The Religions Book

170

T

he covenant, or contract,
with God is the central
concept of Judaism, and
dates back to the beliefs of the
Israelites, an ancient Middle
Eastern people. In fact, Jews view
themselves as bound to God by a
series of covenants. The Abrahamic
covenant was the first, specifically
singling out the Israelites as God’s
chosen people, while the later
Mosaic covenants (mediated by
Moses) renewed this initial bond.
The Israelites, sometimes
called Hebrews, were a people
who occupied part of Canaan,

The first covenant

Like many peoples in the ancient

Middle East, the Israelites were

polytheists, but worshipped a

national god, one whom they

viewed as offering their people

particular protection. Jews were

later to deem their God’s name

too holy to pronounce and did not

preserve its original vowels, so it

became known only by its four

consonants: YHWH (probably

pronounced “Yahweh”). YHWH

was also known by several other

names, including El and Elohim,

meaning God.

GOD’S COVENANT WITH ISRAEL

IN CONTEXT

KEY TEXT

The Torah

WHEN AND WHERE

c.1000–450 BCE,

the Middle East

BEFORE

c.1300 BCE Hittite royal treaties

provide a model for the Torah’s

description of the covenant.

AFTER

200–500 CE The Mishnah and

Talmud codify the oral law, or

received body of rabbinic

learning, and are used to offer

further Biblical interpretation

and guidance on the covenant.

1948 In the aftermath of World

War II, the State of Israel is

founded, allowing Jewish

people to return to their

historical homeland.

1990 US theologian Judith

Plaskow urges Jews to

reinterpret traditional texts

that exclude women from

the covenant.

roughly equivalent to modern

Israel and Palestine, perhaps as

early as the 15th century BCE. In

around 1200 BCE, during a period

when this part of the world was

under Egyptian rule, an inscription

was carved that contains the first

mention of Israel as a people.

In the 6th century BCE, many

of the Israelites were forced into

exile in Babylonia. During this

period of exile, much of the Hebrew,

or Jewish, Bible was composed.

It sets down the history of the

Israelite people and the origin

of their religious beliefs.

God asked Abraham to leave his home and

family, and go to another land.

This promise was that as long as Abraham

and his descendants obeyed God, God

would protect his descendants and

give them the land of Canaan forever.

If he did so, God promised to reward him;

this promise became known as the covenant

“I will take you as my people,

and I will be your God.”