Saving acts of God

The third semantic domain of dikaiosu/nh is ‘saving acts’, which in the biblical context are mainly acts of God. This category is not as common as the two previous ones, but it is still used in the texts of both the OT and the NT. The passages belonging to this category contain a recollection of saving act or acts of God in history, or a hope of God’s intervention in the future, clearly stated in the context. The content of this hope of salvation varies from the hope of salvation from a present enemy or enemies, and from punishment, to salvation from present difficulties. In many cases, there is a clear connection to the first category, where justice, innocence, and fairness were the main features of the category.

Chosen examples are Ps 71 from the OT and Rom 5 from the NT. The psalms contain several verses or passages where there is a clear statement of hope of God’s

156 Hagner 1993, 94‒95.

157 Hagner 1993, 109.

158 Viljoen 2013, 2/10.

159 Nikolainen 1983, 45; Viljoen 2013, 2/10.

160 Viljoen 2013, 7/10.

intervention or the psalmist is thanking God for his saving acts in history. That is why I chose one of them. Rom 5, on the other hand, talks about salvation and righteousness as a gift, received in the Second Adam, that is Christ. Again, another reason is that these are clear examples of this category. The following table contains the occurrences included in this category.

Table 3.7: dikaiosu/nh and saving acts of God Semantic domain Verses

Saving acts of God

OT: Jdg 5:11; Jdg 5:11; 1. Sam 12:7

Job 33:26; Ps 4:1; Ps 7:17; Ps 22:31; Ps 23:3; Ps 31:1; Ps 35:28; Ps 40:9 Ps 40:10; Ps 51:16; Ps 65:5; Ps 71:2; Ps 71:15; Ps 71:16; Ps 71:19 Ps 71:24 Ps 85:10; Ps 85:11; Ps 85:13; Ps 88:12; Ps 89:14; Ps 89:16; Ps 97:6; Ps 98:2 Ps 103:17; Ps 111:3; Ps 118:19; Ps 119:123; Ps 143:1; Ps 143:11; Ps 145:7 Prov 8:18; Prov 10:2 Prov 11:4

Isa 42:6; Isa 45:13; Isa 45:24; Isa 45:25; Isa 46:12; Isa 46:13; Isa 48:18 Isa 49:13; Isa 51:5; Isa 51:6; Isa 51:8; Isa 54:14; Isa 59:9; Isa 59:17; Isa 61:3 Isa 61:11; Isa 62:1; Isa 63:1; Dan 9:16; Hos 2:19 Mic 6:5; Zec 8:8; Mal 4:2 Saving acts of God NT: Matt 5:6; Matt 6:33 Rom 1:17; Rom 3:21; Rom 3:22; Rom 5:17

Rom 9:30; 1. Cor 1:30; 2. Cor 3:9; Gal 5:5; Eph 6:14 Phil 3:9; 2. Tim 4:8 2. Pet 1:1

The majority of the OT occurrences are in Psalms or prophetic texts. This semantic domain is rare in the NT, but there are some in the Gospel of Matthew and in Romans.

Contexts vary greatly, and the salvific acts of God are either the salvation from present tribulations or the final salvation of God in the end of times. The passages that mention the righteousness of faith, which is a gift from God, are included in this category.

Example 5: Ps 71 Context

There are several theories on the setting of the psalm, but the question remains open.

Suggestions have been made that the psalm is an individual lament or a prayer for righteous deliverance. There have been several attempts to put this psalm in a cultic context, but it is not easy, since the psalm does not include any clear signs of its Sitz im Leben.¹⁶¹ The timing of the psalm is equally complicated, but most probably it is from post-exilic period.¹⁶²

Ps 71 is an untitled psalm, and there are several suggestions of its connections to other psalms. It has been connected with the previous psalm. Both Psalms 70 and 71 have similar features to Pss 40, 22, and 31.¹⁶³ Gerald H. Wilson has shown that there is evidence in the manuscripts that these two psalms are connected.¹⁶⁴ A fragment found in Qumran also supports the case. There is also evidence that Psalm 71 is connected

161 Tate 1990, 204, 211‒212; Hossfeld 2005, 194.

162 Kraus 1989, 72; Hossfeld 2005, 1994.

163 Tate 1990, 211; Craven 2004, 58; Hossfeld 2005, 199.

164 G. Wilson studied the following psalms in his first three books on psalms: Psalms 9 and 10, 32 and 33, 70 and 71.

with Psalm 38. This shows that Ps 71 did not stand alone, but was part of a larger composition.¹⁶⁵ These psalms are not the only ones, but this phenomenon shows that there is a real tradition of combination of untitled psalms.¹⁶⁶

Hans-Joachim Kraus places this psalm in a category of prayer songs. According to him, Psalm 71 can be divided into four units: Vss. 1–8 contain petitions and at the same time the psalmist expresses his trust in God. Vs. 8 contains a song of exultation.

