Reference: Testament
American
In Scripture, usually signifies covenant, and not a man's last will, Mt 26:28. Both meanings are blended, however, in Heb 9:16-17. Paul speaks of the New Testament, or covenant, in the blood of the Redeemer; and calls the law the old covenant, and the gospel the new covenant, 1Co 1-16; 11:25; 2Co 3:6,14; Heb 7:22; 10; 12:24. See BIBLE, and COVENANT.
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For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remains the same veil not taken away in the reading of the old covenant; which veil is done away in Christ.
By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better covenant.
For where a will is, there must also of necessity be the death of the maker. For a will is in force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the maker lives.
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel.
Easton
occurs twelve times in the New Testament (Heb 9:15, etc.) as the rendering of the Gr. diatheke, which is twenty times rendered "covenant" in the Authorized Version, and always so in the Revised Version. The Vulgate translates incorrectly by testamentum, whence the names "Old" and "New Testament," by which we now designate the two sections into which the Bible is divided. (See Bible.)
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And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they who are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Fausets
(See COVENANT; HEIR; WILLS.)
Hastings
The word is not found in the OT. In the text of the RV of the NT it occurs only twice (Heb 9:16 f.) and is used to translate the Gr. word diath
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To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
And said unto him, Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and come into the land which I shall show you.
For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannuls, or adds thereto.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they who are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they who are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a will is, there must also of necessity be the death of the maker.
For where a will is, there must also of necessity be the death of the maker.
For where a will is, there must also of necessity be the death of the maker. For a will is in force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the maker lives. read more. Hence neither the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded unto you.
Morish
See COVENANT, THE NEW.
Watsons
TESTAMENT. The property or estate of the father fell, after his decease, into the possession of his sons, who divided it among themselves equally, with this exception, that the eldest son had two portions. The father expressed his last wishes or will in the presence of witnesses, and probably in the presence of the heirs, 2Ki 20:1. At a more recent period the will was made out in writing. The portion that was given to the sons of concubines depended altogether upon the feelings of the father. Abraham gave presents, to what amount is not known, both to Ishmael and to the sons whom he had by Keturah, and sent them away before his death. It does not appear that they had any other portion in the estate. But Jacob made the sons whom he had by his concubines heirs as well as the others, Ge 21:8-21; 25:1-6; 49:1-27. Moses laid no restrictions upon the choice of fathers in this respect; and we should infer that the sons of concubines, for the most part, received an equal share with the other sons, from the fact, that Jephtha, the son of a concubine, complained that he was excluded without any portion from his father's house, Jg 11:1-7. The daughters not only had no portion in the estate, but, if they were unmarried, were considered as making a part of it, and were sold by their brothers into matrimony. If they had no brothers, or if they had died, the daughters then took the estate, Nu 27:1-8. If any one died intestate, and without offspring, the property was disposed of according to Nu 27:8-11. The servants or the slaves in a family could not claim any share in the estate as a right; but the person who made a will, might, if he chose, make them his heirs, Ge 15:3. Indeed, in some instances, those who had heirs, recognized as such by law, did not deem it unbecoming to bestow the whole or a portion of their estates on faithful and deserving servants, Pr 17:2. The widow of the deceased, like his daughters, had no legal right to a share in the estate. The sons, however, or other relations, were bound to afford her an adequate maintenance, unless it had been otherwise arranged in the will. She sometimes returned back again to her father's house, particularly if the support which the heirs gave her was not such as had been promised, or was not sufficient, Ge 38:11. See also the story of Ruth. The prophets very frequently, and undoubtedly not without cause, exclaim against the neglect and injustice shown to widows, Isa 1:17; 10:2; Jer 7:6; 22:3; Eze 22:7; Ex 22:22-24; De 10:18; 24:17.
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And Abram said, Behold, to me you have given no descendants: and, lo, one born in my house is my heir.
And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. read more. Therefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be displeasing in your sight because of the lad, and because of your bondwoman; in all that Sarah has said unto you, listen unto her voice; for in Isaac shall your descendants be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is your descendant. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a skin of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water was used up in the skin, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat down apart from him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat away from him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What ails you, Hagar? fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him with your hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bore him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. read more. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, whom Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at your father's house, till Shelah my son is grown: for he said, Lest perhaps he die also, as his brothers did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear, you sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. read more. Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: Unstable as water, you shall not excel; because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it: he went up to my couch. Simeon and Levi are brothers; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not into their secret; unto their assembly, my spirit, be not united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they dug down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise: your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, you are gone up: he stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his donkey's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Sidon. Issachar is a strong donkey crouching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto forced labor. Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse's heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for your salvation, O LORD. Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. Out of Asher his food shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. Naphtali is a hind let loose: he gives beautiful words. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have fiercely attacked him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from there is the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel:) Even by the God of your father, who shall help you; and by the Almighty, who shall bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of my ancestors unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brothers. Benjamin is ravenous as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
You shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; read more. And my wrath shall grow hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting, saying, read more. Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he has no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. And Moses brought their cause before the LORD. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: you shall surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and you shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. And you shall speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.
And you shall speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. read more. And if he has no brethren, then you shall give his inheritance unto his father's brethren. And if his father has no brethren, then you shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.
He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, in giving him food and clothing.
You shall not pervert the justice due the stranger, nor the fatherless; nor take a widow's clothing as pledge:
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. And Gilead's wife bore him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, you shall not inherit in our father's house; for you are the son of another woman. read more. Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered worthless men to Jephthah, and went out with him. And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah out of the land of Tob: And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not you hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are you come unto me now when you are in distress?
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, } Thus says the LORD, { Set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live.
A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causes shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
Learn to do good; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
To turn aside the needy from justice, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
If you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
Thus says the LORD; Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
In you have they made light of father and mother: in the midst of you have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in you have they wronged the fatherless and the widow.