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Witness

Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term

How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H5707

עֵד

ed — witness

1) witness 1a) witness, testimony, evidence (of things) 1b) witness (of people)

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GREEK · G3144

μάρτυς

martus — witness

μάρτυς (Æolic μάρτυρ), -υρος, ὁ (also ἡ), [in LXX for עֵד ;] a witness: Act.10:41, 1Ti.6:12, 2Ti.2:2, Heb.12:1 (Westc., in l); in forensic sense, Mat.18:16 26:65, Mrk.14:63, Act.6:13 7:58, 2Co.13:1, 1Ti.5:19, Heb.10:28; with genitive obj., Luk.24:48, Act.1:22 2:32 3:15 5:32 10:39 26:16, 1Pe.5:1; with genitive poss., Act.1:8 13:31, Rev.11:3; with dative of person(s), Luk.11:48, Act.22:15; of Christ, Rev.1:5 3:14; of God, Rom.1:9, 2Co.1:23, Php.1:8, 1Th.2:5 2:10; of those who have witnessed for Christ by their death (in later Xn. lit., martyr: Swete, Ap., 35), Act.22:20, Rev.2:13 17:6.† (AS)

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GREEK · G2596

κατά

kata — according to

κατά (bef. a vowel κατ᾽, καθ᾽; on the frequently neglect of elision, see Tdf., Pr., 95; WH, App., 146a), prep. with genitive, accusative, down, downwards. I. C. genitive (WM, §47, k; Bl., §42, 2). 1. C. genitive of thing(s), in local sense; (a) down, down from: Mat.8:32, Mrk.5:13, Luk.8:33, 1Co.11:4; (b) throughout (late usage; Bl, l.with): κ. ὅλης κ.τ.λ., Luk.4:14 23:5, Act.9:31 10:37; (with) in a peculiar adjectival phrase: ἡ κ. βάθους, deep or extreme poverty, 2Co.8:2. 2. C. genitive of person(s), usually in hostile sense; (a) against (in cl. only after verbs of speaking, witnessing, etc.): opposite to ὑπέρ, Mrk.9:40; μετά, Mat.12:30; after ἐπιθυμεῖν, Gal.5:17; λαλεῖν, Act.6:13; διδάσκειν, Act.21:28; ψεύδεσθαι, Jas.3:14; after verbs of accusing, etc., Mat.5:23, Luk.23:14, Rom.8:33, al.; verbs of fighting, prevailing, etc., Mat.10:35, Act.14:2, 1Co.4:6, al.; (b) of swearing, by: όμνυμι κ. (BL, §34, 1), He 6:13,16, cf. Mat.26:63. II. C. accusative (WM, §49d; BL, §42, 2). 1. Of motion or direction; (a) through, throughout: Luk.8:39 9:6 10:4, Act.8:1, 36 al.; (b) to, towards, over against: Luk.10:32 (Field, Notes, 62), Act.2:1o 16:7, Gal.2:11, Php.3:14, al.; (with) in adverbial phrases, at, in, by, of: κατ᾽ οἶκον, at home, Act.2:46; κατ᾽ ἰδίαν (see: ἴδιος); καθ᾽ ἑαυτόν, Act.28:16, Rom.14:22, Jas.2:17; with pron. of person(s), Act.17:28 18:15, Rom.1:15, Eph.1:15, al. 2. Of time, at, during, about: Act.8:26 12:1 19:23, Rom.9:9 Heb.1:10, al. 3. Distributive; (a) of place: κ. τόποὐς, Mat.24:7, al.; κ. πόλιν, Luk.8:1, 4 al.; κ. ἐκκλησίαν, Act.14:23. (b) of time: κ. ἔτος, Luk.2:41; ἑορτήν, Mat.27:15, al.; (with) of numbers, etc.: καθ᾽ ἕνα πάντες, 1Co.14:31 (on καθ᾽ εἷς, see: εἷς); κ. ἑκατόν, Mrk.6:40; κ. μέρος, Heb.9:5; κ. ὄνομα, Jhn.10:3. 4. Of fitness, reference, conformity, etc.; (a) in relation to, concerning: Rom.1:3, 4 7:22 9:3, 5, 1Co.12:6 10:18, Php.1:12; κ. πάντα, Act.17:22, Col.3:20, 22 Heb.2:17 4:15; (b) according to, after, like: Mrk.7:5, Luk.2:27, 29 Jhn.7:24 Rom.8:4 14:15, Eph.2:2, Col.2:8, Jas.2:8, al. III. In composition, κ. denotes, 1. down, down from (καταβαίνω), etc.), hence, metaphorically; (a) victory or rule over (καταδουλόω, -κυριεύω, etc.); (b) "perfective" action (M, Pr., 111ff.). 2. under (κατακαλύπτω), etc.). 3. in succession (καθεξῆς). 4. after, behind (καταλείπω). 5. Hostility, against (καταλαλέω). (AS)

