Vayikra 5:1 · unit 22 · Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 3:9

Complete Passuk

וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי־תֶחֱטָא וְשָׁמְעָה קוֹל אָלָה וְהוּא עֵד אוֹ רָאָה אוֹ יָדָע אִם־לוֹא יַגִּיד וְנָשָׂא עֲוֺנוֹ׃

Source Citation

Torah Temimah cites Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 3:9.

Core Text — Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 3:9

עֵד אֶחָד שֶׁאָמְרוּ לוֹ הֲרֵי אַתָּה מְקֻבָּל עָלֵינוּ כִּשְׁנַיִם — אֵינוֹ בִּכְלַל שְׁבוּעַת הָעֵדוּת, דִּכְתִיב ״וְהוּא עֵד״ — עֵדוּת תּוֹרָה.

A single witness to whom the parties said “you are accepted by us as two” is not within the scope of shevu’as ha-eidus, for it is written “and he is a witness” — meaning Torah testimony (two witnesses).

The Yerushalmi excludes party-accepted single-witness arrangements from the liability structure of the verse. Only testimony that meets the Torah’s two-witness standard triggers the oath-and-korban consequences of Vayikra 5:1.

What Is Learned: Shevu’as ha-eidus under this verse applies only to witnesses who meet the Torah’s definition of testimony (two witnesses). A single witness accepted by the litigants as equivalent to two remains outside the verse’s liability structure.