beréí†t (tyriB], 1285), “covenant; alliance; agreement; agreement; confederacy”. Most likely, this name is derived from the Akkadian root meaning “chain, put in shackles”; it has parallels in Hittite, Egyptian, Assyrian, and Aramaic. Beréí†t is found more than 280 times in all sections of the Old Testament. The first instance of the word is in Gen 6:18 “But I will establish my covenant with you. You and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives will go into the ark with you.” “Covenant” is the KJV’s preferred translation of beréí†t: “Now therefore make a covenant with us” (Jos 9:6); especially in the case of internal political agreements of Israel (2Sa 3:12-13, 21; 5.3) or between nations (1Ki 15:19). In these cases the subsequent revisions (rvr, rva, nrv) use “alliance” or “pact”. In Jdg 2:2 it is translated: “Provided that we do not make a “covenant” with the inhabitants of this land”, (“covenant” rva). The commandment was also given to Israel in Exo 23:32; 34.12–16; and in Deu 7:2-6: Other versions use various terms: “covenant” (lba, lbp, blah; bpd, sbp), “alliance” (bj), “peace treaty” (nbe), etc. , depending on the context. The rvr prefers the term “covenant” to translate beréí†t, in particular to denote “agreements between men”, as between Abraham and Abimelech (Gen 21:32): “Thus they made a covenant in Beersheba”. David and Jonathan made a “covenant” of mutual protection that bound David and his descendants in perpetuity (1Sa 18:3; 20.8, 16–18, 42). In all these cases there was mutual agreement that was confirmed with an oath in the name of the Lord. Material pledges were sometimes given as witnesses to the covenant (Gen 21:28-31). Ahab defeated the Syrians: “So he made a covenant with him, and let him go” (1Ki 20:34). The king of Babylon “also took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, and made him take an oath” (Eze 17:13). In “pacts” such as these, the terms were imposed by a superior military power; they were not mutual agreements. The monarchy in Israel was based on a “covenant”: “David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord” (2Sa 5:3). This agreement was based on their recognition that God had appointed him (2Sa 5:2), so they became David’s subjects (cf. 2Ki 11:4, 17). The great majority of the cases of beréí†t have to do with the “covenants” or “alliances” of God with men, as in the case of Gen 6:18, already cited. The verbs used are important: “I will establish my covenant with you” (Gen 6:18), literally, “I will hold fast” or “I will confirm” my “alliance”. “And I will put my covenant between me and you” (Gen 17:2; “I will fulfill” rva; “I will confirm” blah). “And he declared his covenant to you” (Deu 4:13). “My covenant which I commanded you” (Jos 7:11). “I have remembered my pact. Therefore †¦ I will deliver you from his bondage” (Exo 6:5-6). God will not reject Israel for their disobedience nor will He cast them away “to the point of consuming them, breaking My covenant with them” (Lev 26:44). “Neither will he forget the covenant that he swore to your fathers” (Deu 4:31). The most common verb is “cut” a covenant, which is always translated as in Gen 15:18 “The Lord made a covenant.” This usage seems to derive from the ceremony described in Gen 15:9-17 (cf. Jer 34:18), in which God appears as “a torch of fire passing through the divided animals” (Gen 15:17). . All these verbs clarify that in all cases the initiative belongs to God; he is the one who establishes and fulfills the pacts. “Covenant/covenant” is a parallel or equivalent term to the Hebrew words darar (“word”), joq (“statute”), piqquí†d (“precepts”, Psa 103:18 lba), edah (“testimonies” Psa 25:10), toí†rah (“law” Psa 78:10) and chesed (“mercy” Deu 7:9). These terms emphasize God’s authority and grace in establishing and fulfilling the “covenant,” while pointing to human responsibility under the “covenant.” The words of the “covenant” were written in a book (Exo 24:4, 7; Deu 31:24-26) and on stone tablets (Exo 34:28). Human beings “enter into” (Deu 29:12) or “join” (Jer 50:5 rva; “join” rvr) to the “covenant”. They must “obey” (Gen 12:4) and “do” all the commandments of the “covenant” (Deu 4:6). But, above all, the “covenant” is a call for Israel to love “the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deu 6:5). The divine “covenant” is a relationship of love and loyalty between the Lord and his chosen people. “If you really listen to my voice and keep my covenant, you will be to me a special people among all peoples †¦ and you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exo 19:5-6 rva). “You shall be careful to do every commandment †¦ that you may live and be multiplied, and go in and possess the land which the Lord promised with an oath to your fathers” (Deu 8:1). In the “covenant” man’s response contributes to its fulfillment; however, his action is not causative. The grace of God always goes before producing the human response. From time to time, Israel “made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments † ¦ to fulfill the words of this covenant that are written in this book” (2Ki 23:3 rva). It resembles his original commitment: “All that Jehovah has said we will do!” (Exo 19:8 rva; 24.7). Israel did not propose the terms of a “covenant” with God. He responded to his “pact.” The utter mercy and efficacy of God’s “covenant” character is confirmed in the Septuagint by the choice of diatheekee to translate beréí†t. Diatheekee is the will that stipulates the distribution of the assets of a deceased according to his will. It denotes a totally unilateral action. Diatheekee is found 33 times in the New Testament. In its translation into Spanish, the Protestant versions prefer “covenant” and the Catholic ones prioritize the term “alliance”. The use of “New Testament” and “Old Testament” as the names of the two sections of the Bible indicates that the divine “covenant” is at the center of the entire book. The Bible recounts God’s “testament” purpose so that human beings can join Him in loving service and know eternal fellowship with Him through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Source: Vine Old Testament Dictionary
I. Terminology
The two key words for covenant or alliance in the Bible are the Heb. berı̂ṯ and the gr. diathēkē. berı̂ṯ It generally refers to the act or rite of establishing a pact, and also to the formal contract between two partners. diathēkē is the gr translation. (LXX) of the word berı̂ṯ which was adopted by the NT. Its meaning is “testament”. Together with berı̂ṯ Various other terms are used in connection with covenants. The most important are ˒āhēḇ‘to love’, ḥeseḏ‘contractual love’ or ‘contractural solidarity’, tuff‘goodness’ or ‘friendship’, salom‘contractural az’ or ‘contractural prosperity’, and yāda˓, ‘to serve faithfully according to the covenant’. With the exception of ḥeseḏ all other terms can, in some way, be related to the terminology of ancient Near Eastern treaties.
Different verbs are used in relation to berı̂ṯ. The technical term is kāraṯ berı̂t, lit. “cut a pact”, which indicates the ancient rite of cutting an animal when making a treaty or pact. When the verb is used kāraṯ with the prepositions you either im, points in the direction of a pact concluded by a superior. Many verbs are used to replace the word kāraṯ, p. eg hēqı̂m‘establish’, nāṯan‘to give’, higgı̂ḏ‘to declare’, nišba˓‘swear’, he˒emı̂d‘confirm’, ṣiwwâ‘order’, and śām, ‘do’. Various verbs are also used to denote the people’s participation in the pact, e.g. eg bo˒“enter into a covenant with the Lord” (2 Chr. 15.12), āḇar“enter into a relationship of this character” (Dt. 29.12), and love, “to be in an agreed relationship”. Two verbs are used for the act of keeping the covenant, namely nāṣar Y samar. A whole set of verbs is used to describe the breaking of the covenant: firstly it with nāṣar Y samar, then p. eg šāḵaḥ‘forget’, āḇar‘transgress’, more‘despise’, stop‘break’, shaqar‘act falsely’, ḥillēl‘desecrate’, and šāḥaṯ‘corrupt’.
II. covenant rites
We do not have sufficient information regarding the covenant rites, due to the lack of relevant material. There are, however, some vestiges of these rites in the little material that is available. The killing of an animal (sheep, donkey, bull, etc.) is described in the Mari texts, in the Alalak tablets, and in the OT. It was customary to cut the animal into two or three parts (so recently proposed by Cazelles). One part was burned in honor of the god, and another part was consumed in a meal in celebration of the pact. In Gen. 15 describes such a rite. The same rite is also mentioned in Ex. 24. In this case the sacrifice and the celebratory meal are clearly described. In certain treaties concluded with vassals in the ancient Near East it is established that the vassal is obliged to visit the great king annually in order to renew the pact. Although the OT is not clear on this, it is very likely that the same custom prevailed in Israel. It is possible that the Israelites came together on the occasion of a certain festival (new year) to renew the covenant.
III. alliance or treaty
(Yo) In the ancient Near East. The idea of concluding treaties prevails in almost the entire history of the ancient Near East. It is only by chance that we have precise information regarding certain treaties concluded in the Near East, e.g. eg the Hittite treaties, the treaties of Esar-haddon, and the arm. of Sefire. Close study of the Mari and Amarna tablets, p. eg, it is discovered that there was a background that presupposed a treaty between several of the mentioned nations and groups. The use of expressions such as father-son, or lord-servant (abdu), e.g. For example, it indicates that, in a friendly relationship, the great king is usually called “father”, and the vassal king “son”, while in a more rigorous relationship, the great king is called “lord” and his vassal “servant” Two main types of treaties were concluded: (1) the treaty between equals, in which the two contracting parties were called “brothers”, p. eg the treaty between Hattusilis III and Ramses II. The conditions in this type of treaty were reduced mainly to the recognition of borders and the return of defecting slaves. (2) the vassal treaty was between a great king (conqueror) and a lesser king. These treaties were established, more or less, according to the following scheme: preamble or introduction, in which the great king is presented with all his titles and attributes; the historical prologue, in which the history of…