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 [that establishes] the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.
He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit produces life.
But their minds were closed. For to this day, at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains; it is not lifted, because it is set aside [only] in Christ.
Where a will exists, the death of the testator must be established. For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in force while the testator is living.
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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Therefore He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions [committed] under the first covenant.
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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He has dealt mercifully with our fathers and remembered His holy covenant-
and said to him: Get out of your country and away from your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.
Brothers, I'm using a human illustration. No one sets aside even a human covenant that has been ratified, or makes additions to it.
Therefore He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions [committed] under the first covenant.
Therefore He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions [committed] under the first covenant. Where a will exists, the death of the testator must be established.
Where a will exists, the death of the testator must be established.
Where a will exists, the death of the testator must be established. For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in force while the testator is living. read more. That is why even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. For when every commandment had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll itself and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded for 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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Abram continued, "Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir."
The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son mocking-the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. read more. So she said to Abraham, "Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a co-heir with my son Isaac!" Now this was a very difficult thing for Abraham because of his son. But God said to Abraham, "Do not be concerned about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac. But I will also make a nation of the slave's son because he is your offspring." Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, [put them] on Hagar's shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, "I can't [bear to] watch the boy die!" So as she sat nearby, she wept loudly. God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What's wrong, Hagar? Don't be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is. Get up, help the boy up, and sustain him, for I will make him a great nation." Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Now Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah, and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. read more. Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's sons were the Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. And Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah. Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac. And Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, but while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up." For he thought, "He might die too, like his brother." So Tamar went to live in her father's house.
Then Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come. Come together and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel: read more. Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and the firstfruits of my virility, excelling in prominence, excelling in power. Turbulent as water, you will no longer excel, because you got into your father's bed and you defiled it-he got into my bed. Simeon and Levi are brothers; their knives are vicious weapons. May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For in their anger they kill men, and on a whim they hamstring oxen. Their anger is cursed, for it is strong, and their fury, for it is cruel! I will disperse them throughout Jacob and scatter them throughout Israel. Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. Judah is a young lion- my son, you return from the kill- he crouches; he lies down like a lion and like a lioness-who wants to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, or the staff from between his feet, until He whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to Him. He ties his donkey to a vine, and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk. Zebulun will live by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships, and his territory will be next to Sidon. Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between the saddlebags. He saw that his resting place was good and that the land was pleasant, so he leaned his shoulder to bear a load and became a forced laborer. Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. He will be a snake by the road, a viper beside the path, that bites the horses' heels so that its rider falls backwards. I wait for Your salvation, Lord. Gad will be attacked by [marauding] bands, but he will attack their heels. Asher's food will be rich, and he will produce royal delicacies. Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine beside a spring; its branches climb over the wall. The archers attacked him, shot at him, and were hostile toward him. Yet his bow remained steady, and his strong arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and the womb. The blessings of your father excel the blessings of my ancestors and the bounty of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince of his brothers. Benjamin is a wolf; he tears [his prey]. In the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the plunder."
"You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to Me, and I will certainly hear their cry. read more. My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
The daughters of Zelophehad approached; [Zelophehad was the] son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh from the clans of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, read more. "Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah's followers, who gathered together against the Lord. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan? Since he had no son, give us property among our father's brothers." Moses brought their case before the Lord, and the Lord answered him, "What Zelophehad's daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father's brothers and transfer their father's inheritance to them. Tell the Israelites: When a man dies without having a son, transfer his inheritance to his daughter.
Tell the Israelites: When a man dies without having a son, transfer his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. read more. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father's brothers. If his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative of his clan, and he will take possession of it. This is to be a statutory ordinance for the Israelites as the Lord commanded Moses."
He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreign resident, giving him food and clothing.
Do not deny justice to a foreign resident [or] fatherless child, and do not take a widow's garment as security.
Jephthah the Gileadite was a great warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. Gilead's wife bore him sons, and when they grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, "You will have no inheritance in our father's house, because you are the son of another woman." read more. So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Then some lawless men joined Jephthah and traveled with him. Some time later, the Ammonites fought against Israel. When the Ammonites made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. They said to him, "Come, be our commander, and let's fight against the Ammonites." Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why then have you come to me now when you're in trouble?"
In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: 'Put your affairs in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.' "
A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son and share an inheritance among brothers.
Learn to do what is good. Seek justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause.
to keep the poor from getting a fair trial and to deprive the afflicted among my people of justice, so that widows can be their spoil and they can plunder the fatherless.
if you no longer oppress the alien, the fatherless, and the widow and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves,
This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Don't exploit or brutalize the alien, the fatherless, or the widow. Don't shed innocent blood in this place.
Father and mother are treated with contempt, and the foreign resident is exploited within you. The fatherless and widow are oppressed in you.