What Does the Bible Say About Honesty?

When honesty is discussed in the Bible, it is in terms of truth or bearing false witness. There is a distinct difference between the ways that the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) use the term "truth." The radically different languages--Hebrew in the Hebrew Scriptures and Greek in the Christian Scriptures--mean that the Hebrew and Christian writers that contributed to the Bible differed in their understanding of truth.

History

Historically, biblical writers carried different concepts that influenced the ways that they wrote about truth (honesty). In the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the Hebrew language, there are no Hebrew words for "true" and "truth." Truth is treated in the context of the word "faith." If a person can believe or trust in something or someone, it is because the believer has an assurance that of the reality of the person or thing. The person or thing exists and, therefore, can withstand any circumstance, will never change and can never betray the believer's confidence. In the Christian Scriptures, writers' references to truth carry some of the Hebrew idea as well as classical Greek definitions of truth. Although Greek understanding of truth has an element of the Hebrew idea of the reality of a person or thing, Greek understanding is based, not on belief or trust, but on intellectual knowing. This transition from solely Hebrew thought in the Bible to a blend of cultures and languages in the Christian texts represents significant historical changes.

Features

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the fact that there is no Hebrew equivalent for "true" or "truth" indicates a cultural mindset in which people do not comprehend truth as to which one intellectually assents. To have confidence in the lasting nature of a thing or person requires assurance that it exists. Conversely, a lie or lack of honesty has no solid reality and one cannot depend on it. In the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments), the people are commanded not to bear false witness against a neighbor. This is a lie and has no reality, no objective existence.
In the Gospels, especially in the Gospel of John, truth assumes a specific meaning and uniquely refers to Christ. In John's gospel, Christ is the "true vine" and the "true Light." The writer means an archetypal or fundamental truth that is the foundation for all other existence. Although the writer refers to existential matters, they are ideas to which one can only intellectually assent.

Significance

Related to an affirmation of existence is the manner by which one responds to a true thing. A Hebrew actively chooses to believe, whereas a Greek intellectually assents. There is a significant difference at the level of human action. Simultaneously, it is clear that Hebrew language and thought influence biblical writers in the Christian Scriptures. The lines between Hebrew and Christian thought are not as distinct as the difference be from one page in the Bible to the next. The two scriptural sets that comprise the Bible are far more distinct than the languages and cultures from which the Bible arises. Jewish and Christian experiences are forever linked.

Effects

How truth is addressed signifies and affects Christians' and Jews' world views. The difference between belief and knowing has implications for how people see the world and approach one another. The simple use of the word, "truth" carries an obligation to clarify and to try to comprehend what one another means.
Differences in language and, therefore, in culture, are evident in the essentially different ways that Hebrew and Greek languages incorporate the idea of truth in the Bible. This differences in languages are exhibited in another idea--that of knowing a person's or God's name. For the Hebrew people, to know a person's name is to know something about an individual's nature. That is why the name of God is so emphasized in the Jewish religion. For non-Hebrew people, such as the Greeks and, eventually, Romans, a name revealed nothing essential about a person's being. The difference changes the two religions' theologies.

Expert Insight

Hebrew and the Christian biblical writers have deeper notions of truth that exceed contemporary and rather simplistic meanings of honesty. In the Bible, truth transcends the mere telling of lies and has existential value. The differences between Hebrew and Greek languages and how those differences affect Hebrew and Christian uses of "truth" and "true" in the Bible is not completely distinct. Jesus was Jewish, born into the House of David. Hebrews and their language permeated the culture in which Jesus and biblical writers lived. Some Gospels writers, for example, wrote in the midst of the Hebrew people, others were more influenced by Greek thought and culture. The ways that Hebrew and Greek languages come together in the Christian biblical writings reveals the complexities that accompany biblical scholarship.
There is one more factor to consider regarding how or whether the terms "honesty" or "truth" appear in Bible searches. This applies to Christian biblical scholarship. Different Bible versions offer different translations of original Bible texts. One version might use the term "honesty" and another version might not. This is not an insignificant issue, and it is an issue about which a researcher must be aware.

Resources

• Honesty in the Bible
• New Advent: Truth
• Bible Gateway: Honesty