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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" 'If anyone kills a person, the killer will be put to death {according to the testimony} of witnesses, but someone cannot die on testimony of one person.
{On the evidence of} two or three witnesses {the person shall be put to death}. The person shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness. The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person to kill the person, and afterward the hands [of] all the people, and [so] you shall purge the evil from your midst.
If I tell you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
But you will receive power [when] the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth."
beginning from the baptism of John until the day [on] which he was taken up from us--one of these [men] must become a witness of his resurrection together with us."
This Jesus God raised up, of which we all are witnesses.
And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Therefore, [since] we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, putting aside every weight and {the sin that so easily ensnares us}, let us run with patient endurance the race that has been set before us,
and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and released us from our sins by 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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" 'When a person sins in that he hears [the] utterance of a curse and he [is] a witness or he sees or he knows, if he does not make [it] known, then he shall bear his guilt.
But you shall certainly kill him; your hand shall be first against him to kill him and next the hand of all [of] the people.
{On the evidence of} two or three witnesses {the person shall be put to death}. The person shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness. The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person to kill the person, and afterward the hands [of] all the people, and [so] you shall purge the evil from your midst.
{The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict} [with respect to] any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person committed; on the {evidence} of two witnesses or on the {evidence} of three witnesses {a charge shall be sustained}. If {a malicious witness} gets up {to accuse} anyone to testify against him falsely, read more. then the two men {to whom the legal dispute pertains} shall stand {before} Yahweh, {before} the priests and the judges who are [in office] in those days. Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and [if] it turns out that the witness is a false witness [and] he testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he meant to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst. {And the rest} shall hear and shall fear, and {they shall not continue to do such a thing again} as this evil thing in your midst. {You must show no pity}: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."
Now [when it] was early morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus in order to put him to death.
But crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears and rushed at him with one purpose. And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Hastings
This is the rendering of Heb. '
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So now, come, let us {make} a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between me and you."
If you mistreat my daughters, and if you take wives besides my daughters, [when] there is no man with us, see--God [is] a witness between me and you."
"Take the scroll of this law and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and it will be there as a witness against you.
And Joshua said to all the people, "Look, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh that he spoke with us. It will be as a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God."
And Boaz said to the elders and all of the people, "You [are] witnesses today that I have acquired all that [was] for Elimelech and that [was] for Kilion and Mahlon from the hand of Naomi.
So he said to them, "Yahweh [is] witness against you, and his anointed one [is] witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." Then they said, "[He is] witness."
Thus you shriveled me up; it became a witness. And my leanness has risen up against me; it testifies to my face.
So now look, my witness [is] in the heavens, and he [who] vouches for me [is] in the heights.
He who will speak truth will reveal righteousness, but the witness of falsehood, deceit.
A witness of falsehood will not go unpunished, and he who breathes lies will not escape. Many will seek favor before the generous, and everyone [is] the friend of a man of gifts. read more. All the brothers of the poor, [if] they hate him, how much more will his friends keep away from him. He pursues [them with] words, [and] they are gone. He who acquires wisdom loves himself; he who guards understanding [loves] to find good. A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes lies will perish.
A false witness will perish, but a man who listens will testify with success.
[Like] a club and sword and a sharp arrow [is] a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.
because they have done a disgraceful thing in Israel, and they have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors, and they have spoken words in my name, lies that I have not commanded them, and I [am] he who knows, and [I am] a witness,' {declares} Yahweh."
And I signed on the letter and sealed [it], and I called witnesses as witness, and I weighed out the money on a set of scales.
Then they said to Jeremiah, "May Yahweh be against us as {a true and faithful witness} if we do not do according to all the words that Yahweh sends you for us.
And whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, [as you] go out from there, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them."
You are witnesses of these [things].
But you will receive power [when] the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth."
This Jesus God raised up, of which we all are witnesses.
And you killed the originator of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses!
