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The Hebrew Understanding Of The Abrahamic Covenant

Decent Essays

The Abrahamic Covenant is the foundation upon which the three major world religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, stand. The story of Abraham and his descendants is the exemplum of each of these faiths and is pivotal to the understanding of world history when analyzed through the lens of theological worldviews. However, in this course, the theological worldview of the Hebrew people has been at the forefront, as they are the focus of the Tanakh. As a result, this essay will seek to analyze the Abrahamic Covenant from the perspective of the Hebrew people, as chronicled in the Hebrew holy text. First outlined in Genesis, the Abrahamic Covenant is of special significance to the Hebrew people. From the beginning of the Tanakh to the end, both the covenant and its perception in the minds of the Hebrew people develop and evolve as historical events and intense theological debates unfold within the texts. Ultimately, the Hebrew understanding of the Abrahamic Covenant is greatly enhanced and complemented by these developments, and an analysis of passages from each of the Tanakh’s three subdivisions can provide a clearer picture as to why this is.
Torah
The Torah ("instruction, teaching") is the first subdivision of the Tanakh, and within it, the Abrahamic Covenant is established and defined. In Genesis 12:1-3, God calls upon a humble, unpresuming, and faithful man from Ur of the Chaldeans, Abraham, to accept His command and follows it with a remarkable promise:
“The LORD

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