What is "new testament"

New \New\ (n[=u]), a. [Compar. Newer (n[=u]"[~e]r); superl. Newest.] [OE. OE. newe, AS. niwe, neowe; akin to D. nieuw, OS. niwi, OHG. niuwi, G. neu, Icel. n[=y]r, Dan. & Sw. ny, Goth. niujis, Lith. naujas, Russ. novuii, Ir. nua, nuadh, Gael. nuadh, W. newydd, Armor. nevez, L. novus, Gr. ne`os, Skr. nava, and prob. to E. now. [root]263. See Now, and cf. Announce, Innovate, Neophyte, Novel.]

1. Having existed, or having been made, but a short time; having originated or occured lately; having recently come into existence, or into one's possession; not early or long in being; of late origin; recent; fresh; modern; -- opposed to old, as, a new coat; a new house; a new book; a new fashion. ``Your new wife.''
   --Chaucer.

2. Not before seen or known, although existing before; lately manifested; recently discovered; as, a new metal; a new planet; new scenes.

3. Newly beginning or recurring; starting anew; now commencing; different from what has been; as, a new year; a new course or direction.

4. As if lately begun or made; having the state or quality of original freshness; also, changed for the better; renovated; unworn; untried; unspent; as, rest and travel made him a new man.

   Steadfasty purposing to lead a new life.
   --Bk. of Com. Prayer.

   Men after long emaciating diets, fat, and almost new.
   --Bacon.

5. Not of ancient extraction, or of a family of ancient descent; not previously known or famous.
   --Addison.

6. Not habituated; not familiar; unaccustomed.

   New to the plow, unpracticed in the trace.
   --Pope.

7. Fresh from anything; newly come. New from her sickness to that northern air. --Dryden. New birth. See under Birth. New Church, or New Jerusalem Church, the church holding the doctrines taught by Emanuel Swedenborg. See Swedenborgian. New heart (Theol.), a heart or character changed by the power of God, so as to be governed by new and holy motives. New land, land cleared and cultivated for the first time. New light. (Zo["o]l.) See Crappie. New moon.

   1. The moon in its first quarter, or when it first appears after being invisible.

   2. The day when the new moon is first seen; the first day of the lunar month, which was a holy day among the Jews.
      --2 Kings iv. 23.

      New Red Sandstone (Geol.), an old name for the formation immediately above the coal measures or strata, now divided into the Permian and Trias. See Sandstone.

      New style. See Style.

      New testament. See under Testament.

      New world, the land of the Western Hemisphere; -- so called because not known to the inhabitants of the Eastern Hemisphere until recent times.

      Syn: Novel; recent; fresh; modern. See Novel.

The New Testament ( Koine Greek: Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, Hē Kainḕ Diathḗkē) is the second major part of the Christian biblical canon, the first part being the Old Testament, based on the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christianity. Christians regard both the Old and New Testaments together as sacred scripture. The New Testament (in whole or in part) has frequently accompanied the spread of Christianity around the world. It reflects and serves as a source for Christian theology and morality. Both extended readings and phrases directly from the New Testament are also incorporated (along with readings from the Old Testament) into the various Christian liturgies. The New Testament has influenced religious, philosophical, and political movements in Christendom and left an indelible mark on literature, art, and music.

The New Testament is an anthology, a collection of Christian works written in the common (Koine) Greek language of the first century, at different times by various writers, who were early Jewish disciples of Jesus, and the modern consensus is that it also provides important evidence regarding Judaism in the first century CE. In almost all Christian traditions today, the New Testament consists of 27 books. The original texts were written in the first and perhaps the second centuries of the Christian Era, in Greek, which was the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean from the Conquests of Alexander the Great (335–323 BC) until the evolution of Byzantine Greeks (c. 600). All the works that eventually became incorporated into the New Testament are believed to have been written no later than around 150 AD, and a small minority of scholars would date them to no later than 70 AD, 80 AD, or at 96 AD.

Collections of related texts such as letters of the Apostle Paul (a major collection of which must have been made already by the early 2nd century) and the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (asserted by Irenaeus of Lyon in the late-2nd century as the Four Gospels) gradually were joined to other collections and single works in different combinations to form various Christian canons of Scripture. Over time, some disputed books, such as the Book of Revelation and the Minor Catholic (General) Epistles were introduced into canons in which they were originally absent. Other works earlier held to be Scripture, such as 1 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Diatessaron, were excluded from the New Testament. The Old Testament canon is not completely uniform among all major Christian groups including Roman Catholics, Protestants, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Slavic Orthodox Churches, and the Armenian Orthodox Church. However, the twenty-seven-book canon of the New Testament, at least since Late Antiquity, has been almost universally recognized within Christianity (see Development of the New Testament canon).

The New Testament consists of:

• four narratives of the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus, called " gospels" (or "good news" accounts);
• a narrative of the Apostles' ministries in the early church, called the " Acts of the Apostles", and probably written by the same writer as the Gospel of Luke, which it continues;
• twenty-one letters, often called " epistles" from Greek "epistole", written by various authors, and consisting of Christian doctrine, counsel, instruction, and conflict resolution; and
• an Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation, which is a book of prophecy, containing some instructions to seven local congregations of Asia Minor, but mostly containing prophetical symbology, about the end times.