Covenant (biblical)

The Hebrew Bible describes several covenants (Hebrew: בְּרִיתוֹת) made by God (YHWH). The Noahic Covenant in Genesis 9 is an agreement between God and all living creatures. Other, more specific covenants involve Abraham, the entire Israelite people, the Israelite priesthood, and the Davidic royal line. The language and structure of these covenants resemble the treaty agreements common in the ancient Near East. In Jeremiah 31:30–33, YHWH promises to create a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

The Hebrew word for covenant, *bĕriyth*, comes from a root meaning "to cut," since such pacts were often made by passing between the cut pieces of a sacrificed animal. Two main types of covenant appear in the Hebrew Bible: obligatory and promissory. The obligatory type, common among the Hittites, governs relationships between equal parties. The promissory type, seen in the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, involves a superior (suzerain) and a subordinate (vassal), similar to a "royal grant" legal document. Such grants included historical introductions, border definitions, stipulations, witnesses, blessings, and curses. In a royal grant, a master could reward a loyal servant. God rewarded Abraham, Noah, and David in his covenants with them. In the Abrahamic covenant, God is obligated to keep Abraham’s descendants as his chosen people and to be their God. God acts as the suzerain and takes on the curse if he fails to uphold his obligation. In other ancient instances, the vassal performed the ritual acts and bore the curse.

Scholar Weinfeld argues that the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants share terminology with ancient Near Eastern grants, unlike the Mosaic covenant, which he sees as a suzerainty treaty. Phrases like "whole heart" or "walked after me with all his heart" parallel Neo-Assyrian grant language such as "walked with royalty." In Jeremiah, God uses prophetic metaphor to describe David as an adopted son. Expressing legal and political ties through family terms was common in Near Eastern cultures; Babylonian contracts used "father" and "son" to mean king and vassal. The grant of Ashurbanipal to his servant Bulta describes loyalty as "kept the charge of my kinship," similar to Abraham keeping God’s charge in Genesis 26:4–5, where God promises land to Abraham’s descendants because Abraham obeyed and kept God’s commandments.

According to Mendenhall, external invaders pushed the loosely united Israelite tribes to form a monarchy for stability. This new state needed to unify the religious traditions of different groups to prevent dissent from those who saw the monarchy as replacing God’s direct rule. The tribes merged under the Mosaic covenant to legitimize their unity, believing that obeying the law meant obeying God. They also believed the king was placed in power by God’s favor, fulfilling the promise of a Davidic dynasty. Mendenhall notes a conflict arose between supporters of the Davidic covenant and those who thought God would not endorse all state actions. Both sides grew distant, and the Davidic and Mosaic covenants were largely forgotten.

Students of the Bible disagree on how many major covenants exist between God and humanity, with estimates from one to at least twelve. Some scholars classify only two: a covenant of promise (an oath by God) and a covenant of law (known in the Bible as "the Law"). The Noahic Covenant in Genesis 9:9–17 applies to all humans and all living creatures. God promises never again to destroy all life by flood, with the rainbow as the sign of this everlasting covenant. Before this covenant (Genesis 9:1–7), Noah and his descendants are commanded to procreate and not to shed human blood, because humanity was made in God’s image. Jews are forbidden to eat meat with blood in it, though Noahides (Bnei Noah) are allowed the blood of a living animal.