The act of publicly affirming something or someone, usually with a view to declaring trustworthiness. God confirmed his covenants, oaths and promises to emphasise his intention to fulfil them and he confirms the gospel to demonstrate its truthfulness.
Confirmation of covenants
Deuteronomy 4:31 See also Genesis 17:1–22; Deuteronomy 8:18; 2 Kings 23:3; 1 Chronicles 16:17; Psalm 105:10; Daniel 9:26–27
For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.
Confirmation of oaths
Psalm 119:106 See also Genesis 26:1–5
I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments.
Confirmation of promises
Romans 15:8 See also Deuteronomy 29:12–13; 2 Chronicles 1:9; Hebrews 6:17
For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,
Confirmation of the gospel
Mark 16:20 See also Acts 14:3; 1 Corinthians 1:4–6; Philippians 1:7; Hebrews 2:3
And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.
Confirmation of wisdom
When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters, when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt, then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out. And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Confirmation of vows
See also Numbers 30:1–16 A vow made by a woman could be either confirmed or nullified by her father or husband.
Confirmation of a witness's testimony
Deuteronomy 19:15 Evidence accepted in court required confirmation by more than one witness. See also 1 Kings 1:11–14; Mark 14:56–59 The proper judicial procedure was not followed at the trial of Jesus Christ; Romans 9:1–4 Paul here invokes the Holy Spirit as a witness; Hebrews 6:16
A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Confirmation of letters
Acts 15:27 This constituted verification of the authenticity of a letter which could easily have been forged or tampered with. See also Esther 9:29–32
Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to tell you in person the same things we are writing.
Confirmation of office or position
So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.