Reference: Witness
American
One who testifies to any fact from his own personal knowledge. Under the Mosaic law, two witnesses under oath were necessary to convict a person charged with a capital crime, Nu 35:30; and if the criminal was stoned, the witnesses were bound to cast the first stones, De 17:6-7; Ac 7:58. The Greek word for witness is MARTYR, which see. The apostles were witnesses, in proclaiming to the world the facts of the gospel, Ac 1:8,22; 2:32; 2Pe 1:12,16-18; and Christ is a "faithful witness," in testifying to men of heavenly things, Joh 3:12; Re 1:5. The heroes of the ancient church are "witnesses" to the power of true faith, Heb 12:1.
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Whoever shall smite a person mortally, at the mouth of witnesses shall the murderer be put to death; but one witness shall not testify against a person to cause him to die.
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death: he shall not be put to death at the mouth of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst.
If I have said the earthly things to you, and ye believe not, how, if I say the heavenly things to you, will ye believe?
but ye will receive power, the Holy Spirit having come upon you, and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
beginning from the baptism of John until the day in which he was taken up from us, one of these should be a witness with us of his resurrection.
This Jesus has God raised up, whereof all we are witnesses.
and having cast him out of the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid aside their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul.
Let us also therefore, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight, and sin which so easily entangles us, run with endurance the race that lies before us,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood,
Easton
More than one witness was required in criminal cases (De 17:6; 19:15). They were the first to execute the sentence on the condemned (De 13:9; 17:7; 1Ki 21:13; Mt 27:1; Ac 7:57-58). False witnesses were liable to punishment (De 19:16-21). It was also an offence to refuse to bear witness (Le 5:1).
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And if any one sin, and hear the voice of adjuration, and he is a witness whether he hath seen or known it, if he do not give information, then he shall bear his iniquity.
but thou shalt in any case kill him: thy hand shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people;
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death: he shall not be put to death at the mouth of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst.
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, and for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established. If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of an offence; read more. then both the men between whom the controversy is shall stand before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days; and the judges shall make thorough inquiry; and if the witness be a false witness, and he have testified falsely against his brother, then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst. And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in thy midst. And thine eye shall not spare: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
And when it was morning all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus so that they might put him to death.
And they cried out with a loud voice, and held their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord; and having cast him out of the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid aside their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul.
Hastings
This is the rendering of Heb. '
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And now, come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be a witness between me and thee.
if thou shouldest afflict my daughters, or if thou shouldest take wives besides my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness between me and thee!
Take this book of the law, and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee;
And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us, for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spoke unto us; and it shall be a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.
And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi;
And he said to them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand! And the people said, He is witness!
Thou hast shrivelled me up! it is become a witness; and my leanness riseth up against me, it beareth witness to my face.
Even now, behold, my Witness is in the heavens, and he that voucheth for me is in the heights.
He that uttereth truth sheweth forth righteousness; but a false witness deceit.
A false witness shall not be held innocent, and he that uttereth lies shall not escape. Many court the favour of a noble; and every one is friend to a man that giveth. read more. All the brethren of a poor man hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him: he pursueth them with words, they are not to be found. He that getteth sense loveth his own soul; he that keepeth understanding shall find good. A false witness shall not be held innocent, and he that uttereth lies shall perish.
A lying witness shall perish; and a man that heareth shall speak constantly.
A maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow, is a man that beareth false witness against his neighbour.
because they have committed infamy in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken words of falsehood in my name, which I had not commanded them: and I am he that knoweth, and am witness, saith Jehovah.
And I subscribed the writing, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances.
And they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not even according to all the word for which Jehovah thy God shall send thee to us.
And whatsoever place shall not receive you nor hear you, departing thence, shake off the dust which is under your feet for a testimony to them.
And ye are witnesses of these things.
but ye will receive power, the Holy Spirit having come upon you, and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
This Jesus has God raised up, whereof all we are witnesses.
but the originator of life ye slew, whom God raised from among the dead, whereof we are witnesses.
For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the glad tidings of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you,
if indeed ye abide in the faith founded and firm, and not moved away from the hope of the glad tidings, which ye have heard, which have been proclaimed in the whole creation which is under heaven, of which I Paul became minister.
I enjoin thee before God who preserves all things in life, and Christ Jesus who witnessed before Pontius Pilate the good confession,
Let us also therefore, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight, and sin which so easily entangles us, run with endurance the race that lies before us,
and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father: to him be the glory and the might to the ages of ages. Amen.
And to the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
Morish
The testimony or evidence adduced or given in confirmation of an assertion, and so often used judicially. The term also sometimes speaks simply of an expression of mind or feeling. Until God intervenes in power to establish His own purpose in regard to this world, He maintains a testimony to that which He will assuredly accomplish.
The words ????????, ????????, and ????????? are translated both 'testimony' and 'witness.' The idea runs all through the scriptures in respect both to God Himself and to His people. Paul declared before the heathen at Lystra that God 'had not left himself without witness' as to His existence and His goodness, in giving rain and fruitful seasons, filling their 'hearts with food and gladness,' Ac 14:17. The invisible things of God are testified of, "being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, or divinity." Ro 1:19-20.
God having for fifteen hundred years manifested His patience towards the guilty antediluvian world, He, after warning the people by the preaching of Noah, bore witness to His righteousness and His power by the deluge, and at the same time manifested His grace in saving Noah and his family in the ark.
The witness which God vouchsafed of Himself to Abraham was that He was 'THE ALMIGHTY GOD'; to Moses it was 'I AM THAT I AM'; and to Israel, 'JEHOVAH.' The ark was often called the "Ark of the testimony," and the tabernacle was the "Tent of witness," the witness of good things to come. To Nebuchadnezzar God was witnessed to as the 'GOD OF HEAVEN.' To the Christian He is 'GOD AND FATHER.'