For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness, how constantly I make mention of you,
if indeed you remain in the faith, established and steadfast and not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
I command you, in the sight of God who gives life to all [things] and Christ Jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate,
Therefore, [since] we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, putting aside every weight and {the sin that so easily ensnares us}, let us run with patient endurance the race that has been set before us,
and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father--to him [be] the glory and the power {forever and ever}. Amen.
"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: "This is what the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God's creation, says:
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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{On the evidence of} two or three witnesses {the person shall be put to death}. The person shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness.
But if he does not listen, take with you in addition one or two [others], so that by {the testimony} of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.
But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "You have said [it]. But I tell you, from now [on] you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."
So Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, "Are you the king of the Jews?" And Jesus said, "You say [so]."
Now [when they] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were astonished, and recognized them, that they had been with Jesus.
And yet he did not leave himself without witness [by] doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying [you] with food and your hearts with gladness."
because what can be known about God is evident among them, for God made [it] clear to them. For from the creation of the world, his invisible [attributes], both his eternal power and deity, are discerned clearly, being understood in the things created, so that they are without excuse.
the Spirit and the water and the blood, and the three are {in agreement}. If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater, because this is the testimony of God that he has testified concerning his Son. read more. (The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. The one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified concerning his Son.) And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: "This is what the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God's creation, says:
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/leb'>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, "You shall take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand {as proof on my behalf} that I dug this well."
This pile of stones [is] a witness, and the pillar [is] a witness, that I will not pass beyond this pile of stones to you, and that you will not pass beyond this pile of stones and this pillar to me intending harm.
"You shall not testify against your neighbor [with] a false witness.
If indeed it was torn to pieces, he will bring it as evidence--the mangled carcass; he will not make restitution.
" 'You will not {spread} a false report. Do not lift your hand with [the] wicked to be a malicious witness.
You must not expose the nakedness of your brother's wife; she [is] your brother's nakedness.
And you must not take [as wife] a woman with her sister, to be a rival-wife, to expose her nakedness before her {during} her life.
and a man sleeps with her and ejaculates and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is concealed, although she is defiled, and there is no witness against her and she was not caught,
" 'If anyone kills a person, the killer will be put to death {according to the testimony} of witnesses, but someone cannot die on testimony of one person.
{Take care} so that there will not be {a thought of wickedness} in your heart, {saying}, 'The seventh year, the year of the remission of debt is near,' {and you view your needy neighbor with hostility}, and [so] you [do] not give to him, and he might cry [out] against you to Yahweh, and {you would incur guilt against yourself}.
{On the evidence of} two or three witnesses {the person shall be put to death}. The person shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness. The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person to kill the person, and afterward the hands [of] all the people, and [so] you shall purge the evil from your midst.
"When a man takes a wife and he marries her {and then} {she does not please him}, because he found {something objectionable} and writes her a letter of divorce and puts [it] in her hand and sends her [away] from his house,
and [then] the second man dislikes her and he writes her a letter of divorce and places [it] into her hand and sends her from his house, or if the second man dies who took her {to himself} as a wife,
And they came to the region of the Jordan that [is] in the land of Canaan, and the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar on the Jordan, {a large and imposing altar}.
So we said, 'Let us build immediately for ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices;
The descendants of Reuben and Gad called the altar Witness, "Because," [they said], "it [is] a witness between us that Yahweh [is] God."
Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which [is] at the shrine of Yahweh. And Joshua said to all the people, "Look, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh that he spoke with us. It will be as a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God."
And I signed on the letter and sealed [it], and I called witnesses as witness, and I weighed out the money on a set of scales. Then I took the deed of the purchase, the sealed [copy containing] the commandments and the rules, together with the [one] that was open. read more. And I gave the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, {in the presence of} Hanamel, [the son of] my uncle, and {in the presence of} the witnesses who signed the deed of the purchase, {in the presence of} the Judeans who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard. And I commanded Baruch {in their presence}, {saying}, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase, the sealed one, and this opened deed, and you must put them in an {earthenware jar} so that they may be kept preserved many days." For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land." ' And I prayed to Yahweh--after giving my deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah--{saying},
And even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true.
And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.