The Bible Book

46 COVENANTS

accompanied on his great journey

through the Fertile Crescent by his

wife Sarah, their nephew Lot, and

servants. They travel along a well-

trodden trade route from Harran

in Mesopotamia to Egypt.

Following God’s instructions,

they eventually stop at the Great

Tree of Moreh near a place named

Shechem in the heart of Canaan.

Here, God appears to Abraham

once more and tells him that his

descendants will inherit this new

“Promised Land”—the chosen land

for God’s people. Seeing in advance

the rewards God has promised him,

Abraham builds the first of many

altars to his Lord (12:7).

Father of many

At the time of their departure,

Abraham and Sarah are 75 and 65

years old respectively. Although

these might appear to be very

advanced ages at which to

establish a new nation, let alone

have children, the patriarchs were

long-lived. Abraham dies at the age

of 175 and Sarah at 127.

At this stage, Abraham and

Sarah are referred to as Abram and

Sarai. God changes Abram’s name

(meaning “exalted father”) to

Abraham (“father of many”) in

Genesis 17. In this same chapter,

God promises Abraham a son—

Isaac—whose descendants will

found a nation named Israel. The

significance of Sarai’s name change

to Sarah is less clear. Both names

mean “princess,” but “Sarah” may

also mean “queen.”

Journey to Egypt

Abraham, Sarah, and Lot’s initial

stay in the Promised Land is brief

due to a famine. Along with all the

other people of Canaan, they are

forced to flee to Egypt in search of

food. Concerned that Sarah’s great

beauty may attract the Egyptians’

attention, and that he may be

murdered in order to clear the way

for a marriage, Abraham instructs

Sarah to tell the Egyptians that she

is his sister.

The ruse backfires when

Pharaoh takes Sarah into his

harem. In turn, Pharaoh rewards

Abraham for having a beautiful

“sister” and showers him with

Covenants in Judaism

and Christianity

In religion, a “covenant”

denotes a formal alliance or

agreement between God and

humankind, either a religious

group such as the Israelites

or humanity in general. The

covenant God makes with

Abraham is fundamental to

Judaism, as it forms the basis

for the Jews being the “chosen

people.” God promises to

make Abraham the father of

a great nation and commands

that his descendants must

obey Him. To this day, Jewish

males are circumcised when

they are eight days old as a

symbol of this covenant.

In Christianity, a covenant

has a different significance.

Christians believe that the

New Covenant was instituted

by Christ at the Last Supper

as part of the Eucharist.

They believe it represents an

ongoing relationship between

God and his followers that will

only come to full fruition with

the Second Coming of Christ.

Punished by God, the repentant

Pharaoh returns Sarah to Abraham

and sends them out of Egypt. Pharaoh

permits Abraham to retain the riches

he has amassed during his stay.

Blessed is the nation

whose God is the Lord, the

people whom He has chosen

for His own inheritance.

Psalm 33:12

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