Texts in Conversation
Deuteronomy 19 and Proverbs 14 both warn against false testimony, calling it a serious act that damages others and justice itself. Deuteronomy says a false witness should receive the same punishment they meant for their victim, and Proverbs adds that honesty brings life while deceit leads to ruin.
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Deuteronomy 19:17
Hebrew Bible
15 A single witness may not testify against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally established only on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 16 If a false witness testifies against another person and accuses him of a crime, 17 then both parties to the controversy must stand before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges who will be in office in those days. 18 The judges will thoroughly investigate the matter, and if the witness should prove to be false and to have given false testimony against the accused, 19 you must do to him what he had intended to do to the accused. In this way you will purge the evil from among you.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Proverbs 14:25
Hebrew Bible
23 In all hard work there is profit,but merely talking about it only brings poverty. 24 The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools is folly. 25 A truthful witness rescues lives, but one who testifies falsely betrays them. 26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and it will be a refuge for his children. 27 The fear of the Lord is like a life-giving fountain, to turn people from deadly snares.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... False witness before the court is the first area of use for the noun 'falsehood' (seqer). Particularly objectionable to Old Testament legal thought, the much-discussed figure appears outside the ninth commandment of the Decalogue (Exodus 20:16; regarding the alteration to in Deuteronomy 5:20) especially in Proverbs (6:19; 12:17; 14:5; 19:5, 9; 25:18) but also in Deuteronomy 19:18 and Psalm, 27:12; given that this figure can also be called according to Deuteronomy 19:16 and that according to Psalm 27:12, it becomes clear that it describes the witness as one who aggressively injures the other and as a violator of the law who “acts against the other contrary to the law” (Deuteronomy 19:18; similarly Proverbs 25:18). While this figure destroys life like “hammer and sword and sharp arrow” (Proverbs 25:18), the contrasting figure, the waπ` yñiap, “saves life” (Proverbs 14:25; compare 14:5) ..."
Jenni, Ernst, and Claus Westermann
Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament
(pp. 1737-1738) Hendrickson Publishers, 1997
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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