7717. sahed

Lexical Summary

sahed: Witness, Testimony

Original Word: שָׂהֵד
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: sahed
Pronunciation: sah-HAYD
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-hade')
KJV: record
NASB: advocate
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to testify]

1. a witness

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

record

From an unused root meaning to testify; a witness -- record.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of foreign origin
Definition
a witness
NASB Translation
advocate (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[שָׂהֵד] noun [masculine] witness (Aramaic loan-word = Hebrew עֵד; √ סְהַד ); — suffix שָֽׂהֲדִי Job 16:19 ("" עֵדִי). — שָֽׂהֲדוּתָא Genesis 31:47 see Biblical Aramaic Lexicon.

שׂהר (√ of following; compare Arabic new moon ( is make conspicuous, notorious); Ethiopic id.; ᵑ7 סִיהֲרָא, Syriac moon; Old Aramaic שהר moon-god Lzb³⁷³).

[שָֽׂהֲדוּ] noun feminine testimony (√ שְׂהַד = ᵑ7 סְהַד testify, Syriac , Arabic testify, compare Biblical Hebrew [שָׂהֵד] (once, as loan-word) K^{Aramaic 86}; Egyptian Aramaic plural שהדיאֹ witnesses Cooke⁴⁰⁴ S-C^{A. 15} + often); — emphatic שָֽׂהֲדוּתָא Genesis 31:47 ("" Biblical Hebrew עֵד).

Topical Lexicon

Overview

שָׂהֵד (Strong’s 7717) appears only once in the Hebrew canon, yet its solitary placement in Job 16:19 opens a wide door into the Bible’s theology of “witness.” Job employs the term to describe a heavenly figure who testifies on his behalf. By doing so, the book of Job contributes to a larger biblical pattern in which God provides righteous testimony that vindicates the believer.

Biblical Context (Job 16:19)

“Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high.” (Job 16:19)

Within Job’s lament, the patriarch has been misjudged by friends and seemingly left without earthly support. He answers that deficit by appealing to a transcendent Witness who “is in heaven.” The verse couples שָׂהֵד (“witness”) with “advocate”—language hinting at both judicial testimony and legal representation. Job therefore locates ultimate justice not in human courts but in the divine court where God Himself hears and vindicates.

Witness in the Heavenly Courtroom

1. Judicial imagery saturates Scripture. Deuteronomy 19:15 insists that “a matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Job anticipates that requirement, trusting an unimpeachable Witness above.
2. Psalms often summon the heavens to bear witness to covenant realities (Psalm 89:37). Job’s claim places his own cause within that same covenantal framework, implying that the God who keeps covenant also keeps record of human integrity.
3. Prophets such as Isaiah speak of God calling heaven and earth to witness (Isaiah 1:2). Job inverses the pattern: instead of God drafting creation against Israel, Job drafts heaven itself in his defense.

Connection to the Broader Biblical Theology of Witness

While שָׂהֵד is unique to Job, the theme of “witness” recurs through cognate Hebrew words (עֵד, עֵדוּת) and New Testament terms (μάρτυς, μαρτυρία). A consistent narrative emerges:
• God testifies to truth (Psalm 50:7).
• The Law and Prophets serve as witnesses (2 Kings 17:13).
• The people of God are commissioned as witnesses to the nations (Isaiah 43:10).
• In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit bears witness to Christ (John 15:26), and believers echo that testimony (Acts 1:8).

Christological Implications

Job’s cry for a heavenly Witness foreshadows the mediatorial ministry of Jesus Christ. Hebrews presents Jesus as “the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrews 8:6) whose blood “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24). The “advocate” motif re-emerges in 1 John 2:1: “If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” Thus Job’s lone use of שָׂהֵד prophetically prefigures a Messiah who stands before God on behalf of sinners.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

1. Assurance amid accusation: Like Job, believers facing false charges can appeal to the heavenly Witness who knows the heart (Jeremiah 17:10).
2. Integrity in suffering: Job’s confidence encourages Christians to uphold righteousness even when misunderstood, trusting ultimate vindication to God (1 Peter 2:23).
3. Evangelistic posture: God’s people today participate in the same witness dynamic by testifying to Christ’s gospel in word and deed (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Historical Jewish and Christian Interpretation

Early Jewish commentators discerned in Job 16:19 the image of God recording human deeds in a heavenly archive. Patristic writers, notably Gregory the Great, identified the Witness with Christ preincarnate, interpreting Job’s words as a confession of faith in the future Redeemer. Reformation teachers stressed the juridical nature of justification, aligning Job’s heavenly Witness with God’s forensic declaration of righteousness.

Summary

Though שָׂהֵד occurs only once, its strategic placement crystallizes a central biblical truth: God Himself supplies the witness necessary to vindicate His people. Job’s experience directs readers to the ultimate Advocate, Jesus Christ, whose testimony secures eternal justification and fuels the Church’s ongoing witness in the world.

Forms and Transliterations

וְ֝שָׂהֲדִ֗י ושהדי vesahaDi wə·śā·hă·ḏî wəśāhăḏî

Englishman's Concordance

Job 16:19
HEB: בַשָּׁמַ֣יִם עֵדִ֑י וְ֝שָׂהֲדִ֗י בַּמְּרוֹמִֽים׃
NAS: is in heaven, And my advocate is on high.
KJV: [is] in heaven, and my record [is] on high.
INT: heaven my witness and my advocate high

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 7717
1 Occurrence

wə·śā·hă·ḏî — 1 Occ.