Emet #59

Emet is the Hebrew word usually translated “truth.” Its root is the same as that of “amen,” and the underlying idea is firmness or stability: something that holds up when weight is put on it. For this reason emet often means “faithfulness” or “reliability” as well as correctness, and translations move between “truth” and “faithfulness” depending on context.

Biblical Usage

Emet is regularly paired with hesed. When the LORD proclaims his own name to Moses, he is “abundant in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6), which many versions render “steadfast love and faithfulness.” Abraham’s servant praises God for not leaving his master without his “mercy and his truth” after being led to Rebekah’s family (Genesis 24:27). The pair is used again and again in the Psalms to describe God’s dependable care.

God’s word is also emet. Psalm 119:160 says that God’s word is true “from the beginning,” and that his righteous judgments endure forever. The word describes the standard of speech and justice in Israel as well: Zechariah tells the people to speak the truth to one another and to render judgment of truth and peace in the gates (Zechariah 8:16), placing honesty in both private speech and public courts. Psalm 25:5 asks God to lead the psalmist in his truth, using the word for a path to walk in.

Theological Significance

The Hebrew idea differs somewhat from a common modern picture of truth as agreement between a statement and a fact. In the Old Testament truth is a quality of persons and their words as well as of statements, so a true God is one who can be counted on, and a true person is one who keeps his word. This background explains why the New Testament Greek word aletheia, used by John, carries a sense of reliability and why “amen” is used to affirm what is firm. Traditions differ over how far the Hebrew and Greek concepts overlap, but the Old Testament link between truth and faithfulness is widely accepted.