G3140 — μαρτυρέω (martyreo)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3140
Original: μαρτυρέω
Transliteration: martyreo
Pronunciation: mar-too-reh'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: From μάρτυς (martys, G3144) — a witness
Occurrences: 75 unique verses (86 tokens) across 15 books
First Occurrence: Mat 23:31 — "Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G3144 (martys); to be a witness, i.e. testify (literally or figuratively): — charge, give (evidence), bear record, have (obtain, of) good (honest) report, be well reported of, testify, give (have) testimony, (be, bear, give, obtain) witness.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 33.262 — Witness, Testify
Parent Domain: 33 — Communication
Other words in subdomain: ἀμάρτυρος (G267), ἐπιμαρτυρέω (G1957), καταμαρτυρέω (G2649), μαρτυρία (G3141), μαρτύριον (G3142), μάρτυς (G3144), συμμαρτυρέω (G4828), συνεπιμαρτυρέω (G4901), ψευδομαρτυρέω (G5576)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Domain: 033 — Communication
Representative neighbors: ἀγγελία (G31), ἀγγέλλω (G518), ἄγγελος (G32), ᾄδω (G103), αἴνεσις (G133), αἰνέω (G134)

Verb Tense-Voice Distribution¶

Tense-Voice	Count	%	Notes
Present Active	35	46%	Dominant: ongoing, habitual testimony
Present Passive	8	11%	"being witnessed / well-reported of"
Aorist Active	16	21%	Punctiliar: a specific act of testifying
Aorist Passive	3	4%	"was witnessed / obtained a good report"
Perfect Active	7	9%	Abiding result: "has testified" (John, 1 John)
Perfect Passive	3	4%	"it is witnessed / has been testified"
Imperfect Active	2	3%	Background narrative: "was bearing witness"
Imperfect Passive	1	1%	"was well reported of" (Acts 16:2)
Future Active	1	1%	"shall bear witness" (John 15:26, the Spirit)

Present tense dominates (57%), reflecting how witnessing is characteristically an ongoing activity. The perfect tense cluster (13%) appears almost exclusively in John and 1 John, stressing testimony with abiding force.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
bear witness / bear record	18	24%
testify / testified / testifieth	14	19%
bare witness / bare record	9	12%
witness (various)	8	11%
good report / well reported / honest report	7	9%
record	3	4%
gave testimony	2	3%
obtained witness / good report	3	4%
Other (charged, witnessing, etc.)	11	15%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
3 John	3	21.4
1 John	7	6.7
John	31	3.5
Hebrews	7	2.3
1 Timothy	2	1.8
Acts	12	1.2
Colossians	1	1.1
1 Thessalonians	1	1.1
Revelation	3	0.7
Galatians	1	0.7
Romans	2	0.5
2 Corinthians	1	0.4
Luke	2	0.2
1 Corinthians	1	0.2
Matthew	1	0.1

Johannine concentration is overwhelming: John + 1 John + 3 John + Revelation account for 44 of 75 verses (59%). Acts is the next major contributor (12 verses). The Synoptics are nearly absent (Matthew 1x, Luke 2x, Mark 0x). Paul uses the word sparingly; Hebrews clusters it in ch. 11 (faith hall of fame).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Bearing Witness to Christ's Identity and Mission¶

The dominant usage — testifying about who Jesus is and what he came to do. - John 1:7 — "The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light" - John 5:36 — "the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me" - John 5:37 — "the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me" - 1 John 4:14 — "we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world"

2. Eyewitness Testimony (Declaring What Was Seen/Heard)¶

The word carries forensic force — testifying to observed facts. - John 3:11 — "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen" - John 3:32 — "what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth" - John 19:35 — "he that saw it bare record, and his record is true" - 1 John 1:2 — "the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness"

3. The Spirit's Witness¶

The Holy Spirit as active testifier — to, about, or alongside believers. - John 15:26 — "the Spirit of truth... shall bear witness of me" - 1 John 5:6 — "it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth" - 1 John 5:7-8 — "there are three that bear record... the Spirit, and the water, and the blood" - Acts 15:8 — "God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost"

4. Scripture / Prophetic Testimony¶

The law, prophets, and Scripture bearing witness as a body of testimony. - John 5:39 — "the scriptures... they are they which testify of me" - Acts 10:43 — "To him give all the prophets witness" - Romans 3:21 — "the righteousness of God... being witnessed by the law and the prophets" - Hebrews 7:17 — "For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever"

5. Character Witness / Good Reputation¶

Passive forms: a person "being witnessed about" — attested by others. - Acts 6:3 — "seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost" - Acts 10:22 — "Cornelius the centurion, a just man... of good report among all the nation" - Acts 16:2 — "which was well reported of by the brethren" - 1 Timothy 5:10 — "Well reported of for good works" - Hebrews 11:2 — "by it the elders obtained a good report"

