Description: The second volume of this three-volume work exegetes and comments on every occurrence of the Hebrew terms for righteousness in the Old Testament. It begins with a discussion of apperception and deductive method and concludes with an afterword on righteousness and ontology. The ontological argument affirms that God's aseity is the foundation of righteousness in the Bible, and thus of all true righteousness. Righteousness is being true to God, and God is always true to himself, including in his self-existence. Other terms in the righteous word group, such as "righteous" and "justify," are considered, along with the important word pair, "righteousness and justice," in semantic domain studies in the first three chapters. Semantic domain studies show that terms like "upright," "blameless," and "good" are qualifiers of righteousness. Whatever the flavor or nuance of the terms for righteousness may be in different OT contexts, however, study shows that the underlying sense of righteousness is conformity to God's Being and doing, and the same is true of the righteousness of God.
Brief description: Jeffrey Jay Niehaus is a poet and Senior Professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has written a number of scholarly works, including God at Sinai, Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology, a three-volume Biblical Theology, and a monograph, When Did Eve Sin? Niehaus received his PhD in English literature from Harvard University in 1976 and is the author of Preludes: An Autobiography in Verse, Sonnets Subtropical and Existential, Sea Grapes and Sea Oats, and God the Poet: Exploring the Origin and Nature of Poetry.
Review Quotes: "In vol. 2 of Righteousness, Jeffrey Niehaus offers an exhaustive treatment of 'righteousness' and related words in the Old Testament. His central thesis--that 'righteousness' in Scripture mean conformity to God's Being and doing--allows him to look at each passage with proper nuance. The book will be of immense help to all those investigating this central theological theme."
--Sean McDonough, professor of New Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
"Jeffrey Niehaus has produced the most comprehensive and careful study of the biblical concept of righteousness yet written. Many prior studies of the topic were theologically but not exegetically generated, and many followed the old notion that righteousness was conformity to the created order. Tracking and inductively analyzing--in exemplary detail--all the assertions about righteousness in both Testaments, he demonstrates convincingly that righteousness is conformity to God's being and doing. This book not only achieves its purpose, but serves as an example of how biblical theology can and should be done."
--Douglas Stuart, senior professor of Old Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
"This book a meticulous and comprehensive study of the righteousness which is central to God's character and which defines all his actions. It is what makes redemption necessary, and it issues in the great summons to the church to be righteous as God is. Jeffrey Niehaus is a sure-footed guide through the complexities of some of the scholarly discussion because he never loses sight of what is really important. This is a study that will richly reward a careful reading."
--David F. Wells, author of No Place for Truth