Episode 158
The word witness is a key word in the bible, and the theme of “witnessing” is a key theme in the bible that can be used to understand the whole story of the bible.
Key Takeaways
Favorite Quotes
“It’s weird how simple and how big of a responsibility being a witness is. God wants a group of witnesses who experience him and then talk about it.”
Show Notes
In part 1, (0-7:45) Tim and Jon introduce the topic and also introduce Carissa Quinn a biblical scholar on staff with the bible project. Carisa is responsible for researching and writing the script for the upcoming video on witness. The group talks about the popular usages of the word witness. Jon toes that in a Christian context, “witness” is often meant to be an activity that someone will do to try and logically convince or debate somebody (a non believer) about Jesus and the truth of the bible.
The group also notes that oftentimes ‘witness’ is best understood in a modern legal context.
In part 2, (7:45-16:50) Carissa says the word witness occurs over 400 hundred times in the bible in a variety of forms. In hebrew the word ‘witness’ is basically (1) someone who sees something amazing or important--in Hebrew, this person is an עֵד (eid) and in Greek, a μάρτυς (mártus). And (2) if this person begins to share what they’ve seen, we call this ‘bearing witness’: in Hebrew עוּד (uwd) and in Greek μαρτυρέω (marturéo).
Carissa shares the story of Ruth in Ruth 4:9, when Boaz buys land from Naomi’s family, he calls together witnesses to see the transaction, so that if there’s a later dispute about the land, they can bear witness about what they saw. Tim notes that this passage is somewhat related to Deut 25:9 a law about sandals and witnessing being used as a form of legal documentation.
The group briefly discusses the role of a public notary in modern culture. They act as official witnesses to legal signings.
In part 3, (16:50-24:50) Carissa goes to Psalm 27 and the theme of “false witnesses”. Carissa notes that God is referred to as a witness throughout the bible. For example in Genesis 31:49 ... “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”
In the New Testament God the Father is said to bear witness to the identity of Jesus. Jesus also says he bears witness to himself in John 8:17-18 “In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”
Carissa then notes that many times Paul uses a phrase like “God is my witness” for example in Romans 1:9 “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.”
In part 4 (24:50-42:45)
Carissa continues the conversation by bringing up the fact that an object can be a witness in the bible. For example in Joshua 24: 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely wi
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
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