Dictionary entry

Certify

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ser'-ti-fi: Occurs in

(1)2Sa 15:28(haggidh, "to show," "announce," from naghadh);

(2)Ezr 4:14,16;5:10;7:24(hodha`, "to make known," from yedha'; Aramaic for yadha`);

(3)Es 2:22the King James Version ('amar, "to say," "tell," so the Revised Version (British and American)); and

(4)Ga 1:11the King James Version gnorizo, "to make to know," so the Revised Version (British and American).

In the English Versions of the Bible, accordingly, the word has not the strong, specific sense of "to make certain," but only the broader sense of "to make to know." ComparePs 39:5(Prayer Book version), "that I may be certified how long I have to live."