edut · testimony

What it means

edut (עֵדוּת) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “testimony”.

The tablets of the covenant, which bear witness to what God commanded; "the ark of the testimony" holds them.

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. The tablets of the covenant; YHWH's commands.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Testimony: what bears witness to something. In the Torah it designates the tablets of the covenant placed in the ark, which attest what YHWH commanded; hence “the ark of the testimony” and “the dwelling of the testimony”. In the Psalms, in the plural, YHWH’s commands. It is from the root of עֵד (‘witness’, H5707).

• The testimony placed in the ark Exodus 25:16Exodus 25:22Exodus 16:34
• “The two tablets of the testimony” Exodus 31:18Exodus 32:15
• The dwelling and the tent of the testimony Numbers 1:50Numbers 17:4
• YHWH’s testimonies in the Psalms Psalms 19:7Psalms 119:14
• The testimony given to the king 2 Kings 11:12

Historical and cultural background

Moses came down from Sinai with “the two tablets of the testimony” written on both their sides (Exodus 32:15). Before the testimony a portion of manna was kept (Exodus 16:34) and the staffs of the tribes were placed (Numbers 17:4).

How we translate it

“Testimony” 44 times and “testimonies” 15, with no deviations, so that the same word can be seen in the ark and in the Psalms. In 2 Kings 11:12 it is also kept (“the crown and the testimony”), with a note.

How it is translated

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

• testimony ×44
• testimonies ×15

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Exodus×21
• Leviticus×2
• Numbers×12
• Joshua×1
• 1 Kings×1
• 2 Kings×3
• 1 Chronicles×1
• 2 Chronicles×3
• Nehemiah×1
• Psalms×13
• Jeremiah×1

• Exodus 16:34

  As YHWH commanded Moses, Aaron set it before the testimony, to be kept.

• Exodus 25:16

  You shall put into the ark the testimony that I will give you.

• Exodus 25:21

  You shall put the cover of expiation on top of the ark, and into the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you.

• Exodus 25:22

  There I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the cover of expiation, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, all that I will command you for the sons of Israel.

• Exodus 26:33

  You shall hang the veil under the clasps, and bring there, inside the veil, the ark of the testimony; and the veil shall separate for you between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

• Exodus 26:34

  You shall put the cover of expiation on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.

• Exodus 27:21

  In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall set it in order from evening to morning before YHWH. It is a statute forever throughout their generations on the part of the sons of Israel.

• Exodus 30:6

  You shall put it in front of the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, in front of the cover of expiation that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you.

• Exodus 30:26

  With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,

• Exodus 30:36

  You shall grind some of it very fine and put some of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you; most holy it shall be to you.

• Exodus 31:7

  the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the cover of expiation that is on it, and all the utensils of the tent;

• Exodus 31:18

  And he gave to Moses, when he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of Elohim.

• Exodus 32:15

  And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets written on both their sides; on one side and on the other they were written.

• Exodus 34:29

  And it happened, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in the hand of Moses as he came down from the mountain, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had spoken with him.

• Exodus 38:21

  These are the accounts of the dwelling, the dwelling of the testimony, which were recorded by order of Moses, the service of the Levites, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

• Exodus 39:35

  the ark of the testimony and its poles, and the cover of expiation;

• Exodus 40:3

  And you shall put there the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.

• Exodus 40:5

  And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and you shall put the screen of the entrance for the dwelling.

• Exodus 40:20

  And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the cover of expiation on the ark above.

• Exodus 40:21

  And he brought the ark into the dwelling, and set up the veil that screens it, and screened the ark of the testimony, as YHWH had commanded Moses.

• Leviticus 16:13

  And he shall put the incense on the fire before YHWH, and the cloud of the incense shall cover the cover of expiation that is over the testimony, so that he does not die.

• Leviticus 24:3

  Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before YHWH continually; it is a statute forever throughout your generations.

• Numbers 1:50

  But you appoint the Levites over the dwelling of the testimony, and over all its utensils, and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the dwelling and all its utensils, and they shall minister to it, and around the dwelling they shall camp.

• Numbers 1:53

  But the Levites shall camp around the dwelling of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the community of the sons of Israel; and the Levites shall keep the charge of the dwelling of the testimony.”

• Numbers 4:5

  When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil that screens, and cover with it the ark of the testimony.

• Numbers 7:89

  And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the cover of expiation that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and he spoke to him.

• Numbers 9:15

  And on the day the dwelling was set up, the cloud covered the dwelling, the tent of the testimony; and in the evening there was over the dwelling something like the appearance of fire until morning.

• Numbers 10:11

  And it happened in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, that the cloud was lifted from over the dwelling of the testimony.

• Numbers 17:4

  And you shall leave them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you.

• Numbers 17:7

  And Moses left the staffs before YHWH in the tent of the testimony.

• Numbers 17:8

  And it happened on the next day that Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and look, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and it had put forth buds and produced blossoms and ripened almonds.

• Numbers 17:10

  And YHWH said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, so that you put an end to their grumblings against me, and they will not die.”

• Numbers 18:2

  And also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring near with you, so that they may be joined to you and minister to you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.

• Joshua 4:16

  “Command the priests carrying the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan.”

• 1 Kings 2:3

  And keep the charge of YHWH your Elohim, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the instruction of Moses, so that you may act wisely in all that you do and wherever you turn,

• 2 Kings 11:12

  He brought out the king’s son and put on him the crown and the testimony; and they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”

• 2 Kings 17:15

  They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies that he testified against them; and they went after what is vain and became vain, and after the nations that were around them, about which YHWH had commanded them not to do like them.

• 2 Kings 23:3

  The king stood by the pillar and made the covenant before YHWH, to walk after YHWH and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all the heart and with all the soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people took their stand in the covenant.

• 1 Chronicles 29:19

  And to Solomon my son give a whole heart to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all of it, and to build the palace for which I have made preparations.”

• 2 Chronicles 23:11

  They brought out the king’s son and put on him the crown and the testimony, and made him king; and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they said, “Long live the king!”

And 19 more times.