The next unit (vss. 9‒16) contains a description of distress, and there are petitions as well. This passage ends with praise, in vss. 14‒16. The psalm ends with praise and petitions (vss. 17‒24).¹⁶⁷

According to Marvin Tate, there are two possible explanations of Psalm 71. The first one is that it is an individual lament. The speaker in the psalm is at a mature age.

They are facing an imminent danger of death (v. 20) and enemies who say God has forsaken the speaker. Mature age has one advantage: long memory of God’s presence (vss. 6 and 17). The other possibility is that the main theme of the psalm is divine righteousness.¹⁶⁸

‘Righteousness’ in Ps 71

Righteousness is a major theme in the psalm, and it is mentioned in Ps 71 (LXX:

70):2, 15, 16, 19, and 24. There are two main themes in Ps 71, with one being divine righteousness. The context of this divine righteousness is judgement. The psalmist is appealing for deliverance and vindication. In this way, the righteousness of YHWH in this context refers to saving acts of God, namely deliverance and salvation.¹⁶⁹ The righteousness of God is not described as justice or a divinely fixed norm, but seen as order and fairness all over creation. Ps 71 is, then, a prayer of deliverance, so that this righteousness of God, fairness, and order would meet the petitioner.¹⁷⁰

The righteousness of God also forms a connection of the psalm to the NT. Paul picks up the theme and refers to Psalm 71 in Rom 3:21.¹⁷¹ There is an eschatological interpretation of the righteousness of God that has been now revealed in Jesus Christ.

In this way, the words of the psalm turn into a prophecy of salvation. There is also another connection to the NT, as Ps 71:19 is referred to in Luke 1:49. In the new context, mighty deeds of God refer to the virgin birth of Jesus.¹⁷²

In conclusion, one can say that there is no clear sign of the Sitz im Leben of this psalm in the text itself, so it is hard to say anything certain about it. The psalm has no title, and it has been shown that there has been a tradition of untitled psalms being combined into larger units. The theme of the psalm is prayer of deliverance, and righteousness in this psalm refers to the righteousness of God. I will now turn to the NT example.

165 G. Wilson 1985, 408.

166 G. Wilson 1985, 413.

167 Kraus 1989, 71.

168 Kraus 1989, 71‒72; Tate 1990, 217‒218.

169 Tate 1990, 218.

170 Tate 1990, 218.

171 Hossfeld 2005, 200.

172 Hossfeld 2005, 200.

Example 6: Rom 5:12‒21 Context

In this passage, Paul describes the first and the second Adam and how they are diametrically opposites to each other. Through the first Adam, the world receives the curse, and through the last Adam, the world receives the gift of righteousness.

Paul describes how Christ is supreme when compared to the first Adam. These two characters are compared in four categories, and Christ is always the champion. The reason for this is that sin has its effect only in this life, but the achievements of Christ have an impact in everlasting life. The emphasis in this passage is on Christology, not on anthropology or eschatology.¹⁷³

It has been suggested that this passage has a relationship to the rabbinic literature and Qumran scrolls. There is a similar theme as in Eze 18. Even though the theme of these passages is the question of the fairness of God, which is very prominent in Eze 18, it is not asked in Rom 5:12–21. This passage contains concluding remarks for the whole opening section of Romans (1:17–5:21).¹⁷⁴

Menahem Kister has compared rabbinic and Qumran texts with this passage, Rom 5:12–21. There are, naturally, theological differences, especially when considering the role of Jesus Christ, but there are several similarities in wording and language. A text that is more closely examined by Kister is a text that has been attributed to Rabbi Ben Yose in Sifra, which has several points that are similar to the passage at hand.¹⁷⁵

In both of these texts, the sin of Adam is seen as a violation of God’s commandment.

There is also mention of a positive figure who is able to solve this problem. The identity of this positive figure is not the same. For Paul, this figure is Jesus Christ, and in Sifra, he is any Jew who obeys the Torah. For Paul, only the sacrifice of Jesus can outweigh sin, but in rabbinic literature, good deeds in general can outweigh sin.¹⁷⁶ Kister concludes:

A close scrutiny reveals further that a) many verses in Rom 5:12–21 have an exact counterpart in the Sifra (sometimes gaining a new sense in the Pauline context); b) the Pauline passage uses nomistic language that is very much in keeping with the parallel passage in the Sifra; c) the Hebrew terminology in the Sifra (and the other Jewish parallels) sheds light on Paul’s Greek terminology; d) there are reasons to believe that Paul inverted some Jewish statements. The best explanation for all these phenomena is that the whole unit (Rom 5:12–21) is based on a coherent Jewish source that was in Paul’s mind while he was expressing his own, very different ideas.¹⁷⁷

