עֵד69 H5707
Witness: a person who testifies in legal, covenantal, or divine settings; also evidence or attestation (a thing serving as testimony).
The Hebrew noun ed ('witness') spans both persons and things that testify. In its primary sense, it names the human being who sees, knows, and can give account — the legal witness required 'two or three' for capital verdicts (Deut 17:6; 19:15), the covenantal witness who seals agreements (Gen 31:48, 50), and even God himself as witness in the heavens (Job 16:19). Spanish testigo, French temoin, and German Zeuge all hold this personal-testimony sense firmly. But ed also extends to inanimate attestation: a heap of stones 'is a witness' between Jacob and Laban (Gen 31:44, 52), a torn animal carcass serves 'as evidence' in a dispute over borrowed livestock (Exod 22:13), and the song of Moses is written down 'as a witness' against future apostasy (Deut 31:19, 21). The multilingual evidence confirms this split: when ed refers to evidentiary function, Spanish shifts to para-testimonio and German to fuer Zeuge.
Senses
1. witness (person who testifies) — A witness as a person — someone who has seen or knows something and can testify to it, whether in a legal proceeding, a covenant ceremony, or a divine tribunal. This dominant sense (59 occurrences) covers the ninth commandment's 'false witness' (Exod 20:16), the requirement of multiple witnesses for conviction (Num 35:30; Deut 17:6), Laban declaring God as witness to the Mizpah covenant (Gen 31:48, 50), God as Job's witness in heaven (Job 16:19), and prophetic appeals where Israel is called as YHWH's witnesses (Isa 43:10, 12). Spanish testigo, French temoin, and German Zeuge all preserve the personal dimension, with Korean 증인 and Arabic شاهد confirming the cross-linguistic stability of the person-who-testifies concept. 59×
AR["الشَّاهِدُ", "شاهِدٌ", "شاهِدَ", "شاهِدُ", "شَاهِدٌ", "شَاهِدٍ", "شَهَادَةَ"]·ben["সাক্ষী", "সেই-সাক্ষী"]·DE["Zeuge", "bis", "der-Zeuge", "ein-Zeuge", "ein-Zeuge-von", "ist-Zeuge", "witness"]·EN["a-witness", "a-witness-of", "is-a-witness", "the-witness", "witness", "witness-of"]·FR["le-témoin", "témoin", "un-témoin", "un-témoin-de"]·heb["ה-עד", "עד"]·HI["गवाह", "साक्षी", "साक्षी-है"]·ID["Saksi", "saksi"]·IT["il-testimone", "testimone", "un-testimone", "un-testimone-di"]·jav["seksi"]·KO["증거", "증거이다", "증인", "증인-은", "증인은", "증인을", "증인이", "증인이-되어", "증인이다", "증인이며"]·PT["Testemunha", "Testemunha-de", "a-testemunha", "testemunha", "testemunha-de", "testemunho", "testemunho-de"]·RU["-свидетель", "свидетелем", "свидетель", "свидетельства", "свидетельством", "свидетеля"]·ES["Testigo", "es-el-testigo", "testigo", "testigo-de-", "testimonio"]·SW["shahidi", "shahidi-wa", "ushahidi-wa"]·TR["tanık", "tanıktır", "tanığın", "şahit"]·urd["گواہ", "گواہ-ہے"]
2. witness (evidence or attestation) — Witness as evidence or attestation — an object, monument, song, or document that serves the evidentiary function of testifying, often in prepositional phrases meaning 'as a witness' or 'for a witness.' With 11 occurrences, this sense appears when Jacob and Laban erect a stone heap 'as a witness' between them (Gen 31:44, 52), when the torn carcass of a borrowed animal serves as proof of innocence (Exod 22:13), when the Song of Moses is written 'as a witness' that will testify against Israel when they turn away (Deut 31:19, 21, 26), and when the altar east of the Jordan stands 'as a witness' that the Transjordan tribes worship the same God (Josh 22:27-28, 34). Spanish para-testimonio and German fuer-Zeuge shift toward abstract testimony vocabulary, marking the transition from a person to an evidentiary function. 11×
