H6666 — צְדָקָה (tsedaqah)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H6666
Original: צְדָקָה
Transliteration: tsᵉdâqâh
Pronunciation: tsed-aw-kaw
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: צָדַק (tsadaq, H6663) — to be right, to be just
Occurrences: 150 unique verses (165 tokens) across 22 books
First Occurrence: Gen 15:6 — "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H6663 (tsadaq); rightness (abstractly), subjectively (rectitude), objectively (justice), morally (virtue) or figuratively (prosperity):—justice, moderately, right(-eous) (act, -ly, -ness).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
righteousness (various forms)	~120	~80%
justice / and justice	~12	~8%
and right	7	5%
righteous acts	2	1%
moderately	1	1%
Other	~8	~5%

Overwhelmingly translated righteousness (~80%); justice (~8%) clusters in prophetic texts where tsedaqah pairs with mishpat.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Malachi	2	3.6
Isaiah	34	2.6
Amos	3	2.1
Proverbs	17	1.9
Micah	2	1.9
Psalms	34	1.4
Ezekiel	18	1.4
Joel	1	1.4
Daniel	3	0.8
Deuteronomy	6	0.6
2 Samuel	4	0.6
Jeremiah	7	0.5
Zechariah	1	0.5
Hosea	1	0.5
Job	4	0.4
1 Kings	3	0.4
Genesis	3	0.2
Judges	1	0.2
1 Samuel	2	0.2
2 Chronicles	2	0.2
Nehemiah	1	0.2
1 Chronicles	1	0.1

Concentrated in prophetic literature (Isaiah 34x, Psalms 34x, Proverbs 17x, Ezekiel 18x). Nearly absent from the Pentateuch. Density highest in Malachi and Isaiah — both focus on covenantal restoration and coming deliverance. Notable that Psalms and Isaiah together account for 45% of all occurrences.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Righteousness as God's Own Attribute¶

Tsedaqah as an intrinsic property of Yahweh's character — what he is, not merely what he does.

Dan 9:7 — "O Lord, righteousness [belongeth] unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces"
Ps 71:16 — "I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only."
Ps 111:3 — "His work [is] honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever."
Ps 103:17 — "But the mercy of the LORD [is] from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children"

The most frequent collocation (46x). The pair "mishpat and tsedaqah" (or reversed) functions as a hendiadys for comprehensive justice — the judicial verdict and the moral rightness behind it.

2 Sam 8:15 — "David executed judgment and justice (mishpat + tsedaqah) unto all his people."
Amos 5:24 — "But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream."
Isa 33:5 — "he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness."
Ps 72:1,3 — "Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son… The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness."

3. Yahweh's Saving Acts of Righteousness (Plural: Righteous Acts)¶

The plural form (tsidqot/tsidqoth) refers to concrete historical acts of God's deliverance — his interventions on behalf of his people. This usage is particularly common in the historical summaries.

Judg 5:11 — "there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD"
1 Sam 12:7 — "I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD"
Ps 103:6 — "The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed."
Mic 6:5 — "[remember] the righteous acts of the LORD" (from Shittim to Gilgal)

4. Righteousness as Eschatological Deliverance / Salvation¶

In Isaiah especially, tsedaqah becomes nearly synonymous with God's salvation — his righteousness is his saving intervention, arriving in the future like rain or sunrise.

Isa 45:8 — "let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together"
Isa 46:13 — "I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry"
Isa 51:6 — "for the heavens shall vanish away… but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished."
Ps 98:2 — "his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen."

5. Human Moral Conduct and Obedience¶

Tsedaqah as right-living before God — the practical righteousness of covenant faithfulness, including obedience to commandments.

Deut 6:25 — "And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God"
Job 27:6 — "My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go"
Prov 14:34 — "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin [is] a reproach to any people."
Ezek 18:22 — "All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live."

6. Messianic / Eschatological Righteousness¶

A righteous reign and branch from David's line, where tsedaqah characterizes the future Messianic kingdom.

