ed · witness

What it means

ed (עֵד) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “witness”.

A person or thing that confirms an agreement or testifies.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. Someone who vouches for what he saw; YHWH is one too.
2. Something that confirms and reminds, like a heap of stones.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Witness: the person who saw or heard something and can vouch for it; also a thing (a heap of stones, a song) that remains as proof of an agreement. It is of the root עוּד (testify, H5749), the same as עֵדוּת (testimony, H5715).

• Not testifying falsely against one's neighbor Exodus 20:16Proverbs 14:5
• Two or three witnesses in a trial Deuteronomy 17:6Deuteronomy 19:15
• Witnesses of a contract or a commitment Ruth 4:9Joshua 24:22
• A thing as a witness: the heap of Galeed Genesis 31:48
• Israel, YHWH's witness Isaiah 43:10

Historical and cultural background

The law did not allow anyone to be put to death “on the word of one witness” (Deuteronomy 17:6): two or three were needed. Laban and Jacob raised a heap of stones as a witness of their covenant, and so the place was called Galeed (Genesis 31:48).

How we translate it

“Witness” 42 times and “witnesses” 24. In the commandments it follows the word that goes with “witness” in each place: “You shall not testify against your neighbor as a false witness” in Exodus 20:16 (עֵד שָׁקֶר) and “Nor shall you give vain testimony” in Deuteronomy 5:20 (עֵד שָׁוְא).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• witness ×42
• witnesses ×24
• as evidence ×1
• false ×1
• forever ×1
• testimony ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×4
• Exodus×3
• Leviticus×1
• Numbers×3
• Deuteronomy×14
• Joshua×5
• Ruth×3
• 1 Samuel×3
• Job×3
• Psalms×3
• Proverbs×11
• Isaiah×9
• Jeremiah×6
• Micah×1
• Malachi×1

• Genesis 31:44

  So now, come, let us make a covenant, I and you, and let it be a witness between me and you.”

• Genesis 31:48

  Laban said, “This heap is a witness between me and you today.” That is why its name was called Galeed,

• Genesis 31:50

  If you afflict my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, though no one is with us, see, Elohim is witness between me and you.”

• Genesis 31:52

  This heap is a witness, and the standing stone is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this standing stone to me, for harm.

• Exodus 20:16

  You shall not testify against your neighbor as a false witness.

• Exodus 22:13

  If it is actually torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence; for what was torn he shall not repay.

• Exodus 23:1

  You shall not spread a false report. Do not join hands with the wicked to be a malicious witness.

• Leviticus 5:1

  If a person sins in that he hears the public call to testify under oath, and he is a witness, whether he has seen or known the matter, if he does not declare it, he shall bear his iniquity.

• Numbers 5:13

  and a man lies with her with emission of semen, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she has made herself unclean in secret, and there is no witness against her, and she has not been caught,

• Numbers 35:30

  Anyone who strikes down a person: one shall kill the manslayer on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against a person that he die.

• Deuteronomy 5:20

  Nor shall you give vain testimony against your neighbor.

• Deuteronomy 17:6

  On the word of two witnesses or three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the word of one witness.

• Deuteronomy 17:7

  The hand of the witnesses shall be against him first to put him to death, and the hand of all the people afterward. So you shall remove the evil from among you.

• Deuteronomy 19:15

  A single witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin, in any sin that he commits; on the word of two witnesses or on the word of three witnesses a matter shall stand.

• Deuteronomy 19:16

  If a violent witness rises up against a man to testify against him of turning aside,

• Deuteronomy 19:18

  And the judges shall inquire thoroughly, and look, if the witness is a false witness, if he has testified falsely against his brother,

• Deuteronomy 31:19

  And now, write for yourselves this song, and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it in their mouths, so that this song may be for me a witness against the sons of Israel.

• Deuteronomy 31:21

  And it shall be, when many evils and troubles have found them, that this song will testify before them as a witness, for it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their offspring. For I know their inclination, what they are doing today, before I bring them into the land that I swore.”

• Deuteronomy 31:26

  “Take this book of the instruction and put it beside the ark of the covenant of YHWH your Elohim, and it shall be there as a witness against you.

• Joshua 22:27

  but that it may be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we serve the service of YHWH before him with our burnt offerings and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings; so that your sons will not say tomorrow to our sons, “You have no portion in YHWH.”’

• Joshua 22:28

  And we said, ‘And it shall be, when they say this to us and to our generations tomorrow, that we will say, “See the model of the altar of YHWH, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering and not for sacrifice, but it is a witness between us and you.”’

• Joshua 22:34

  And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad named the altar Witness: “For it is a witness between us that YHWH is Elohim.”

• Joshua 24:22

  And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves YHWH, to serve him.” And they said, “Witnesses.”

• Ruth 4:9

  Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon from the hand of Naomi.

• Ruth 4:10

  And also Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, I have acquired for myself as wife, to raise up the name of the dead man on his inheritance, so that the name of the dead man may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”

• Ruth 4:11

  And all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “Witnesses. May YHWH make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, the two who built the house of Israel. Act with worth in Ephrathah and have renown in Bethlehem.

• 1 Samuel 12:5

  He said to them, “YHWH is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And he said, “Witness.”

• Job 10:17

  You renew your witnesses against me and increase your vexation with me; relays and an army are against me.

• Job 16:8

  And you have seized me: it has become a witness; and my leanness rises up against me, it testifies to my face.

• Job 16:19

  Even now, look, in the heavens is my witness, and the one who vouches for me is in the heights.

• Psalms 27:12

  Do not give me over to the desire of my adversaries, for there have risen against me witnesses of lies and one who breathes out violence.

• Psalms 35:11

  Witnesses of violence rise up; what I do not know they ask me.

• Psalms 89:37

  like the moon it will be established forever, and the witness in the cloud is faithful.” Selah.

• Proverbs 6:19

  one who breathes out lies, a false witness, and one who sends out quarrels among brothers.

• Proverbs 12:17

  Whoever utters faithfulness declares righteousness, but a witness of lies, deceit.

• Proverbs 14:5

  A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness utters lies.

• Proverbs 14:25

  A witness of truth delivers souls, but one who utters lies is deceit.

• Proverbs 19:5

  A witness of lies will not go unpunished, and whoever utters lies will not escape.

• Proverbs 19:9

  A witness of lies will not go unpunished, and whoever utters lies will perish.

• Proverbs 19:28

  A perverse witness mocks justice, and the mouth of the wicked swallows wickedness.

And 30 more times.