Do you deny that one of the meanings of
diatheke is last will and testament:
What about this translation:
"For where a testament (diatheke) is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament (diatheke) is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth" (Heb.9:16-17).
Dean Alford wrote that
"It is quite vain to deny the testamentary sense of 'diatheke' in this verse....I believe it will be found that we must at all hazards accept the meaning of 'testament,' as being the only one which will in any way meet the plain requirement of the verse" [
emphasis added] (Alford,
The Greek Testament, IV:173, 174; cf. the renderings of ASV, RSV).
Zane C. Hodges writes that the author of Hebrews
"treated the Greek word for 'covenant' (diatheke) in the sense of a will. While 'covenants' and 'wills' are not in all respects identical, the author meant that in the last analysis the New Covenant is really a testamentary disposition. Like human wills, all the arrangements are secured by the testator and its beneficiaries need only accept its terms" [
emphasis added] (
The Bible Knowledge Commentary; New Testament, ed. Walvoord & Zuck [Colorado Springs: Chariot Victor Publishing 1983], p.802).
Scott Murray wrote that
"the sense of 'last will and testament' was the primary and most prevalent meaning of the word 'diatheke' in Hellenistic Greek" (Murray, "The Concept of Diatheke in the Letter to the Hebrews,"
Concordia Theological Quarterly, Vol. 66:1, Jan., 2002, p.54-55).
Of course you think that you know more than all these respected commentators on the Bible.