Mary Fitzpatrick
Sinai and Royal Covenants
Reli 110-09 F15
Dr. Starbuck
Word Count Yahweh creates covenants with his people throughout the Bible. Two important covenants, that helped shape the rules and norms of society, were the Sinai covenant and the Royal or Davidic covenant. The Sinai covenant was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The Royal covenant was given to David and in it Yahweh promises to support the line of David (2 Sam 7:16). The Sinai and Royal covenants are similar, but are also unique and different from each other. Specifically, they are similar in their talk of blessings and a chosen people. They differ in the aspect that the Royal covenant seems to contradict some of the concepts presented in the Sinai covenant. The differences
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It states that Yahweh is the great king, (2 Sam 7:20-25) Yahweh choose Jerusalem for his dwelling place, it states an unconditional promise to the Davidic house (2 Sam. 7:16) and a conditional promise to each Davidic king (Starbuck, 10/29/15). This creates differences between the two covenants. The first three parts are a Royal covenant where the greater party, Yahweh, is bound to the lesser party, David and the people, without them having to do anything in return. This is an unconditional covenant. This is different from the Sinai covenant, but similar to the Noahic and Abrahamic covenants, both of which came before the Sinai covenant in the Bible. Yahweh promised Noah he would not send a flood again (Gen.9:15) and promised Abraham he would be the “ancestor of a multitude of nations” (Gen. 17:6). The Noahic and Abrahamic covenants are unconditional and Yahweh binds himself to Abraham and Noah without asking them to do anything in return. Some scholars say the Royal and Sinai covenants are contradictory because they believe the Royal covenant was originally written as only the first three parts, and that the fourth was added later on by the Deuteronomist (Starbuck, 10/29/15). The fourth idea is against the king’s interest; it means he has to answer to a higher power. If the covenant is unconditional they don’t need to worry about fulfilling any obligations to Yahweh. If it was against the king’s interest to answer to …show more content…
In both covenants, one of the crucial pieces stated is the fact that the Israelites are Yahweh’s chosen people. In the Sinai covenant it states “The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you…” (Deut. 28:9) The Royal covenant also talks about Yahweh’s people, in 2nd Samuel, 7:10 it states “And I will appoint a place for my people Israel…”. In the royal covenant David prays to Yahweh, saying “And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever…” (2 Sam 7:24). Another similarity between the two covenants is the fact that they both speak of blessing and the benefits of obeying Yahweh. The Sinai covenant states “If you will only obey the LORD your God, by diligently observing all his commandments…. the LORD your God will set you high above the nations of the earth” (Deut. 28:1). The next verses go on to list blessing that come from obeying Yahweh. In the Royal covenant it talks of Yahweh saving his people from their enemies (2 Sam 7:11) and that He will make them a great name (2 Sam
A covenant relationship can either be between God and man or between man and another man. The agreement between God and people called a divine covenant, that signify the relationship between people and God as expressed in the biblical
The origin of the covenant dates back to ancient Hittite civilizations, and was widely common during various periods in the Bible. Covenants (or treaties) were necessary for a
Theologically, a covenant (used of relations between God and man) denotes a gracious undertaking entered into by God for the benefit and blessing of humanity and specifically of those who by faith receive the promises and commit themselves to the obligation which this undertaking involves. The Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional covenant. God made
Covenant and law are both prevalent themes that are used throughout the Old Testament of the Bible. A covenant is a binding contract in which “a kinship bond between two parties” is created when each party carries out assigned expectations established in the making of the covenant (Hahn and Bergsma 1). A law is a binding rule or regulation that is used to regulate the conduct of a community or group of people and is usually enforced by some kind of authority. There are many similarities and differences between covenant and law, and in some cases covenant and law can be connected so that one supports the other. This is especially true when talking about the Mosaic Law and God’s covenant with Israel. In these two items God creates expectations through the covenant, rules and regulations through the Law, and allows for covenant-maintenance by using both together rather than a simple law code.
According to the tradition, God entered into a covenant or contract with the tribes of Israel, who believed that Yahweh had spoken to them through Moses. The Israelites promised to obey Yahweh and follow his law. In return, Yahweh promised to take care of his people,” (Spielvogal 38). The covenant between the Israelites and Yahweh could only be fulfilled by obedience to the law of God” (Spielvogal 38). “The Israelites believed that certain religious leaders or holy men, called prophets, were sent by God to serve as his voice to the people. These “men of God” went through the land warning the Israelites that they had failed to keep God’s commandments and would be punished for breaking the covenant: “I will punish you for all of your iniquities.” (Spielvogal 38,39). Family was the center of the social structure for Hebrew life. Family was made up of blood related individuals living in a common place. Marriage was also important to the Hebrew family. Similar to Hammurabi’s Code, some Hebrew people accepted polygamy, while the majority rejected it, and believed monogamy was preferred form of marriage. What makes Moses so different from Hammurabi is that Hammurabi’s codes are still used today, but mainly in the Middle East, while The Ten Commandments that Moses was given by Yahweh still have a
The first covenant was between Moses and God. A covenant is like a contract between God and people. The contract says that if the people do as God says that they will be rewarded. In the covenant that God made with Moses, God promised that the Hebrews would have a perennate place to live. To get the reward the Hebrews had to only warship God and reject all others. The Hebrews also so had to live their life following the 10 Commandments.