Adam is the progenitor of humanity, and in Gen 3 he is identified as the progenitor of sin.¹⁷⁸ It has been suggested that Adam’s original sin was mimetic rivalry. This topic has been studied by Raymond Bryce, who shows several examples from the OT of

173 Nikolainen 1975, 78; Nikolainen 1986, 61.

174 Dunn 1988, 271; Kister 2007, 397.

175 Kister 2007, 392, 397, 400.

176 Kister 2007, 401‒402.

177 Kister 2007, 415.

178 Bryce 2011, 361.

how there is rivalry between generation and siblings and so on. The Christ hymn in the Philippians describes how Christ serves as a Second Adam, who defied this mimetic cycle.¹⁷⁹ When considering the temptations of Jesus and the story of the Fall, one can see that Jesus’ actions are exactly the opposite to those of Adam and Eve: Bryce writes:

Jesus rejects self-sufficiency in the form of bread just as Adam and Eve sought to “be like God”—to know good and evil independent of God.¹⁸⁰

Rom 5:12–21 fits well in its context in Romans. According to Robert Jewett, it has a direct link to the situation in the Church of Rome. There were antagonisms between Jews and Gentiles. The righteousness of God has been granted to both groups, without any deeds in the law. This grace has social implications, as well. The reign of grace does not require righteousness of the law, which means that all boasting and mutual damnations are eliminated. The grace of God, then, unites believers from every ethnic and theological background.¹⁸¹

The main theme of this passage is to demonstrate how Christ’s life (v. 10) defines the destiny of those belonging to the epoch of Christ in the same way that the life of Adam defines the future of his descendants. According to Jewett, the primary goal of this passage is to demonstrate the scope of the overflowing dominion of grace in the life of believers.¹⁸²

‘Righteousness’ in Rom 5:12‒21

Righteousness is mentioned in two verses in this passage: vss. 17 and 21. In 5:17, it is described as the gift of righteousness. Paul uses language that is superfluous when describing the gift of grace.¹⁸³ This gift is not, according to Dunn, regarded as an object that is received. Rather, the relational aspect of righteousness is further emphasised here.¹⁸⁴ Dunn states:

As such it cannot be regarded as an object, a package received and retained, as if it was one’s own property; on the contrary, the relational force of righteousness remains and is re-emphasized – God’s acceptance is always God’s – a gift given not by passing the gift from God’s hands but by drawing the receiver into his arms.¹⁸⁵

The word ‘righteousness’ does not necessarily refer to a ‘status of righteousness’, but it contains the action of God as the means by which grace achieves its effects, as well as the effect itself in vs. 21.¹⁸⁶ Jewett, however, states that this gift of righteousness is the new status of honour granted to believers. The basis of this gift is the sacrifice of

179 Bryce 2011, 362. His article is called Christ as Second Adam: Giradian Mimesis Redeemed.

180 Bryce 2011, 367–368.

181 Jewett 2006, 389.

182 Nikolainen 1986b, 59–60; Jewett 2006, 370‒372.

183 Dunn 1988, 281‒282.

184 Dunn 1988, 284.

185 Dunn 1988, 284.

186 Dunn 1988, 287‒288.

Christ and the grace of God, which is abundant and overflowing, so that the legacy of Adam has been overcome.¹⁸⁷

There are several interpretations of this passage. Kister has presented an interesting theory, that there is a connection between this passage and the Qumranic texts. This shows that Paul was developing theological ideas. Righteousness in this passage refers to a gift of God.

3.2.5 Conclusions

As concluding remarks on the usage of dikaiosu/nh, one can say that it occurs in a large variety of contexts, and texts containing the word are written in a variety of styles. Two examples of this research are taken from Romans, where Paul uses it several senses in his letters, and he is also playing with words.

When considering the two first examples, there were some similarities between them. Firstly, the relationship between Jews and Gentiles seems to be problematic in both cases. In Isaiah, Gentiles were wicked and enemies of the people of God, that is Jews. The author of Isa 26 is urging God to judge them so they would know his righteousness and justice. In Romans, God’s righteousness has been shown through Jesus Christ, and through him both Jews and Gentiles have the same father of faith, Abraham. On the other hand, in Isaiah, knowledge of God’s will and righteousness comes through the imminent judgement of God. In Romans, then, Jews and Gentiles alike are accepted as members of the family through Jesus Christ.

Then, the next two examples deal with a group of people that is in a way outside the community. The first example is written in a context when the original readers were in exile in Babylon. They were physically separated from their own people. The NT passage, on the other hand, is written in a context where Jewish-background believers are theologically separated from their old community. The assumption is that following the rules of the new community is, in a way, a way of creating a new identity among strangers. The difference between these two examples is that the SM talks about inner obedience, but the passage from Ezekiel is more concerned with outward obedience.

