The Old Testament: The Five Covenants Essay

Covenant and law are both prevalent themes that are used throughout the Old Testament of the Bible. A covenant is a binding contract in which “a kinship bond between two parties” is created when each party carries out assigned expectations established in the making of the covenant (Hahn and Bergsma 1). A law is a binding rule or regulation that is used to regulate the conduct of a community or group of people and is usually enforced by some kind of authority. There are many similarities and differences between covenant and law, and in some cases covenant and law can be connected so that one supports the other. This is especially true when talking about the Mosaic Law and God’s covenant with Israel. In these two items God creates expectations through the covenant, rules and regulations through the Law, and allows for covenant-maintenance by using both together rather than a simple law code.

‘I now establish My covenant with you and your offspring to come, and with every living thing that is with you. – birds, cattle, and every wild beast as well – all that have come out of the ark, every living thing on earth. I will maintain My covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”(Genesis pg. 174) This is Gods way of letting Noah know that he will never again flood the earth again.

The treaty analogue sheds light on some biblical phraseology used in covenant contexts. The relationship of the suzerain to the vassal is often expressed as a father – son relationship. The references to Israel as Yahweh’s son is illuminated by this characteristic idiom: The father – son metaphor informs another idiom: In treaties and diplomatic correspondence, the relationship between the two parties is one of “love.”

Biblical covenant is “legal term denoting a formal and legally binding declaration of benefits to be given by one party to another, with or without conditions attached.” (Arnold) Biblical covenant is a part of God holy plan and they reveal enteral plan. Each covenant plays a part of God plan of salvation. The Mosaic covenant showed that being saved by works was impossible and reveals God’s Holy character the need of a savior. “The Mosaic Covenant was like the vassal treaties of the ancient Near East, where a more powerful king entered into a relationship with a lesser king.” Knowing the Bible)

The origin of the covenant dates back to ancient Hittite civilizations, and was widely common during various periods in the Bible. Covenants (or treaties) were necessary for a

The contextual range of meaning of האמנה, or covenant, will explore the usage of covenant in the text of topic, Exodus 19:1-8, followed by its usage in the book of Exodus as a whole. Covenant is used only once in the focal passage but carries great significance. (Strong’s “covenant”:

In Chapter 7, we see that God’s word is true. He upholds his judgment and the great flood begins.(7:6) Here the all-powerful destroyer is portrayed, for all earthly life is eliminated except that inside the Ark. God’s word is also true in His remembrance of the covenant formed with Noah, by stopping the flood.(8:1)

Theologically, a covenant (used of relations between God and man) denotes a gracious undertaking entered into by God for the benefit and blessing of humanity and specifically of those who by faith receive the promises and commit themselves to the obligation which this undertaking involves. The Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional covenant. God made

A covenant relationship can either be between God and man or between man and another man. The agreement between God and people called a divine covenant, that signify the relationship between people and God as expressed in the biblical

There are three main covenants in the Old Testament. The first covenant is the Abrahamic Covenant. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation (Genesis 12:2). God also promised him the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:7; 17:8), He

A covenant is an important agreement or promise. The Covenant of Grace states that God approached mankind, not the other way around and all mankind had to do was accept this covenant of grace. This allowed mankind, as sinful as they were, the chance to return to God.

The stories of covenants in the Torah are known as the covenant of the children. A covenant is an agreement or promise between God and His people or chosen person. It is two-way purpose that God will accomplish His part of the agreement or promise if the people worship and praise Him. Noah, Abraham, and Moses are the three most important people God made covenants with. God also made a covenant with Jacob and it is not as major as the other three. The major three all were called to follow God’s words, given a covenant as a guide, saved lives from death or enslavement, and all three had experienced a theophany. Theophany is a visible manifestation to humankind of God.

The word covenant relates to an agreement between God and Man (Tullock & McEntire, 2012). Each part of the contract is written by God, and he ensures that the terms of the agreement have been met. The role that has been viewed in the Israelite religion that relates to the word covenant would be the Sinai covenant that God made with the Israelites. In Exodus 19:5, God tells the Israelites that “If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be a treasured possession out of all peoples” (Tullock & McEntire, 2012. pp. 75-76). This statement meant that the Israelites would be a holy nation and be separated from others for God’s use only.

The word Covenant translates from the Hebrew word “berith” and proposes that two or more parties are bound together under a contract with agreements, promises, stipulations, privileges, and

There are different types of covenants talked about in the Bible. The first covenant is the Adamic covenant described in Genesis 1:26-30 and 2:16-17. God created the first male and named him Adam. This is recorded in the opening chapter in the book of Genesis. Then God planted gardens and different types of trees. In the middle of this garden there was the tree of life which represented knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam not to eat from this tree. After God created Adam, trees, and animals he created the first female Eve. She was also not allowed to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. One day the