Righteousness = Alignment with God/Truth
Hebrew Word “Tamim”
As I was translating Genesis 17, I came across something that really caught my attention. God told Abram to “be blameless.” When I think about what it means to be blameless, I interpret that as staying out of trouble. But when I looked up the Hebrew definition of “blameless,” I realized that God was asking Abram to be so much more than just “out of trouble.” God told Abram to be “tamim.”
Like many words, the word “tamim” has a few similar definitions that work together to paint the full picture of its meaning.
tamim (adjective)
1. complete, whole, sound, healthy
2. wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity
3. completely in accord with truth and fact
Let’s look at each of these definitions and break them down.
Tamim = Complete
Firstly, when God told Abram to be “tamim,” he wanted him to be complete. He wanted Abram to be whole instead of fragmented. He wanted him to be sound and solid instead of insecure and volatile. He wanted Abraham to be intrinsically healthy, and not lacking anything.
Tamim = Wholesome
Secondly, when God told Abram to be “tamim,” he wanted him to be wholesome. He wanted him to be unimpaired, with nothing holding him back. He wanted him to be innocent and blameless. He wanted him to be a man of integrity and good character.
Tamim = Aligned with Truth
Thirdly, when God told Abram to be “tamim,” he wanted him to be completely aligned with truth and fact.
For example, if someone is an adult but acts like a child, they are not living in line with the truth. If someone is a policeman but acts like a criminal, they are not living aligned with truth. If God is my authority, but I reject him and live my own way, I am not living in line with reality.
Conclusion
It seems like the ancient Hebrews associated “being good” with “being complete” and being “aligned with truth.”
When I follow God’s ways, I’m not just obeying some random set of rules he made up—I’m coming into alignment with true reality. When God gave us his law, he’s telling us what true reality looks like, and we can either live in alignment with it or misaligned with it.
As suggested by the first definition of “tamim,” when we live aligned with God, we experience more completeness and soundness. Living aligned with God gives us peace.