📖 Biblical Definition
Greek martys, witness, the basic NT term for the witness in the legal-testimonial sense. The Greek term simply means one who testifies; the English word martyr derives from it because the post-apostolic church, observing that bearing witness to Christ often led to death, gradually narrowed martys to mean specifically one who bears witness even unto death. The NT lexicon of martys is rich: the Lord Jesus is called the faithful and true witness (Revelation 1:5; 3:14, ho martys ho pistos kai alethinos); the apostles are called to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8, the great commission text ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth); the saints in heaven are called witnesses around the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1, so great a cloud of witnesses); Stephen the first martyr-witness (Acts 22:20, the blood of thy martyr Stephen); the slain witnesses under the altar in Revelation 6:9 (the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held). The patriarchal-Reformed reader recovers martys in its full biblical force: the believer is called to substantive testimony to the truth of the gospel and the lordship of Christ, with the possibility — in many cultural and historical settings, the likelihood — that such testimony will cost dearly, sometimes unto death. The recovery is not romantic but sober: the church bears witness because witness is true, because the truth witnessed is the gospel of Christ, and because the LORD Himself stands behind His witnesses' testimony in life and in death.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Greek martys (G3144), witness; the NT term for legal-testimonial witness; narrowed post-apostolically to martyr; Christ the faithful and true witness (Revelation 1:5).
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MARTYS, Greek noun (G3144; witness) The basic NT term for witness in the legal-testimonial sense. Christ is the faithful and true witness (Revelation 1:5; 3:14, ho martys ho pistos kai alethinos). The apostles are called to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). Saints in heaven called witnesses around the throne (Hebrews 12:1, so great a cloud of witnesses). Stephen the first martyr-witness (Acts 22:20); slain witnesses under the altar (Revelation 6:9). Post-apostolic narrowing to martyr: one who bears witness even unto death.
📖 Key Scripture
Acts 1:8 — "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Revelation 1:5 — "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth."
Hebrews 12:1 — "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us."
Revelation 6:9-10 — "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"
⚠️ Modern Corruption
No major postmodern redefinition. The principal contemporary mishandling is the soft-evangelical separation of witness from the costly substance the NT term carries; biblical martys testifies to Christ even at the cost of life.
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Martys as a Greek term does not undergo lexical corruption. The principal contemporary mishandling is the soft-evangelical separation of witness from the costly substance the NT term carries. Modern evangelical witnessing is often reduced to casual conversation about one's spiritual journey; the NT martys testifies to objective truth about Christ's person and work, often at substantial cost. The patriarchal-Reformed recovery is sober and historically accurate: from Stephen to Polycarp to Cranmer and Latimer to the Covenanters to the contemporary persecuted church in China and the Middle East, faithful witness to Christ has cost many of His servants their lives, and the same possibility stands for any generation. The believer is called to substantive witness with willingness to pay whatever the LORD requires.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
G3144; basic NT witness term; post-apostolically narrowed to martyr; Christ the faithful and true witness.
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['Greek', 'G3144', 'martys', 'witness']
['Greek', 'G3140', 'martureo', 'to bear witness, testify (verbal root)']
['Greek', 'G3141', 'marturia', 'testimony, witness']
Usage
"Martys: witness; one who bears testimony to the truth."
"Christ is the faithful and true witness (Revelation 1:5; 3:14)."
"Post-apostolic narrowing to martyr; faithful witness often at the cost of life."