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Yahweh Research Paper

Decent Essays

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 …show more content…

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

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