Israel were of old God's witnesses, and will also be in the future.
When Christ was on earth He bore witness to God as LOVE and LIGHT. The Lord Jesus is declared to be "the faithful and true witness," Re 3:14; and His works and His words were witnesses that He had come from God. The Father also bore witness to Him as His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased. The Lord Jesus confessed before the Jewish council that He was the Son of God, and before Pilate that He was the King of the Jews. Mt 26:63-64; 27:11.
Peter and John were witnesses of the truth before the council, so that they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. Ac 4:13. Stephen also was a true witness, and his testimony led to his becoming a martyr (??????). In Heb. 11 is given a 'great cloud' of witnesses to the principle of faith in Old Testament saints, some of whom were also martyrs. God will to the last have a testimony on earth as seen in His 'two witnesses' of Rev. 11.
In Christianity there are said to be three witnesses
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At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death: he shall not be put to death at the mouth of one witness.
But if he do not hear thee, take with thee one or two besides, that every matter may stand upon the word of two witnesses or of three.
But Jesus was silent. And the high priest answering said to him, I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us if thou art the Christ the Son of God. Jesus says to him, Thou hast said. Moreover, I say to you, From henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.
But Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor questioned him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him, Thou sayest.
But seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and perceiving that they were unlettered and uninstructed men, they wondered; and they recognised them that they were with Jesus.
though indeed he did not leave himself without witness, doing good, and giving to you from heaven rain and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.
Because what is known of God is manifest among them, for God has manifested it to them, for from the world's creation the invisible things of him are perceived, being apprehended by the mind through the things that are made, both his eternal power and divinity, so as to render them inexcusable.
the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God which he has witnessed concerning his Son. read more. He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself; he that does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness which God has witnessed concerning his Son. And this is the witness, that God has given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son.
And to the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
Smith
Witness.
Among people with whom writing is not common the evidence of a transaction is given by some tangible memorial or significant ceremony: Abraham gave seven ewe-lambs to Abimelech as an evidence of his property in the well of Beersheba. Jacob raised a heap of stones, "the heap of witness." as a boundary-mark between himself and Laban.
The tribes of Reuben and Gad raised an "altar" as a witness to the covenant between themselves and the rest of the nation. Joshua set up a stone as an evidence of the allegiance promised by Israel to God.
But written evidence was by no means unknown to the Jews. Divorce was to be proved by a written document.
De 24:1,3
In civil contracts, at least in later times documentary evidence was required and carefully preserved.
On the whole the law was very careful to provide and enforce evidence for all its infractions and all transactions bearing on them. Among special provisions with respect to evidence are the following:
1. Two witnesses at least are required to establish any charge.
Nu 35:30; De 17:6; Joh 8:17; 2Co 13:1
comp. 1Tim 5:19
2. In the case of the suspected wife, evidence besides the husband's was desired.
3. The witness who withheld the truth was censured.
4. False witness was punished with the penalty due to the offence which it sought to establish.
5. Slanderous reports and officious witness are discouraged.
Ex 20:16; 23:1; 18/16/type/darby'>Le 18:16,18
etc.
6. The witnesses were the first executioners.
De 15:9; 17:7; Ac 7:58
7. In case of an animal left in charge and torn by wild beasts, the keeper was to bring the carcass in proof of the fact and disproof of his own criminality.
8. According to Josephus, women and slaves were not admitted to bear testimony. In the New Testament the original notion of a witness is exhibited in the special form of one who attests his belief in the gospel by personal suffering. Hence it is that the use of the ecclesiastical term ("martyr." the Greek word for "witness," has arisen.
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And he said, That thou take the seven ewe-lambs of my hand, that they may be a witness to me that I have dug this well.
let this heap be witness, and the pillar a witness, that neither I pass this heap to go to thee, nor thou pass this heap and this pillar to come to me, for harm.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
If it have been torn in pieces, let him bring it as witness: he shall not make good what was torn.
Thou shalt not accept a false report; extend not thy hand to the wicked, to be an unrighteous witness.
The nakedness of thy brother's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy brother's nakedness.
And thou shalt not take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness beside her, during her life.
and a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and she be defiled in secret, and there be no witness against her, and she have not been caught;
Whoever shall smite a person mortally, at the mouth of witnesses shall the murderer be put to death; but one witness shall not testify against a person to cause him to die.
Beware that there be not a wicked thought in thy heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry against thee to Jehovah, and it be sin in thee.
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death: he shall not be put to death at the mouth of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people; and thou shalt put evil away from thy midst.
When a man taketh a wife, and marrieth her, it shall be if she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a letter of divorce, and give it into her hand, and send her out of his house.
And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a letter of divorce, and give it into her hand, and send her out of his house; or if the latter husband die who took her as his wife;
And they came to the districts of the Jordan that are in the land of Canaan; and the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of grand appearance.
And we said, Let us now set to work to build an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice,
And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad gave a name to the altar; for it is a witness between us that Jehovah is God.
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us, for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spoke unto us; and it shall be a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.
And I subscribed the writing, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances. And I took the writing of the purchase, that which was sealed according to the law and the statutes, and that which was open; read more. and I gave the writing of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Nerijah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that had subscribed the writing of purchase, before all the Jews that were sitting in the court of the guard. And I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these writings, this writing of the purchase, both that which is sealed and this writing which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may remain many days. For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be purchased in this land. And after I had given the writing of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Nerijah, I prayed unto Jehovah saying,
And in your law too it is written that the testimony of two men is true:
and having cast him out of the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid aside their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul.
Against an elder receive not an accusation unless where there are two or three witnesses.