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GREEK · G6063

οἶδα

oida — to know

1. to know , εὖ οἶδα I know well; εὖ ἴσθι be assured : often with accusative rei, νοήματα οἶδε, μήδεα οἶδε he is versed in counsels, (Homer); with neut. Adjs., πεπνυμένα, φίλα, ἀθεμίστια εἰδώς (Homer); also with genitive, τόξων εὖ εἰδώς cunning in the use of the bow; οἰωνῶν σάφα εἰδώς (Odyssey by Homer): —; χάριν εἰδέναι τινί to acknowledge a debt to another, thank him , (Iliad by Homer), etc.:—;the Imperat. in protestations, ἴστω Ζεὺς αὐτός be Zeus my witness , (Iliad by Homer); doric ἴττω Ζεύς, ἴττω (Aristophanes Comicus): —; εἰδώς absolute one who knows , εἰδυίηι πάντ᾽ ἀγορεύω (Iliad by Homer); ἰδυίηισι πραπίδεσσι with knowing mind, (Iliad by Homer) 2. with infinitive to know how to do, (Iliad by Homer), attic 3. with the participle to know that so and so is the case, ἴσθι μοι δώσων know that thou wilt give, (Aeschulus Tragicus); τὸν Μῆδον ἴσμεν ἐλθόντα (Thucydides) 4. οὐκ οἶδα εἰ, I know not whether, expresses disbelief, like Lat. nescio an non, οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ἂν εἰ πείσαιμι (Euripides) 5. οἶδα or ἴσθι are often parenthetic, οἶδ᾽ ἐγώ (Euripides); οἶδ᾽ ὅτι, οἶσθ᾽ ὅτι, ἴσθ᾽ ὅτι, πάρειμι (Sophocles Tragicus); so, εὖ οἶδ᾽ ὅτι (Demosthenes Orator): —;in [variant datesTragica Adespota also, οἶσθ᾽ ὃ δρᾶσο; equivalent to δρᾶσον —; οἶσθ᾽ ; do —; know'st thou what? i. e. make haste and do; οἶσθ᾽ ὡς ποίησον, etc. (ML)

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GREEK · G1799

ἐνώπιον

enōpion — before

ἐνώπιος, -ον (ὤψ), [in LXX for פָּנִים, etc. ;] face to face, in sight (Theocr.; ἄρτοι ἐ., Exo.25:29): neut., ἐνώπιον, in vernacular, with force of prep. with genitive [in LXX for פָּנִים, עַיִן, etc., cf. Dalman, Words, 31 f., 209 f., and Deiss., BS., 213], in NT, most frequently in Lk, Ac, Re, never in Mt, Mk, before, in the presence of: Luk.1:19 Luk.4:7, Act.4:10 Act.6:5, Rev.1:4 2:14, al.; esp. ἐ. Κυρίου (θεοῦ), in the sight of God, or with God as witness or as judge, Rom.14:22, 1Co.1:29, 1Ti.2:3, Jas.4:10, 1Pe.3:4, al. (AS)

