Testament

"Testament" (Greek diatheke; Latin testamentum) translates the Hebrew berith ("covenant") in the Septuagint and most NT occurrences. In Greek, diatheke carries the primary meaning of a "will" or "last testament" — a legally binding disposition of an estate, taking effect at the death of the testator. The author of Hebrews exploits this double meaning: Christ mediates a new covenant (diatheke), and "where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no force at all while the testator lives" (Heb. 9:16–17 NKJV) — explaining the necessity of Christ's death for the new covenant's ratification. The terms "Old Testament" and "New Testament" as designations for the two canonical collections derive from Jeremiah's prophecy of a new covenant (Jer. 31:31–34), cited extensively in Hebrews 8–10.