Lexicon

G1342 - dikaios

Strong's: G1342 · BLB lookup Pronunciation: dik'-ah-yos Part of speech: adjective NT occurrences: 79

Semantic range

Righteous, just, upright, conformed to a moral / legal standard
In right standing with God, soteriological sense
Innocent / blameless in legal contexts
Right, fitting, proper in ethical contexts

The adjective is part of the dikai- word family, alongside G1343 - dikaiosyne (righteousness, noun) and G1344 - dikaioo (justify, verb). Together they form the central Pauline-soteriological vocabulary cluster.

Theological force

Dikaios of God

God is supremely dikaios, His character, judgments, and ways are perfectly righteous:

Romans 3:26, God is dikaion kai dikaiounta, "just and the justifier" of those who have faith in Jesus
Revelation 16:5, 7; 19:2, God's judgments are dikaiai

Dikaios of Christ

Christ is the Righteous One:

Acts 3:14, "the dikaion and Holy One" (Peter's sermon)
Acts 7:52, "they killed those who had previously announced the coming of the dikaiou" (Stephen)
Acts 22:14, "to see the dikaion" (Ananias to Paul)
1 John 2:1, "we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the dikaion"
1 Peter 3:18, "Christ also died for sins once for all, the dikaios for the unrighteous"

Christ as the Dikaios fulfills the OT-Servant-Messiah pattern (Isaiah 53:11, tzaddiq avdi) and grounds substitutionary atonement: the dikaios dies for the adikoi.

Dikaios of believers

Believers are dikaioi in two senses:

(1) Imputed righteousness, the Reformation core:

Romans 1:17 (citing Habakkuk 2:4), "the dikaios by faith shall live"
Romans 4:3 (citing Genesis 15:6), "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as dikaiosynēn"
2 Corinthians 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the dikaiosynē theou in Him"

(2) Practical / experiential righteousness, sanctification:

1 John 3:7, "the one who practices dikaiosynēn is dikaios"
1 John 2:29, "everyone who practices dikaiosynēn has been born of Him"
Matthew 5:6, "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for dikaiosynēn"
Matthew 5:20, disciples' dikaiosynē must surpass that of scribes and Pharisees

The Reformation: imputed righteousness is the legal-forensic foundation; experiential righteousness is the resulting fruit. The believer is declared dikaios (justification) and progressively becomes dikaios in lived holiness (sanctification).

Habakkuk 2:4, the dikaios shall live by faith

The most-cited OT quote in the NT (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). The Reformation rallying cry, sola fide, is anchored here. The dikaios lives by pistis, not by works, ritual, or self-justification.

Notable verses

God / Christ as dikaios

John 17:25, "dikaie pater"
Romans 3:26, God is dikaios and the justifier
Acts 3:14; 7:52; 22:14, Christ as the Dikaios
1 John 2:1, Christ the Dikaios as Advocate
1 Peter 3:18, dikaios hyper adikōn, substitutionary

The believer as dikaios

Romans 1:17 / Galatians 3:11 / Hebrews 10:38, Habakkuk 2:4 citation
Romans 5:7, "for a dikaiou man someone might dare to die"
Romans 5:19, "by the obedience of the One the many will be made dikaioi"
2 Timothy 4:8, "the crown of dikaiosynēs… the dikaios judge will award"
James 5:16, "the effective prayer of a dikaiou man can accomplish much"
1 Peter 3:12, "the eyes of the Lord are toward the dikaious"
Revelation 22:11, "let the one who is dikaios still practice dikaiosynēn"

Patristic / scholarly note

The dikai- word family is central to the Reformation vs Roman Catholic dispute over justification (see G1344 - dikaioo for fuller treatment). Conservative Protestant: imputed-forensic; Roman Catholic: infused-grace. Modern: New Perspective on Paul (Wright, Sanders, Dunn) reframes the dispute around covenantal-faithfulness.

Notes

Lexical workspace for dikaios.