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GREEK · G3140

μαρτυρέω

martureō — to testify

μαρτυρέω, -ῶ (μάρτυς), [in LXX chiefly for עֵד (עֵד (Gen.31:47-48, al.), also for עוּד hi. (Gen.43:3, La 2:13), עָנָה (Num.35:30) ;] (a) prop., to be a witness, bear witness, testify: absol. (find., al.), Jhn.15:27, Act.26:5; parenthetical (Bl., § 79, 7; MM, xvi), 2Co.8:3; with dative of person(s) (comm. and incomm.; El., § 37, 2), Act.22:5, Heb.10:15; id. before ὅτι, Mat.23:31, Rom.10:2, al.; accusative and inf., Act.10:43; with accusative of thing(s) (cl.), Jhn.3:11, Rev.22:16, 20; with accusative cogn., before περί, Jhn.5:32, 1Jn.5:10; with dative of thing(s), Jhn.5:33, Act.14:3, al.; before περί, with genitive (of person(s) and of thing(s)), Jhn.1:7-8, 15 2:25 18:23 21:24, al.; id. before ὅτι, Jhn.5:36 7:7; ὅτι, Jhn.1:34 4:44 al.; ὅτι recit., Jhn.4:39; κατά before ὅτι, 1Co.15:15; pass., Heb.7:8; ptcp., Rom.3:21; impers., Heb.7:17; (b) in late Gk., to witness favourably, give a good report, approve (Bl., § 54, 3; MM, xvi; Deiss., BS, 265): with dative of person(s), Luk.4:22; before ἐπί with dative of thing(s), Heb.11:4; pass., Act.6:3; before ἐν, 1Ti.5:10, Heb.11:2; διά, with genitive of thing(s), Heb.11:39; with genitive of person(s), Act.10:22, al.; impers., III Jn 12 (cf. ἐπι, συν-επι-, κατα-, συν-μαρτυρέω) (AS)

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HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H2148

זְכַרְיָהוּ

ze.khar.yah — Zechariah

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at 1Ch.9.21; son of: Meshelemiah (H4920); brother of: Jediael (H3043J), Zebadiah (H2069J), Jathniel (H3496), Elam (H5867H), Jehohanan (H3076I) and Eliehoenai (H0454A) § Zechariah = "Jehovah remembers" 1) king of Israel, son of Jeroboam II 2) son of Meshelemiah of Shelemiah, a Korhite, and keeper of the north gate of the tabernacle of the congregation 3) one of the sons of Jehiel 4) a Levite of the second order in the temple band in the time of David 5) one of the princes of Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat 6) son of the high priest Jehoiada, in the reign of Joash king of Judah, who was stoned in the court of the temple 7) a Kohathite Levite in the reign of Josiah 8) the leader of the sons of Pharosh who returned with Ezra 9) son of Bebai 10) one of the chiefs of the people whom Ezra summoned in council at the river Ahava; stood at Ezra's left hand when Ezra expounded the law to the people 11) one of the family of Elam who had married a foreign wife after the captivity 12) ancestor of Athaiah or Uthai 13) a Shilonite, descendant of Perez, grandfather of Athaiah 14) a priest, son of Pashur 15) the representative of the priestly family of Iddo in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua; possibly the same as 1 above 16) one of the priests, son of Jonathan, who blew with the trumpets at the dedication of the city wall by Ezra and Nehemiah 17) a chief of the Reubenites at the time of the captivity by Tiglath-pileser 18) one of the priests who accompanied the ark from the house of Obed-edom 19) son of Isshiah of Jesiah, a Kohathite Levite descended from Uzziel 20) 4th son of Hosah, of the children of Merari 21) a Manassite, father of Iddo 22) father of Jahaziel. He prophesied in the spirit 23) one of the sons of Jehoshaphat 24) a prophet in the reign of Uzziah, who appears to have acted as the king's counsellor, but of whom nothing is known 25) father of Abijah or Abi, Hezekiah's mother 26) one of the family of Asaph in the reign of Hezekiah 27) one of the rulers of the temple in the reign of Josiah 28) son of Jeberechiah who was taken by the prophet Isaiah as one of the 'faithful witnesses to record' when he wrote concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz

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GREEK · G3141

μαρτυρία

marturia — testimony

μαρτυρία, -ας, ἡ (μαρτυρέω), [in LXX: Gen.31:47 R (גַּלְעֵד), Exo.20:16, Deu.5:20 (17), Pro.25:18, Psa.19:7 (עֵד, עֵדוּת), Pro.12:19, Sir.31:23-24, 4Ma.6:32 * ;] witness, testimony, evidence: Mrk.14:56, Luk.22:71, Jhn.5:34 19:35 21:24, 1Ti.3:7, Tit.1:13, 3Jn.12, Rev.11:7; with genitive subj., Mrk.14:59, Jhn.8:17 (LXX aliter), 1Jn.5:9; before κατά, with genitive of person(s), Mrk.14:55; esp. of witness concerning Christ and divine things, Jhn.1:7 3:11, 32-33 5:32, 36 Rev.6:9; with genitive subj., Jhn.1:19 5:31 8:13-14, Act.22:18, 1Jn.5:9-11, Rev.12:11; with genitive obj., Rev.1:2, 9 12:17 19:10 20:4; μ. ἔχειν, Rev.6:9 12:17 19:10.† (AS)

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HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H2370

חֲזָה

cha.zah — to see

1) to see, behold 1a)(P'al) 1a1) to see 1a2) to see, behold, witness 1a3) to behold (in a dream or vision) 1a4) customary, seemly (passive)

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GREEK · G3142

μαρτύριον

marturion — testimony

μαρτύριον, -ου, τό (μάρτυρ) [in LXX chiefly for מוֹעֵד, also for עֵדָה, עֵדוּת and cogn. forms ;] a testimony, witness, proof (Hdt., Thuc., al.): with genitive subj., 2Co.1:12, 2Th.1:10; with genitive obj., Act.4:33, 1Co.1:6 2:1 (WH, txt., R, txt., μυστήριον; 2Ti.1:8; εἰς μ., Mat.8:4 10:18 Mat.24:14, Mrk.1:44 6:11 13:9, Luk.5:14 9:5 21:13, Heb.3:5, Jas.5:3; τὸ μ. καιροῖς ἰδίοις (CGT, in l), 1Ti.2:6; ἡ σκηνὴ τοῦ μ. (LXX for מוֹעֵד אֹהֶל), Act.7:44, Rev.15:5.† (AS)

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GREEK · G3087

λυχνία

luchnia — lampstand

λυχνία, -ας, ἡ (vulgar form of λυχνίον = λυχνοῦχος; see Kennedy, Sources, 40), [in LXX for מְנוֹרָה (Exo.25:31 40:4, al.) ;] a lampstand: Mat.5:15, Mrk.4:21, Luk.8:16 11:33; of that in the Tabernacle, Heb.9:2; metaphorically, of the two witnesses, Rev.11:4; of the seven churches of Asia, Rev.1:12-13, 20 2:1; of the removal of a church from its position, κινεῖν τ. λυχνίαν κ.τ.λ., Rev.2:5.† (AS)

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HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H5714

עִדּוֹ

id.do — Iddo

A man living at the time of United Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ki.4.14; father of: Ahinadab (H0292) § Iddo = "His witness" 1) father of Abinadab, an officer of Solomon 2) grandfather of the prophet Zechariah 3) a Gershonite Levite, son of Joah 4) a priest in the time of Nehemiah 5) a seer in the time of king Jeroboam of the northern kingdom of Israel 6) son of Zechariah, ruler of the tribe of Manasseh in the time of David 7) a chief of the temple slaves who assembled at Casiphia at the time of the 2nd caravan from Babylon