The two last examples emphasise human weakness and the saving power of God. In other words, there is a stark contrast between the works of men and the saving works of God. In the NT example, this is crystallised in the death and resurrection of Christ.

Due to the wide range of meanings of ‘righteousness’, there are not so many common elements in the contexts that were treated above. Sometimes it is not easy to define exactly in what sense the word is used in a particular context. The semantic domains of the word form a continuum, and the usage of the word in a particular context is not always so simple to define. This continuum forms a difficulty in translating the word.

According to dynamic equivalence, the most important point is that the message of the translation should be understood by its audience. The question is how Paul assumed ‘righteousness’, which is an OT concept, was understood by his audience, and whether Paul assumed that his audience was familiar with OT theology. There are two views on this topic. Firstly, it has been suggested by Lauri Thurén that the root of the problems that Paul had in Corinth was that he had assumed that Corinthians knew

187 Jewett 2006, 384.

Jewish tradition, when in reality they did not.¹⁸⁸ Secondly, Thielman has presented a theory that the concept of ‘righteousness of God’ in Rom 1:17 was not meant to be understood on the first hearing, but Paul would further explain in his letter what he meant by the phrase.¹⁸⁹ It can be said that Paul was using familiar words partly in a new context, which gave a new definition to the word. He assumed that his audience was able to understand the message. I will now turn to the next section, 3.3, which contains an analysis of how dikaiosu/nh, and more specifically the examples treated above, have been translated.

3.3 dikaiosu/nh dikaiosu/nh IN IN TRANSLATIONS

In this section, I will use the same examples as above to study the translations of

‘righteousness’. Questions to ask in this section are: 1) How has it been translated in different types of translations? 2) What kinds of differences are there between versions?

3) Are differences bigger between formal and dynamic translations or among three languages? 4) Are there differences between semantic domains? The versions used in this research were introduced in Chapter two, but they are listed in Table 3.8.

Table 3.8: Translations used

Type of translation Finnish English German¹⁹⁰

Formal 1933/38 Bible King James Version (KJV) Lutherbibel (LB)¹⁹¹ Dynamic 1992 Bible New International Version (NIV

2011) BasisBibel (BB)¹⁹²

Thoroughly dynamic UTN¹⁹³ Good News Translation (GNT)¹⁹⁴ Gute Nachricht Bibel (GNB)

3.3.1 Righteousness as a legal term

When considering the translations of different examples of ‘righteousness’ as legal term, it can be said that the most common translational equivalent is ‘righteousness’

in English translations. There is one exception,¹⁹⁵ but KJV and NIV use the word

188 L. Thurén presented this theory in his article The Corinthian Heresies Revisited – a Rhetorical Perspective to the Historical Situation, in Constantine J. Bezelos et al. (ed.), Saint Paul and Corinth – 1950 years since the writing of the epistles to the Corinthians, Athens: Psychogios Publications 2009, vol. 2., 777–88.

189 Thielman 2011, 35, 47.

190 I have used German translations as references to the Finnish and English translations. This is helpful especially in the OT examples, since the UTN contains only the NT.

191 I have used the 1545 translation from the Bible Gateway website in this research: https://www.

biblegateway.com/. Accessed on 8. May 2017.

192 This translation contains only the NT and some parts of the OT.

193 Uusi testamentti nykysuomeksi, New Testament in Popular Finnish. This translation contains only the NT.

194 Previously known as Today’s English Version.

195 NIV (2011) uses the word ‘righteous’ in Ps. 119:144.

‘righteousness’ consistently. GNT has also used that word in 2. Cor 5:21, but in other cases there are expressions such as ‘what is right’ (Heb 1:9), ‘just’ (Ps 119:144), and

‘justice’ (Ps 72:2 and Ps 93:13, with the word ‘fairness’). GNT uses the phrase ‘the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him’ in Gen 15:6. In the passages that quote this verse in the NT, namely Gal 3:6 and Jas 2:23, GNT uses the phrase ‘accepted as righteous’. The first two examples, which are treated more in detail, are Isa 26 and Rom 4, where ‘righteousness’ is used in a legal sense. An interesting question is how it has been translated and how the translators have interpreted vs. 10.

Example 1: Isa 26:9–10

Table 3.9 contains three formal translations of Isa 26:9‒10.

Table 3.9: Formal translations de-sired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteous-ness.

Von Herzen begehre ich

Von Herzen begehre ich

In document Dynamic equivalence and theological terms in Bible translations : with special reference to 'righteousness', 'flesh', and 'in Christ' (sivua 84-0)