A concept understood differently by Hebrews and Greeks. For the Hebrews, truth was moral and relational, not intellectual (as it was for the Greeks). Thus, the word generally translated “true” in the OT carries the sense of what is “constant, permanent, faithful, reliable.” God above all is true, that is, real and reliable (Isa 65:16; Jer 10:10); people are to seek God’s truth (Ps 25:5; Ps 51:6; Ps 86:11). People are admonished to judge truly, and the lack of truth is lamented (Zech 8:16; Isa 59:14-15). Reports and prophecies may be true or false (1Kgs 10:6-7). In all these instances, the emphasis is upon reliability; something or someone that will stand up under testing. NT usage draws on both Greek and OT understandings. Paul usually uses the word in the OT sense: truth is to be obeyed (Rom 2:8; Gal 5:7); truth proves reliable (2Cor 7:14; 2Cor 11:10); its opposite is malice and evil (1Cor 5:8). The Greek idea of truth as correct knowledge appears most often in the Pastoral Letters (1Tim 4:3; 2Tim 2:25; 2Tim 2:18; 2Tim 4:4). In the Gospel of John, the OT understanding of God as truth extends to Christ (John 14:6) and the Holy Spirit (John 15:26). Believers are guided into truth (John 16:13), to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). Those who continue in Christ’s word know the truth and are set free (John 8:31-32). Such freedom is not due to possession of correct knowledge, but rather comes from relationship to that which is truly real, namely, God.