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GREEK · G3143

μαρτύρομαι

marturomai — to testify

μαρτύρομαι (μάρτυρ), [in LXX: Jdth.7:28, 1Ma.2:56 א)* ;] to summon as witness (M, Th., 25 f.; Hort., 1Pe., 53 f.; Lft., Notes, 29; Ga 203), hence, (a) to protest, affirm solemnly: before ὅτι, Act.20:26, Gal.5:3; (b) to adjure, beseech: with dative of person(s), Act.26:22; with accusative and inf., Eph.4:17; before εἰς, 1Th.2:12 (cf. δια-, προ-μαρτύρομαι).† (AS)

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GREEK · G5576

ψευδομαρτυρέω

pseudomartureō — to perjure

ψευδο-μαρτυρέω, -ῶ [in LXX: Exo.20:16, Deu.5:20 (17) (עָנָה), Da TH Su 1:61 AB2R (see ψευδομάρτυς) * ;] to bear false witness: Mat.19:18, Mrk.10:19, Luk.18:20" (LXX) ; before κατά, with genitive of person(s), Mrk.14:56-57 (Xen., Plat., al.).† (AS)

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GREEK · G2649

καταμαρτυρέω

katamartureō — to testify against

κατα-μαρτυρέω, -ῶ [in LXX: Job.15:6, Pro.25:18 (עָנָה), al. ;] to bear witness againt: with accusative of thing(s) and genitive of person(s), Mat.26:62 27:13, Mrk.14:60.† (AS)

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GREEK · G4828

συμμαρτυρέω

summartureō — to testify with

συν-μαρτυρέω (Rec. συμμ-), -ῶ, to bear witness with: Rom.2:15; with dative, Rom.8:16; before ὅτι, Rom.9:1.† (AS)

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GREEK · G5575

ψευδομάρτυρ

pseudomartur — false witness

ψευδο-μάρτυς, -υρος, ὁ [in LXX: Dan LXX Su 1:60-61 Bl * ;] a false witness: Mat.26:60; with genitive obj. (see WM, § 30, 1a), 1Co.15:15.† (AS)

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HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H1567

גַּלְעֵד

gal.ed — Galeed

Galeed = "witness heap" the pile of stones heaped up between Jacob and Laban to certify their covenant; located on Mt Gilead Another name of ra.mot gi.l.ad (רָמֹת "Ramoth" H7433)

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GREEK · G2030

ἐπόπτης

epoptēs — eyewitness

ἐπόπτης, -ου, ὁ [in LXX (of God): Est.5:1, 2Ma.3:39 2Mac 7:35, 3Ma.2:21 * ;] 1. an overseer (LXX, ll. with). 2. a spectator: 2Pe.1:16 (of ἐ. as applied to God, see parallels in Inscr., MM, Exp., xiv; of the use of this term in the mysteries, see Mayor on 2Pe, l.with; Thayer, see word).† (AS)

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Historical dictionary entry

More than one witness was required in criminal cases (Deut. 17:6; 19:15). They were the first to execute the sentence on the condemned (Deut. 13:9; 17:7; 1 Kings 21:13; Matt. 27:1; Acts 7:57, 58). False witnesses were liable to punishment (Deut. 19:16-21). It was also an offence to refuse to bear witness (Lev. 5:1).

Scripture references

Deuteronomy 17:6Deuteronomy 19:15Deuteronomy 13:9Deuteronomy 17:71 Kings 21:13Matthew 27:1Acts 7:57Acts 7:58Deuteronomy 19:16-21Leviticus 5:1Genesis 21:30Genesis 31:47Genesis 31:52Joshua 22:10Joshua 22:26Joshua 22:34Joshua 24:26Joshua 24:27Isaiah 8:16Jeremiah 32:10-16Numbers 35:30Numbers 17:6John 8:172 Corinthians 13:11 Timothy 5:19Numbers 5:13Exodus 20:16Exodus 23:1Leviticus 18:16Leviticus 18:18Exodus 22:13

Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.

Compare other reference traditions

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