So we all know about how Abraham, in Gen 15:6, is said to be considered righteous:
וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן בַּֽיהוָ֑ה וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ לֹּ֖ו צְדָקָֽה׃
And he believed YHWH and he credited it to him [as] righteousness.
A very similar phrase occurs in Psalm 106. It begins by describing the incident in Numbers 25:1-9:
28 They aligned themselves with Baal Peor
and ate the sacrifices of deceased ancestors.
29 They inflamed provocation by their deeds
and an epidemic broke out among them.
30 Phinehas took a stand and intervened.
The epidemic was brought to a halt.
Then we get this verse:
וַתֵּחָ֣שֶׁב לֹ֭ו לִצְדָקָ֑ה לְדֹ֥ר וָ֝דֹ֗ר עַד־עֹו לָֽם׃
31 And it was credited to him as righteousness
from [one] generation to another, time without end.
If you look at the Hebrew, there are some differences between the two:
וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ לֹּ֖ו צְדָקָֽה
וַתֵּחָ֣שֶׁב לֹ֭ו לִצְדָקָ֑ה
In Gen, we are dealing with the Hiphil form, a very active sense.
In Psalms, we are dealing with the Niphal form, a very passive sense.
In Gen, there is an object suffix, so we know that a person acted on a thing.
In Psalms, there is no object suffix for the person being acted upon.
In Gen, there is no lamed of becoming as we would expect for something like as righteousness.
In Psalms, there is a lamed of becoming.
Things get more interesting in terms of the person of the verb. In Gen, the person is masculine, whereas in Psalms, the person is feminine. So what is the syntactic antecedent for Psalm 106:31? What was credited? We have two choices, either: 1. the epidemic or 2. the intervention. It doesn't make sense to credit Phinehas with the epidemic, but at the same time, it does seem strange to refer to this reckoning in such grandiose terms (from [one] generation to another, time without end) compared to the Numbers passage (forever.)
In any case, it is also fascinating that someone is credited with righteousnessa righteousness that extends beyond anything mentioned of Abrahamfor his works. For what he did: intervening (in the Numbers passage, this intervention involves skewering an Israelite and a Midianite as they were copulating).
So whereas the reward of belief is righteousness in one place, in another place, the reward of works is righteousness, and the second righteousness is without end. Unless we say that YHWH is the one who is credited with righteousness for sending the epidemic.
וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן בַּֽיהוָ֑ה וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ לֹּ֖ו צְדָקָֽה׃
And he believed YHWH and he credited it to him [as] righteousness.
A very similar phrase occurs in Psalm 106. It begins by describing the incident in Numbers 25:1-9:
28 They aligned themselves with Baal Peor
and ate the sacrifices of deceased ancestors.
29 They inflamed provocation by their deeds
and an epidemic broke out among them.
30 Phinehas took a stand and intervened.
The epidemic was brought to a halt.
Then we get this verse:
וַתֵּחָ֣שֶׁב לֹ֭ו לִצְדָקָ֑ה לְדֹ֥ר וָ֝דֹ֗ר עַד־עֹו לָֽם׃
31 And it was credited to him as righteousness
from [one] generation to another, time without end.
If you look at the Hebrew, there are some differences between the two:
וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ לֹּ֖ו צְדָקָֽה
וַתֵּחָ֣שֶׁב לֹ֭ו לִצְדָקָ֑ה
In Gen, we are dealing with the Hiphil form, a very active sense.
In Psalms, we are dealing with the Niphal form, a very passive sense.
In Gen, there is an object suffix, so we know that a person acted on a thing.
In Psalms, there is no object suffix for the person being acted upon.
In Gen, there is no lamed of becoming as we would expect for something like as righteousness.
In Psalms, there is a lamed of becoming.
Things get more interesting in terms of the person of the verb. In Gen, the person is masculine, whereas in Psalms, the person is feminine. So what is the syntactic antecedent for Psalm 106:31? What was credited? We have two choices, either: 1. the epidemic or 2. the intervention. It doesn't make sense to credit Phinehas with the epidemic, but at the same time, it does seem strange to refer to this reckoning in such grandiose terms (from [one] generation to another, time without end) compared to the Numbers passage (forever.)
In any case, it is also fascinating that someone is credited with righteousnessa righteousness that extends beyond anything mentioned of Abrahamfor his works. For what he did: intervening (in the Numbers passage, this intervention involves skewering an Israelite and a Midianite as they were copulating).
So whereas the reward of belief is righteousness in one place, in another place, the reward of works is righteousness, and the second righteousness is without end. Unless we say that YHWH is the one who is credited with righteousness for sending the epidemic.
