In the legal sphere, one who speaks from personal experience about what happened to oneself or another. This may occur at a trial (Deut 17:6; Prov 19:28; Mark 14:63) or a legal transaction (Isa 8:2; Jer 32:10). It is in this legal sense that two or three witnesses are called upon to corroborate a member’s apostasy (Matt 26:60; 2Cor 13:1; Heb 10:28). Bearing false witness is roundly condemned (Exod 20:16; Prov 12:17; Acts 6:13) and can bring severe reprisal (Deut 19:16-21; Prov 21:28). God is frequently called upon as a witness to confirm a person’s or nation’s proper or improper conduct (1Sam 12:15; Rom 1:9; Jer 29:23; Mic 1:2). The term takes on several specialized meanings in the NT, referring to a person present at the ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus (Luke 24:48; Acts 1:22) or to one who attests to the truth about God (John 8:18; Rev 1:5; Rev 11:3). The “cloud of witnesses” in (Heb 12:1) compares the multitude who have suffered but retained their faith to the great crowd of spectators at a Greco-Roman athletic contest, whose presence spurs the contestants to give their best efforts.
