Bible Dictionary

RIGHT

Doctrine & Theology • Both

Right may mean straight, just, proper, lawful, or morally upright. Scripture also uses it of a person’s right or authority and of the right hand or side.

Definition

Right may describe what is straight, direct, just, proper, lawful, or morally upright. It may refer to a correct path or word, a just judgment, a person’s entitlement or authority, or the right hand or side. Biblical terms translated “right” carry these different shades according to context.

Biblical Usage

Scripture speaks of what is right in God’s sight, right in one’s own eyes, right words and paths, and the right judgment of the Judge of all the earth. The New Testament also uses “right” for authority, as in the right to become children of God, and for the right hand or side.

Historical Background

The Hebrew terms include words meaning straight and judgment, while the principal New Testament term also carries the senses just and righteous. English revisions sometimes replace “right” with more specific words such as “straight,” “skillful,” “justice,” or “handling aright.”

Historical Bible Dictionaries

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)

rit (yashar, mishpaT; dikaios, euthus): Many Hebrew words are translated "right," with different shades of meaning. Of these the two noted are the most important: yashar, with the sense of being straight, direct, as "right in the sight" of Yahweh (Ex 15:26; De 12:25, etc.), in one's own eyes (Jud 17:6), "right words" (Job 6:25 the King James Version, yosher), "right paths" (Pr 4:11 the King James Version); and mishpaT "judgment" "cause" etc., a forensic term, as "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Ge 18:25). In Job 34:17, the Revised Version (British and American) has "justice" (34:6, "right"), etc. The word tsedheq, tsedhaqah, ordinarily translated "righteousness," are in a few cases rendered "right" (2Sa 19:28; Ne 2:20; Ps 9:4; 17:1; 119:75; Eze 18:5, etc.). In the New Testament the chief word is dikaios, primarily "even," "equal" (Mt 20:4; Lu 12:57, etc.); more generally the word is rendered "just" and "righteous." Euthus, used by Septuagint for yashar (1Sa 12:23; Ho 14:9), occurs a few times (Ac 8:21; 13:10; 2Pe 2:15); so orthos, "straight," "upright" (Lu 10:28). "Right-hand" or "side" represents Hebrew yamin and kindred forms (Ge 48:13,14,17; Ex 15:6, etc.); the Greek, in this sense, is dexios (Mt 6:3; 20:21, etc.).Revised Version, among other changes, has "right" for the King James Version "judgment" in Job 27:2; 34:5, and for "right" in the King James Version substitutes "straight" in Ezr 8:21, "skillful" in Ec 4:4, margin "successful," etc. In Joh 1:12 the Revised Version (British and American) reads, "the right to become children of God" for the King James Version "the power" (exousia); in Mt 20:7,15 "right" is omitted, with the larger part of the verse. In 2Ti 2:15 "rightly dividing" (orthotomeo) is changed to "handling aright" with margin "holding a straight course in the word of truth. Or, rightly dividing the word of truth."W. L. Walker

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