“For where there is a testament, 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 power at all while the testator lives” (Hebrews 9:16-17).
There is a subtle, but interesting shift in the language of this passage from Hebrews 9:16-17. In it, we find a play on words that substantiates our author’s message from earlier within this chapter: “…with His own blood [Jesus] entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:13). That word-play is involves our author’s use of the word “testament.”
You see, the author of Hebrews has expressed a preference for the word “covenant” in addressing God’s response to human sin. In fact, the word covenant has already appeared more than a dozen times thus far within the book of Hebrews.
As mentioned previously, a covenant is similar to other types of contractual arrangements in certain respects. For instance, a covenant resembles a modern-day contract in the sense that it conveys the responsibilities of each party. And like many other types of contractual arrangements, a covenant often contains a list of penalties to be assessed against those who fail to fulfill its terms.
However, a covenant differs from other types of agreements in one important respect: the terms of a covenant are non-negotiable. In other words, the language of a covenant cannot be deleted, modified, or amended to suit the desires of one party. Instead, a covenant must be accepted or rejected in its entirety without alteration. Furthermore, we should also remember that God always serves as the sole initiator of a Biblical covenant.
In light of this, we should note the abrupt transition from the use of the word covenant to the word testament here in Hebrews 9:16-17. In fact, this passage represents the first and last appearance of the word “testament” in the New King James Version of this epistle. One source sheds some additional light on the relationship between these words…
“’Covenant’ (NASB) can also be translated ‘testament’ (KJV) or ‘will’ (NIV, NRSV, TEV), and ancient writers often argued their points by plays on words. ‘Testaments’ were sealed documents, opened only on the testator’s death; ‘covenants’ were agreements between parties or imposed by a greater party on a lesser one.” (1)
Since the words “covenant” and “testament” originate from the same word in the original language of this passage, these observations should alert us to a specific intent behind this choice. We’ll explore that intent next.
(1) Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary [Hebrews 9:16-17]