Busenitz’ article offers an in depth understanding of covenants and how they play a prominent role in the Old Testament life including social, political, and religious settings. The author brings to light the definition of the term covenant and provides specific examples of how the term is used within the 39 books of the Old Testament. Busenitz’ establishes the Old Testament usage of the term, covenant, including how it is phrased,
The six Covenants define Hebrew law and give a basis for how the current population of Jewish people follows and practice their religion. The first Covenant is the Abrahamic covenant this is defined in Genesis chapters 12 through 13. In Genesis 12 and 15, God grants Abraham land and descendants. This Covenant states that to make of Abraham a great nation and bless Abraham and make his name great so that he will be a blessing, to bless those who bless him and curse him who curses him and all peoples on earth would be blessed through Abraham. To give Abraham 's descendants all the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, this is now known as Israel. To make Abraham the father of many nations and of many descendants and give "the whole land of Canaan" to his
Biblical covenant is “legal term denoting a formal and legally binding declaration of benefits to be given by one party to another, with or without conditions attached.” (Arnold) Biblical covenant is a part of God holy plan and they reveal enteral plan. Each covenant plays a part of God plan of salvation. The Mosaic covenant showed that being saved by works was impossible and reveals God’s Holy character the need of a savior. “The Mosaic Covenant was like the vassal treaties of the ancient Near East, where a more powerful king entered into a relationship with a lesser king.” Knowing the Bible)
necessary to the understanding of the Scriptures. They are mandatory for us to attempt to interpret the grand scheme of redemption. While the actual word “covenant” may not appear in Scripture until Genesis 6, some of the five old covenants (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David) were established prior to this. The performance rituals of the covenants were described in depth, thus providing sufficient proof that they did indeed exist. The main message of Scripture lies in redemption, or the Gospel story of the New Testament. Without the Old Testament covenants, we would not be able to understand why and how God fulfills them later on through the birth, death, and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ.
many times in different texts. Some scholars my say that the word covenants is hard to find a true meaning. You will hear the word covenant throughout the Old Testament. I think sometimes when we hear the word covenant only one or two covenants come to mind. There are many covenants throughout the Bible. I will attempt to define and explain five covenants. These five covenants are: Noahic Covenant, Abrahamic Covenant, Mosaic Covenant, Davidic Covenant and the Fifth Covenant or the (New Covenant). In these particular covenants we will find the promises God made with his people. In this paper I will attempted to answer questions which of these
Comparing these two texts there are several similarities in the way God responds to the humans violating the covenant. Firstly, the most significant similarity is how God punishes them. Despite the Lord being so angry and upset at the people breaking his covenant he doesn’t take out all of his anger and punishments on them. For example, in text A God said “your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring on this place”. This shows that despite the people breaking the covenant God kept his by not punishing them in their lifetime because of his covenants with their ancestors. Not only in text A does he do this but this is the prime example in text B because the Lord says “yet for the sake of your father David” this shows how the Lord
There are three main covenants in the Old Testament. The first covenant is the Abrahamic Covenant. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation (Genesis 12:2). God also promised him the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:7; 17:8), He
Great technical writing. You gave some critical thinking points on Suzerain (overlord) and the Vassal (servant). As pointed out by Fee and Gordon, “In Old Testament times, covenants were often given by an all-powerful suzerain (overlord) to a weaker, dependent vassal (servant).” The Israelites were chosen to be a covenant keeping people and breaking the covenant led to dire consequences. Fee and Gordon continue, “What is important for your understanding is that in making a covenant with Israel on Sinai, God used this well-known covenant form when he constituted the binding contract between himself (Yahweh = “the Lord”) and his vassal, Israel. In return for benefits and protection, Israel was expected to keep the many stipulations
Covenant making and covenant people have been a part of God’s plan since the beginning of time. In the Old Testament, and with Jesus Christ being just a foreshadow of things to come, covenants often made God and God’s holiness visible (Fehren, 1996). Furthermore, covenants were the vehicles or processes in which God used to institute promises and manage people (Korver, 2015). In the simplest terms, a covenant is an agreement between two or more parties concerning shared responsibilities and privileges, once ratified, covenants cannot be changed in any way, including the parties involved or the covenant provisions (Korver, 2015, p. 29). Covenants, may either be unconditional or conditional. Thus, an unconditional covenant, such as the one offered to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), requires no conditions to be placed on the recipient (Korver, 2015). Hence, the onus of the Abrahamic covenant was completely on God, and Abraham needed only to accept God’s offer. However, the enjoyment of the blessings made in the Abrahamic Covenant was dependent on how well Abraham and the future nation of Israel adhered to and listened to God’s commands (Merrill, 2006). Therefore, some action was required on behalf of Abraham and Israel to reap the full benefits of God’s blessing. Conditional covenants, such as the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19:1-8), requires the recipient to meet certain conditions before enjoying the benefits of the covenant (Korver, 2015). Typically, conditional covenants