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covenant, treaty, agreement
Berit is the fundamental term for "covenant" in the Hebrew Bible, appearing approximately 287 times. The expression כָּרַת בְּרִית (karat berit, "to cut a covenant") reflects the ancient ritual of cutting animals in half and passing between the pieces (Genesis 15:9-18; Jeremiah 34:18). BDB identifies several types of covenants: 1. **Covenants between humans**: Treaties, agreements, marriage 2. **Covenants between God and humans**: The Noahic, Abrahamic, Sinaitic, Davidic, and New Covenants The theological use of berit expresses God's binding commitment to his people—a relationship of promise and obligation that structures the entire biblical narrative.
covenant between humans
Treaties, agreements, alliances
covenant between God and humans
Divine commitment to relationship with humanity/Israel
the New Covenant
The eschatological covenant promised by the prophets
“I establish my covenant with you (Noah)”
“YHWH made a covenant with Abram”
“if you keep my covenant”
“I will make a new covenant... not like the covenant I made with their fathers”
Covenant (berit) is arguably the central organizing concept of biblical theology: 1. **Noahic Covenant** (Genesis 9): Universal, with all creation 2. **Abrahamic Covenant** (Genesis 15, 17): Land, descendants, blessing 3. **Sinaitic/Mosaic Covenant** (Exodus 19-24): Law, nation, worship 4. **Davidic Covenant** (2 Samuel 7): Kingdom, throne, Messiah 5. **New Covenant** (Jeremiah 31): Internalized law, forgiveness, universal knowledge of God The phrase "blood of the covenant" (Exodus 24:8) is taken up by Jesus at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:28).
Berit is central to apologetics: 1. **Covenant Theology**: The unity of Scripture is demonstrated through the covenant framework 2. **New Covenant**: Jeremiah 31's "new covenant" is explicitly fulfilled in Christ (Hebrews 8-10; Luke 22:20) 3. **Covenant vs. Testament**: The Greek διαθήκη (diatheke) translates berit and means both "covenant" and "testament"—hence "Old/New Testament" 4. **Counter-Missionary**: The New Covenant passage in Jeremiah proves that the Old Covenant was not God's final word; a new covenant was always anticipated 5. **Blood of the Covenant**: Jesus's words at the Last Supper ("this is my blood of the covenant") directly reference Exodus 24:8
Modern scholarship has explored: 1. Ancient Near Eastern treaty parallels (Hittite suzerainty treaties) 2. The conditional vs. unconditional nature of various covenants 3. Covenant lawsuit (rîb) language in the prophets 4. The relationship between covenant and law 5. Intertestamental and New Testament covenant theology
| Language | Word | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akkadian | birītu | birītu | bond, fetter |
ברת
brt
to cut, covenant