AR["شاهِداً", "شاهِدٌ", "شَاهِدًا", "لِ-شاهِدٍ", "لِ-شَاهِدٍ", "لِلأَبَدِ", "وَشَهَادَةً"]·ben["-সাক্ষীরুপে", "ও-সাক্ষী-হিসাবে", "চিরকালের-জন্য", "সাক্ষী", "সাক্ষী-রূপে", "সাক্ষ্য-হিসেবে", "সাক্ষ্যের-জন্য"]·DE["Zeuge-ist", "fuer-Zeuge", "und-zu-bis", "wie-Zeuge", "zu-bis", "zum-Zeugen"]·EN["and-for-witness", "as-witness", "for-a-witness", "for-witness", "witness"]·FR["comme-témoin", "et-à-jusqu’à", "pour-jusqu'à", "pour-témoin", "témoin", "à-jusqu’à", "à-témoin"]·heb["ו-ל-עד", "ל-עד", "עד"]·HI["और-गवाह-के-लिए", "को-साक्षी", "गवाह", "गवाह-के-लिए", "गवाह-के-लिए।", "साक्षी", "साक्षी-के-लिए", "साक्षी-है"]·ID["dan-sebagai-saksi", "menjadi-saksi", "saksi", "sebagai-saksi", "untuk-selama-lamanya"]·IT["a-fino-a", "come-testimone", "e-a-fino-a", "per-testimone", "testimone"]·jav["Seksi", "dados-seksi", "dados-seksi,", "kangge-seksi", "kanggé-seksi", "lan-dados-seksi"]·KO["그리고-증거라", "에-영원까지", "에-증거로", "에게-증거", "증거가", "증거를", "증거이다", "증인-으로", "증인으로-"]·PT["Testemunha", "e-para-testemunho", "para-testemunha", "para-testemunho", "por-testemunha", "por-testemunho", "testemunha"]·RU["Свидетель", "в-свидетельство", "во-свидетельство", "для-свидетеля", "и-свидетельством", "на-веки", "свидетелем"]·ES["Testigo", "para-testigo", "para-testimonio", "por-testigo", "testigo", "y-como-testigo"]·SW["Shahidi", "kama-shahidi", "kama-ushahidi", "kwa-shahidi", "kwa-ushahidi", "na-kwa-ushahidi", "shahidi", "ushahidi"]·TR["sonsuza-kadar", "tanık", "tanık-", "tanık-için", "tanık-olarak", "ve-tanik-icin", "Şahit", "şahit-olarak"]·urd["اور-گواہی-کے-لیے", "گواہ", "گواہ-کے-طور-پر", "گواہی", "گواہی-کے-لیے", "ہمیشہ-کے-لیے"]
Related Senses
H0559 1. say, speak, tell (5297×)G3004 1. say, tell, speak (2226×)H1696 1. speak, say, tell (Piel) (1105×)H7121 1. call, summon, name (575×)H6680 1. command, order, charge (483×)H6030b 1. answer, respond, reply (289×)G2980 1. speak, talk (277×)H5046 1. Hifil: to tell, report (237×)G0611 1. answer or respond verbally (232×)H1288 1. Piel: bless, invoke blessing (227×)H7650 1. swear, take an oath (Niphal) (154×)H3789 1. Qal passive participle: written, recorded (112×)H1984b 1. praise, laud (Piel) (111×)H7592 1. ask, inquire, question (96×)H3034 1. give thanks, praise (Hifil) (94×)G1321 1. teach, instruct actively (92×)H3789 2. Qal active: write, compose (89×)G1125 1. to write, compose (a letter or document) (84×)H5046 2. Hifil: to declare, proclaim (79×)H7892a 1. song, musical composition (78×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
עֵד69 n.m. Dt 17:6 witness (prob. from reiterating, hence emphatically affirming);—ע׳ abs. Gn 31:48 +, cstr. Ex 20:16 +; sf. עֵדִי Jb 16:19; pl. עֵדִים Nu 35:30 +, cstr. עֵדֵי ψ 27:12; 35:11; sf. עֵדַי Is 43:10, 12, etc.;— †1. witness, testimony, evidence, of things: heap of stones Gn 31:44, 48, 52 (JE), torn animal Ex 22:12 (E), song of Moses Dt 31:19, 21 (R), law-book v 26 (D), witness of י׳…