[B-Greek] Would "legitimate" be a better translation of DIKAIOS?

Oun Kwon kwonbbl at gmail.com
Sat May 6 15:17:01 EDT 2006


On Fri, 5 May 2006  Jeff jam at surfing.net wrote

>
> Your point about the pharisees is indespensible in understanding DIKAIOS in Luke-Acts.
> Those who are legitimate before God will be identifiable on the face of it
> by their compliance in meeting God "where" and "how" God has proscribed.
> The priest Zacharias and his wife Elizebeth exemplify
this and we are told HSAN DE DIKAIOI AMFOTEROI ENANTION TOU QEOU.
> The key seems to be, "legitimate from whose perspective?"

<clipped>

OJK:  I think the English word 'legitimate' has a quite different
meaning and usage from Jeff is trying to fit into the Bible texts.

Whereas, [if you all allow me to put forward my thinking]:

'Righteousness' is a 'biblish' English word shown in two different
usage, 'righteousness of God' and 'righteousness of us which is
imputed'.

Its basic meaning is rather than that of 'right, upright (opposite of
wrong)' but 'worthiness'.  Of course, when it is applied to the human
beings (the created being), the first thing to come up is
'conditional' worthiness, where as 'worthiness of God' is existential
worthiness. God is (self) worthy, simply because God IS [=exists] as
the only real being.

Derived from this basic meaning are diverse concepts and expressions:
'being righteous from the view point of Law-abiding' (=God sees us
worthy ..), 'being declared righteous [being justified] through faith'
(God says and accepts us worthy ...), and others such as  'God's
covenantal faithfulness (a la NT Wright)', 'justice', etc.

Oun Kwon.



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