covenantCOVENANT
A covenant consists of an agreement between two parties to abide by its
terms. In the ancient Near East, it represents a treaty between a dominant
nation and a subservient one. The ancient Hebrews extend the concept
beyond its political context. There are basically two types of covenants:
parity and suzerainty. The parity covenant is a reciprocal agreement in
which both parties bind themselves to each other by bilateral obligation.
A suzerainty covenant is unilateral and made between, for instance, a
king – its author – and his vassals, which is a pact between unequal par-
ties. Within the covenant, the vassal finds protection and security, but, as
the inferior party, the vassal is obligated to obey the commands issued by
the king, although great attention is given to the king’s deeds of generos-
ity. In the context of ancient Israelite religion, Yahweh freely initiates the
covenant and is free to terminate it at His discretion.
The ancient Hebrews extend the concept of covenant (brit) beyond its
political context. They conceive of a covenant as an invitation (Gen.
19.15) made by God to His chosen people. God is the superior and the
people are the weaker party in an agreement between unequals. Even
though the covenant is an invitation, the people enter into it by means of
their own free will. Each party pledges to adhere to an agreement, and
each is accountable to the other within the context of legal obligations.
When the covenant is broken it is emotionally renewed (Jer. 33.31–33)
because of the love of God for Israel.
The Hebrew Pentateuch represents a series of covenants: Mosaic,
Abrahamic, and Mosaic and Israel. With respect to Abraham’s covenant
with God, it is God who informed Abraham that he would become the
father of a multitude of nations and would be given the land of Canaan.
The primary mark of this covenant is circumcision for all males. Those
not circumcised would not be included among Abraham’s people, and
they would be guilty of breaking the covenant (Gen. 17.14).
The covenant at Sinai is inseparable from the deliverance from Egypt
and God’s guidance of His people through the wilderness. The Sinai cov-
enant includes an important condition: obey and keep the covenant. This
places the people in a situation where they have to make a decision; it
also calls them to participate in the divine purpose. In the end, the people
would be Yahweh’s personal possession. The covenant is sealed by a
sacrifice and communal meal.
The concept of the covenant is so powerful in ancient Israel that it
is also used as a metaphor to express other types of relationships.
The covenant brings together people of equal status (Gen. 21.32). It is