Etymology of "Testimony"

Testify, Testament, Testimony, all have a common root: Testis or Testes.

Hey that sounds like . . .

Yes, those testes.

Before there was a Bible to swear on, going way back in history, they needed something else that held extremely high value in the eyes of a person who was making an oath. Something to swear by, that everybody had. Well, everyone who would be making an oath of any importance had two of these, so they would put the left hand there and raise the right hand. The Romans swore oaths that way, but that's practically yesterday.

A few years *ahem* before Rome was established, Abraham said "Put, I pray thee, they hand under my thigh" (to make an oath). His servant (slave) ". . .put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter."

Did you ever wonder why Abraham had his slave put his hand under his master's thigh? It wasn't to touch his hamstring, it was to establish a testament.

The squeamish and argumentative P.C. crowd will say the root-word has a different connotation. When the American Heritage Dictionary mentions the body part explanation as the first one in the Word History footnote I'm going to go with them.

Now you know.