Jer 23:5 — "I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land."
Jer 33:15 — "I will cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land."
Isa 9:7 — "Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David… to establish it with judgment and with justice"
Mal 4:2 — "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (Yahweh)	H3068	48x	"the righteousness of the LORD / thy righteousness"
מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat)	H4941	46x	"judgment and righteousness" — hendiadys for comprehensive justice
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	42x	"do / execute righteousness"
שׁוּב (shub)	H7725	20x	"turn from his righteousness" (Ezekiel)
אֱלֹהִים (Elohim)	H430	19x	"righteousness of God / thy God"
אֶרֶץ (erets)	H776	13x	"righteousness in the earth / land"
צַדִּיק (tsaddiyq)	H6662	13x	"the righteous [man and his] righteousness"
רָשָׁע (rasha)	H7563	13x	Wickedness vs. righteousness contrast
יוֹם (yom)	H3117	13x	"in the day of righteousness / thy righteousness"
נָתַן (nathan)	H5414	13x	"give / render according to his righteousness"

Word Family / Cognates¶

H6663 צָדַק (tsadaq) — root verb: be righteous, justify, vindicate (41x)
H6662 צַדִּיק (tsaddiyq) — adjective: the righteous one, just (206x)
H6664 צֶדֶק (tsedeq) — masculine noun: righteousness as norm or standard (112x)
H6665 צִדְקָה (tsidqah) — Aramaic cognate (Dan 4:27 only): "break off thy sins by righteousness"

See also: WG-hebrew-righteousness.md for the full tsadaq word family.

Synonyms¶

search_relationships.py returns a wide semantic neighborhood for tsedaqah; the closest overlaps cluster around truth, justice, uprightness, salvation, and covenant well-being.

H530 אֱמוּנָה (emunah), H571 אֶמֶת (emeth), and H2617 חֶסֶד (chesed) — faithfulness / truth / covenant kindness; central covenant-neighbor terms.
H4941 מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) and H6664 צֶדֶק (tsedeq) — justice / righteousness; the noun pair most closely linked to tsedaqah.
H3476 יֹשֶׁר (yosher), H3483 יִשְׁרָה (yishrah), and H4339 מֵישָׁר (meyshar) — uprightness / rectitude / equity cluster.
H3444 יְשׁוּעָה (yeshuah), H3468 יֶשַׁע (yesha'), and H8668 תְּשׁוּעָה (teshuah) — salvation / deliverance cluster, especially where God's righteousness appears as saving action.
H1293 בְּרָכָה (berakhah), H7965 שָׁלוֹם (shalom), and H5797 עֹז (oz) — blessing / peace / strength; outcomes or companions of righteous order.
H6382 פֶּלֶא (pele') and H3519 כָּבוֹד (kabod) — wonder / glory; surfaced by the relationship tool in the wider praise-and-display field around God's righteousness.

Antonyms¶

H2403 חַטָּאָה (chatta'ah), H7562 רֶשַׁע (resha'), H7563 רָשָׁע (rasha), and H7564 רִשְׁעָה (rish'ah) — sin / wickedness cluster standing opposite righteousness.
H5766 עֶוֶל (evel) and H2555 חָמָס (hamas) — injustice / violence; social-order opposites to tsedaqah.
H7451 רַע (ra') — evil in the broad moral sense, opposed to righteous good.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
צֶדֶק (tsedeq)	H6664	both translated "righteousness," "justice"	tsedeq = abstract standard or norm ("a just weight," "judge in righteousness"); tsedaqah = righteousness as personal quality or concrete act. Hebrew often pairs them; Greek collapses both into δικαιοσύνη.
δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosyne)	G1343	both translated "righteousness"	Greek NT word that inherits tsedaqah's semantic range via LXX; used 85x in NT, carrying both the normative and active/covenantal senses of the Hebrew.
מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat)	H4941	occasionally "justice"	mishpat = the judicial process or verdict; tsedaqah = the moral rightness behind or accompanying it. They are complementary, not synonymous.

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002001003014] Right — marks the core rightness / rectitude field for tsedaqah.
[002] Events — search_relationships.py also places the noun in a broader event-and-action field, fitting uses where righteousness is enacted or displayed in history.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosyne, G1343)	129x	6.30	Primary; ~86% of LXX renderings
ἐλεημοσύνη (eleemosyne, G1654)	10x	6.41	"Almsgiving, charitable act" — LXX shift emphasizing concrete benevolent deed
κρίμα (krima, G2917)	25x	4.30	When paired with mishpat; LXX renders the pair as judicial
κρίσις (krisis, G2920)	17x	3.84	Similar judicial coloring in prophets
δίκαιος (dikaios, G1342)	20x	3.45	Occasional rendering as adjective form

Eleemosyne note: The LXX translation of tsedaqah as ἐλεημοσύνη (almsgiving) in ~7% of cases reflects the concrete, act-based dimension of tsedaqah — the "righteous deed" manifesting as charity. This translation history is the source of the Jewish use of tzedakah to mean "almsgiving" in rabbinic literature.