testament

testament: see New Testament; Old Testament; will.

In law, a formal declaration, usually in the form of an executed document, of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property after death. It is valid if it meets the formalities of the law, which usually requires that it be witnessed. It may be considered invalid if, among other instances, the testator was mentally incapable of disposing of his or her property, if it imposes unreasonable or cruel demands as a condition of inheritance, or if the testator did not have clear h1 to the bequeathed assets. Any party who contests a will must bring the claim within a time specified by statute and must bear the burden of proof in demonstrating that the will is faulty. Seealso probate.

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(born Nov. 4, 1879, Indian Territory, U.S. [near present-day Claremore, Okla.]—died Aug. 15, 1935, near Point Barrow, Alaska) U.S. humorist and actor. Raised in Indian Territory, he demonstrated his rope-twirling skills in Wild West shows and vaudeville and gradually wove bits of homespun wit into his act. He was popular in New York City from 1905 and starred in Florenz Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic (1915). Noted for his good-natured but sharp criticism of current affairs, he wrote a newspaper column in the New York Times (from 1922) as well as several books. He performed on radio and in movies such as State Fair (1933) and Steamboat Round the Bend (1935). His death in a plane crash in Alaska with the aviator Wiley Post (1899–1935) was widely mourned.

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Sacred scriptures of Judaism and, with the New Testament, of Christianity. Written almost entirely in the Hebrew language between 1200 and 100 BC, the Old Testament (also called the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh) is an account of God's dealings with the Hebrews as his chosen people. In the Hebrew Bible, the first six books tell how the Israelites became a people and settled in the Promised Land, the following seven books describe the development of Israel's monarchy and the messages of the prophets, and the last 11 books contain poetry, theology, and some additional historical works. Christians divided some of the original Hebrew books into two or more parts, specifically, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles (two parts each), Ezra-Nehemiah (two separate books), and the Minor Prophets (12 separate books). The content of the Old Testament varies according to religious tradition, the Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Protestant canons all differing from each other as to which books they include. Seealso Apocrypha, Bible.

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Second of the two major divisions of the Christian Bible. Christians see the New Testament as the fulfillment of the promise of the Old Testament. It recounts the life and ministry of Jesus and interprets their meaning for the early church, focusing especially on the new covenant created between God and the followers of Jesus. There are 27 books in the New Testament: four Gospels, or stories of the life and teachings of Christ; the Acts of the Apostles, a historical narrative of the first years of the Christian church; 21 epistles, or letters of advice and instruction to early Christians; and the Book of Revelation, a description of the coming apocalypse. Most were written in the later 1st century AD, though none can be dated precisely. Only two authors are known for certain: St. Paul, credited with 13 epistles; and St. Luke, writer of the third gospel and the Book of Acts. Attributions of other authors range from highly likely (for the other three gospels) to completely unknown (for the Epistle to the Hebrews). These documents circulated among the early churches and were used as preaching and teaching sources. The earliest known list of the current New Testament canon dates from AD 367 in a work by St. Athanasius. A church council of 382 gave final approval to the list.

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A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true.

Testament can refer to:

• Old Testament, also known as the Tanakh, the holy scriptures of Judaism and Christianity.
• New Testament, holy scriptures of Christianity including the Gospels, epistles of Paul, and other writings.
• Qur'an, also known as the Final Testament, the holy scriptures of Islam.
• Will (law), a document detailing wishes upon the author's death and one of the original uses of testament; often referred to as "Last Will and Testament."
• Testament (film), a 1983 film about the aftermath of a nuclear war on a family.
• Le grand testament, the masterpiece of poet François Villon, who also wrote a Petit testament
• Lenin's Testament, name given to a document written by Vladimir Lenin in the last weeks of 1922 and the first week of 1923.
• Testament (band), an American thrash metal band.
• Testament (comic book), a 2005 comic book.
• Das Testament, an album by E Nomine.
• Testament (Xenosaga), mysterious characters from the Xenosaga series.
• Testament (Guilty Gear), a character from the video game series Guilty Gear.
• Testament Records, a record label.
• The Testament (Ludlum novel), a novel by Eric Van Lustbader.