properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
righteousness
צְדָקָֽהtze.da.Kah
H6666
rightness (abstractly) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Frie…
Galatians 3:6-14 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Romans 4:9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for…
Romans 4:20-25 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
Romans 4:3-6 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Psalms 106:31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not k…
Romans 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be th…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 15:2-6
We have here the assurance given to Abram of a numerous offspring which should descend from him, in which observe,
I. Abram's repeated complaint, Gen 15:2, Gen 15:3. This was that which gave occasion to this promise. The great affliction that sat heavy upon Abram was the want of a child; and the complaint of this he here pours out before the Lord, and shows before him his trouble, Psa 142:2. Note, Though we must never complain of God, yet we have leave to complain to him, and to be large and particular in the statement of our grievances; and it is some ease to a burdened spirit to open its case to a faithful and compassionate friend: such a friend God is, whose ear is always open. Now his co…
This shall not be thine heir--To the first part of his address no reply was given; but having renewed it in a spirit of more becoming submission, "whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it" [Gen 15:8], he was delighted by a most explicit promise of Canaan, which was immediately confirmed by a remarkable ceremony.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 15:6
And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness - This I conceive to be one of the most important passages in the whole Old Testament. It properly contains and specifies that doctrine of justification by faith which engrosses so considerable a share of the epistles of St. Paul, and at the foundation of which is the atonement made by the Son of God: And he (Abram) believed האמן heemin, he put faith) in Jehovah, ויחשבה לו vaiyachshebeita lo, and he counted it - the faith he put in Jehovah, to Him for righteousness, צדקה tsedakah, or justification; though there was no act in the case but that of the mind and heart, no work of any kind. Hence the doctrine of justification…
And he believed in the Lord,.... The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are,"in the Word of the Lord;''in the essential Word of the Lord, in Christ the Lord his righteousness; he believed in the promise of God, that he should have a seed, and a very numerous one; he believed that the Messiah would spring from his seed; he believed in him as his Saviour and Redeemer; he believed in him for righteousness, and he believed in his righteousness as justifying him before God:
and he counted it to him for righteousness; not the act of his faith, but the object of it; and not the promise he believed, but what was promised, and his faith received, even Christ and his righteousness this was imputed to hi…
The Church Fathers
And how did Abraham's progeny spread? Only through the inheritance he transmitted in virtue of faith. On this basis the faithful are assimilated to heaven, made comparable to the angels, equal to the stars. This is why he said, "So will your descendants be. And Abraham," the text says, "believed in God." What exactly did he believe? Prefiguratively he believed that Christ through the incarnation would become his heir. In order that you may know that this was what he believed, the Lord says, "Abraham saw my day and rejoiced." For this reason "he reckoned it to him as righteousness," because he did not seek the rational explanation but believed with great promptness of spirit.
Accordingly let us learn, I beseech you, a lesson for ourselves as well from the patriarch: Let us believe in the words of God and trust in his promise. Let us not apply the yardstick of our own reasoning but give evidence of deep gratitude. This, you see, will succeed in making us also be seen to be righteous and will quickly cause us to attain to the promise made by him. In Abraham's case, however, the promise was made that a complete multitude would develop from his descendants. The effect of the promise was beyond the limits of nature and human logic. Hence faith in God won righteousness for him. In our case, … if we are alert enough to see it, he promised much more. We are able in great measure to transcend human reasoning, provided we believe in the power of the One who promises, in order that we may gain also righteousness from faith and attain to the good things promised.
He believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. The Apostle recalls this sentence (Rom. IV, 3) to commend the grace of God, lest circumcision should boast, and the uncircumcised nations should be unwilling to admit to the faith of Christ: for this was done when faith was reckoned to the believing Abraham for righteousness, and he had not yet been circumcised. Therefore, faith is reckoned as righteousness, not idle and naked, but that which works through love; and also, faith which, although it does not yet have the time to work, still has a perfect will to work. For the faith of the thief was reckoned as righteousness, which, even though it could have no time for works given the imminent article of death, was judged so perfect by the inspector of hearts, that on the same day, it was rewarded with habitation in paradise with him. The faith of Cornelius and his household was reckoned as righteousness, even so much that before the washing of regeneration, they received the gift of the Holy Spirit; because as soon as it was conceived in the heart, it was prepared to work through love. Thus, Abraham's faith was also proven sufficient to be reckoned as righteousness, since he was prepared to offer even his only son as a burnt offering at the command of the Lord. Therefore, the just man lives by faith (Rom. I, 17), that faith surely which is ready to work through love, and if it has time, it works.
Dictionary and topics
Chronology — Is the arrangement of facts and events in the order of time. The writers of the Bible themselves do not adopt any standard era according to which they date events. Sometimes the years are reckoned,…
Covenant — A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a…
Children · Were named: Sometimes born when parents were old — Were named: Sometimes born when parents were old
Condescension Of God · Enters into covenant with Abraham — Enters into covenant with Abraham
Grace Of God · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Justification · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Justification Before God · Exemplified: Abraham — Exemplified: Abraham
Righteousness · By faith — By faith
Vision · .Concerning his — .Concerning his
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And he believed in the Lord. None of us would be able to conceive the rich and hidden doctrine which this passage contains, unless Paul had borne his torch before us. (Romans 4:3.) But it is strange, and seems like a prodigy, that when the Spirit of God has kindled so great a light, yet the greater part of interpreters wander with closed eyes, as in the darkness of night. I omit the Jews, whose blindness is well known. But it is (as I have said) monstrous, that they who have had Paul as their luminous expositor; should so foolishly have depraved this place. However it hence appears, that in all ages, Satan has labored at nothing more assiduously than to extinguish, or to smother, the gratuit…
The words of Jehovah run thus: "Fear not, Abram: I am a shield to thee, thy reward very much." הרבּה an inf. absol., generally used adverbially, but here as an adjective, equivalent to "thy very great reward." The divine promise to be a shield to him, that is to say, a protection against all enemies, and a reward, i.e., richly to reward his confidence, his ready obedience, stands here, as the opening words "after these things" indicate, in close connection with the previous guidance of Abram. Whilst the protection of his wife in Egypt was a practical pledge of the possibility of his having a posterity, and the separation of Lot, followed by the conquest of the kings of the East, was also a p…
And Abram believed: God made his covenant with a believer; the statement does not indicate when Abram came to faith. The Hebrew text does not link Abram’s belief with the promise of the stars; it just says parenthetically that Abram believed God. Abram already had faith; his departure from Ur was his first great act that demonstrated it (see Heb 11:8-10). • God counted him as righteous because of his faith: This central statement about Abram’s saving faith is quoted three times in the New Testament (Rom 4:3; Gal 3:6; Jas 2:23) to support the doctrine of righteousness before God by faith (see also Rom 4:22-23).
Rashi on Genesis 15:6
'והאמין בה AND HE BELIEVED IN THE LORD — He did not ask Him for a sign regarding this; but in respect to the promise that he would possess the land he asked for a sign, inquiring of God, במה אדע “By what sign shall I know [that I shall possess it?]” (Genesis 15:8).
ויחשבה לו צדקה AND HE ACCOUNTED IT UNTO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS — The Holy One, blessed be He, accounted it unto Abraham as a merit, because of the faith with which he had trusted in Him. Another explanation of במה אדע is: he did not, by these words, ask for a sign regarding this promise that he would possess the land, but he said to Him, “Tell me by what merit they (my descendants) will remain in it (the land).” God answered him,…