6. Faith-Heroes Attested by God¶

Concentrated in Hebrews 11 — God's approval witnessed through faith. - Hebrews 11:4 — "Abel... obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts" - Hebrews 11:5 — "Enoch... had this testimony, that he pleased God" - Hebrews 11:39 — "these all, having obtained a good report through faith"

7. Apostolic / Personal Testimony¶

Paul and other apostles personally attesting to what they know. - Acts 23:11 — "as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome" - Acts 26:22 — "witnessing both to small and great" - Romans 10:2 — "I bear them record that they have a zeal of God" - 3 John 1:12 — "Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
μαρτυρία (martyria)	G3141	14x (19%)	"bear witness... and his witness is true" — testimony noun paired with testimony verb
θεός (theos)	G2316	14x (19%)	God as subject or object of testimony; "testified of God"
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	13x (17%)	"all the prophets witness," "all men" receiving testimony
Ἰησοῦς (Iesous)	G2424	11x (15%)	Jesus as subject ("Jesus testified") or object ("testify of me")
πατήρ (pater)	G3962	10x (13%)	"the Father... hath borne witness of me" — Johannine
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	9x (12%)	"the Spirit beareth witness" — the Spirit as testifier
ἀλήθεια (aletheia)	G225	6x (8%)	"bare witness unto the truth" — truth as content of testimony
ἀληθής (alethes)	G227	7x (9%)	"his witness is true" — truthfulness of testimony
πιστεύω (pisteuo)	G4100	6x (8%)	"that all... through him might believe" — testimony aims at faith

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3144 μάρτυς (martys) — noun: a witness; 25 verses; later developed meaning "martyr"
G3141 μαρτυρία (martyria) — feminine noun: testimony, evidence, record; 33 verses
G3142 μαρτύριον (martyrion) — neuter noun: a testimony, proof; 16 verses
G3143 μαρτύρομαι (martyromai) — middle/deponent: to call to witness, protest; 2 verses
G1263 διαμαρτύρομαι (diamartyromai) — compound: to testify earnestly/solemnly; 15 verses
G4828 συμμαρτυρέω (symmartureo) — compound: to testify jointly, corroborate; 3 verses
G2649 καταμαρτυρέω (katamartureo) — compound: to testify against; 3 verses
G1957 ἐπιμαρτυρέω (epimartureo) — compound: to testify further; 1 verse
G4901 συνεπιμαρτυρέω (synepimartureo) — compound: to bear witness together with; 1 verse
G5576 ψευδομαρτυρέω (pseudomartureo) — compound: to bear false witness; 8 verses

Synonyms¶

No additional curated synonyms were surfaced by search_relationships.py beyond the witness / testimony family already listed above.

Antonyms¶

No curated antonyms were surfaced by search_relationships.py for this entry.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
μαρτυρία (martyria)	G3141	"witness," "record"	G3141 is the testimony/evidence itself; G3140 is the act of giving it
μάρτυς (martys)	G3144	"witness"	G3144 is the person who witnesses; G3140 is what they do
μαρτύριον (martyrion)	G3142	"testimony," "witness"	G3142 emphasizes proof/evidence presented; more concrete than G3141
ψευδομαρτυρέω (pseudomartureo)	G5576	"bear witness"	G5576 specifically means false testimony — the negative counterpart
διαμαρτύρομαι (diamartyromai)	G1263	"testify," "testified"	G1263 adds solemnity/urgency — to testify earnestly or charge solemnly

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 33.262 — Witness, Testify)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV	Key Difference
G267	ἀμάρτυρος	1	without witness	Negative adjective: "not without witness" (Acts 14:17)
G1957	ἐπιμαρτυρέω	1	testifying	Rare compound: to add further testimony
G2649	καταμαρτυρέω	3	witness against	Hostile testimony: to testify against someone
G3141	μαρτυρία	30	testimony, witness	The content of testimony (noun) vs. the act (G3140 verb)
G3142	μαρτύριον	16	testimony	More concrete: a piece of evidence, a proof
G3144	μάρτυς	25	witness	The person giving testimony; later sense of "martyr"
G4828	συμμαρτυρέω	3	testify	Joint testimony: to bear witness alongside another
G4901	συνεπιμαρτυρέω	1	witness	To additionally bear witness together with
G5576	ψευδομαρτυρέω	8	bear false witness	False testimony — Decalogue prohibition context

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
עֵד (ed)	H5707	5	7.88	Primary: "witness" — concrete noun for a witness/testimony
עָנָה (anah)	H6030	3	4.77	"to answer/testify" — forensic legal testimony
פֶּה (peh)	H6310	3	4.24	"mouth" — speech/oral testimony context

The primary Hebrew equivalent is עֵד (H5707, "witness"), with a strong PMI score. The LXX translators chose μαρτυρέω to render Hebrew witness/testimony language, establishing a semantic bridge between OT legal-forensic testimony and NT Christological witness.