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Course 6 · Lesson 7.5

Mapping the development of covenant across the Old Testament

12 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 6 outline

Module 1: Israel in the Ancient Near East

  1. Egypt, Mesopotamia and Canaan: the world of the Old Testament
  2. What archaeology and ancient texts can and cannot show
  3. Genesis 1 to 3 beside other ancient creation accounts
  4. Ancient cosmology and how Christians and Jews read Genesis

Module 2: Covenant: Abraham and Moses

  1. What a covenant is, and covenant forms in the ancient world
  2. The covenants with Noah and Abraham
  3. The exodus and the covenant at Sinai
  4. The Torah: law, worship and the tabernacle
  5. Covenant in Jewish, Catholic, Orthodox and Reformed thought

Module 3: Kingship in Israel

  1. From the judges to the first kings
  2. David, Jerusalem and the promise of a lasting house
  3. Solomon, the temple and the divided kingdom
  4. How Samuel and Kings tell the story: sources and purpose

Module 4: The Prophets, Exile and Restoration

  1. What a prophet was in Israel and in the ancient world
  2. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Micah: justice, loyalty and judgment
  3. Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the fall of Jerusalem
  4. The return, Ezra, Nehemiah and the rebuilt temple
  5. How the prophetic books were formed: the debate over Isaiah and others

Module 5: Wisdom and Apocalyptic Writing

  1. Proverbs and the way of the wise
  2. Job and Ecclesiastes: wisdom that questions
  3. What apocalyptic writing is: Daniel and its setting
  4. Reading apocalyptic images responsibly

Module 6: Second Temple Judaism and the Development of Jewish Thought

  1. Persian, Greek and Maccabean periods
  2. Temple, synagogue and the main groups in Jewish life
  3. Development in Jewish thought: angels, resurrection, wisdom and law
  4. Sources: the Dead Sea Scrolls, the deuterocanonical books and Josephus

Module 7: Messianic Expectation and the Shape of the Covenants

  1. Anointed ones in the Old Testament: king, priest, prophet
  2. Messianic texts in the prophets and psalms
  3. How Jews and Christians read the messianic texts
  4. The promise of a new covenant
  5. Mapping the development of covenant across the Old Testament

All courses

Program / Course 6: Old Testament Theology and History / Lesson 7.5

What you will learn

  • Order the main covenants and covenant renewals of the Old Testament and state the parties, promises, requirements and signs of each.
  • Identify continuity and change from one covenant to the next.
  • Describe the main views on how the covenants relate and weigh them against the texts.
  • Plan a framework that separates what is certain, probable and debated.

The big idea

The Old Testament tells of a series of covenants and renewals, each responding to a new situation: the flood, the call of Abraham, the rescue from Egypt, the monarchy, the exile. A useful map records for each who the parties are, what is promised, what is asked, what sign marks it and what the text says about conditions. It also asks how the covenants relate. Jewish, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions give different answers, and the best maps show where the texts support a claim and where they leave a question open.

Key terms

Covenant renewal
A ceremony in which an existing covenant is restated and the people recommit, as at Shechem in Joshua 24 or under Josiah in 2 Kings 23.
Conditional covenant
A covenant whose benefits are described as depending on the human partner’s obedience.
Unconditional covenant
A covenant described as resting on God’s promise alone, whatever the human response. Many texts mix the two.
Sign
A visible mark of a covenant, such as the rainbow, circumcision or the Sabbath.
Covenant of peace
A phrase used of the promise to Phinehas in Numbers 25 and the promise of restoration in Ezekiel 37:26.
Continuity and discontinuity
The ways in which a later stage repeats, builds on or departs from an earlier one.
Canonical reading
A reading that attends to the final form of the whole Bible and how its parts relate.

Background

This lesson draws together what the course has covered. It offers a method for constructing a map of covenant development, which is also the task of the course assignment. The map has two parts: a record of the covenants, drawn from the text, and an account of how they relate, which involves interpretation. A good map keeps the two apart so that the reader can see which statements come from the text and which from a tradition or a school.

The Old Testament has no single chapter that lists the covenants in order. Later writers refer to them in different ways. Sirach 44 names Noah, Abraham, Moses, Phinehas and David. Paul speaks of covenants of the promise (Ephesians 2:12). Christian systems count two, three, five or seven. A student should begin with the texts and then compare the schemes.

