirely positive. You need to prefer one and mark the other options as #dispreferred. You also need to include negative arguments that refute or undercut other arguments to explain why you reject certain options.

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