19:15 two witnesses. Although two or more reliable witnesses were required to establish guilt in relation to a criminal charge, it was not always essential that these be eye-witnesses of the actual crime–otherwise many criminals could escape conviction by being careful to commit their acts when no more than one witness was present. The witness could, if necessary, be some other type of relevant evidence (compare Leviticus 5:1, which refers to evidence either seen or known; also Exodus 22:13, which speaks of some physical evidence as witness). See also note on Deuteronomy 17:6.