In the ancient scriptural languages, “righteousness” and “justice” are the same word. Thus, there is no division of meaning between “the just” and “the righteous.”
In our concept of justice, it is a complex notion that has to do with law and the community good. Righteousness, on the other hand, has to do with being religiously right, doing what is right before God. Well, no wonder then that there is no division in the ancient world—no matter what society one lives in. There was no notion of secular justice, of justice without God in any ancient society. To act well for the community, one is acting well before God as well.
Plato, in his Republic, perhaps is the first to separate God from justice, and to only look at the idea itself, outside the idea of “might makes right”. Jesus, however, also separated authority from justice—recognizing that God’s justice isn’t always the same as an authority’s idea of justice. Authorities often act in opposition to God’s justice and a remarkable act must take place to establish God’s justice as primary.
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