The aim is not to decide for the student which scheme is best. It is to supply a method so that the choice is made with the evidence in view.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: The core list

Noah (Genesis 9): the parties are God and Noah with his descendants and every living creature. God promises never again to destroy all flesh by flood. The requirements include respect for life. The sign is the bow in the cloud. The text stresses God’s promise.

Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, 17, 22): God and Abraham with his descendants. The promises are land, descendants and blessing to the nations. The requirement is to walk before God and be blameless (Genesis 17:1), and circumcision is the sign. Faith is credited as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Mount Sinai (Exodus 19 to 24, 34): God and Israel. The promise is that Israel will be a treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, if they keep the covenant. The requirements are the Decalogue and the laws. The sign is the Sabbath (Exodus 31:16 and 17). The ceremony uses blood and a meal.

Step 2: Renewals and later covenants

Deuteronomy presents a covenant in the plains of Moab in addition to the one at Horeb (Deuteronomy 29:1), renewing it for the new generation with blessings and curses. Joshua 24 records a renewal at Shechem. The covenant with Phinehas (Numbers 25:12 and 13) promises a lasting priesthood, and Malachi 2 speaks of a covenant with Levi. David (2 Samuel 7, Psalm 89) is promised a dynasty. The reforms under Josiah (2 Kings 23) and the assembly under Ezra and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 9 and 10) renew the covenant after crises.

The prophets announce a new covenant (Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36 and 37), a covenant of peace and an everlasting covenant, which are hopes for the future. Scholars differ on whether to count the renewals as separate covenants or as stages of one.

Step 3: Continuity and change

Several threads run through the series. God takes the initiative in each case. A promise is joined to a requirement, though the balance varies. Each covenant has a sign. The scope narrows from all creation (Noah) to one family (Abraham), to one nation (Sinai), to one dynasty (David), and then widens again in the prophets’ vision of the nations coming to Zion (Isaiah 2, Isaiah 56). The covenants also show a repeated pattern of failure and mercy: the golden calf, the exile, the promise of restoration.

Change appears in the terms. The Sinai covenant adds a detailed law and a sanctuary. The Davidic covenant adds the king as mediator. The new covenant promises an inward change. The question of how much of this is development and how much is replacement divides interpreters.

Step 4: Four ways to relate the covenants

Jewish tradition holds that the covenant with Israel at Sinai remains in force, with the covenant with Noah binding on all humanity, and the promises to Abraham and David looking to the future. Catholic and Orthodox teaching describes a single plan of salvation in stages, fulfilled in Christ, without revoking God’s gifts to Israel. Reformed theology teaches one covenant of grace with different administrations, preceded by a covenant of works. Dispensationalism distinguishes periods and holds that the promises to national Israel are still to be fulfilled.

To weigh these, a student can ask what each does with the key texts: Genesis 17 and 22, Exodus 19, Deuteronomy 30, 2 Samuel 7, Jeremiah 31, Galatians 3 and Hebrews 8. A scheme that cannot account for a text, or that must set one aside, has a weakness that should be named. All the schemes have such points, which should be written down.

  1. What are the parties, promises, requirements and signs for each of the main covenants?
  2. Which covenants are described chiefly as God’s promise, and which stress human obedience?
  3. How does the scope of the covenants widen and narrow across the Old Testament?
  4. Which texts are hardest for each of the four schemes to explain?
  5. How do the prophets use covenant language to accuse and to console?
  6. Which claims in your map are certain, which probable and which debated?

Examples

A table entry

For Abraham: parties, God and Abraham with his offspring; promise, land, descendants and blessing to the nations (Genesis 12, 15, 17); requirement, walking blameless and circumcision; sign, circumcision; condition, stated as promise in Genesis 15 and with a charge in Genesis 17. The entry shows how one covenant mixes elements.

A date marked as debated

A timeline places the exodus in the fifteenth or thirteenth century BC and notes that both dates have defenders. It places the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC with a note that some scholars give 587. The notes show the difference between firm and disputed dates.

A fair account of a rival view

A student who favors the Reformed scheme writes a paragraph on dispensationalism in the words a dispensationalist would use, citing Romans 11 and the promises of land. The student then states the reasons for preferring another view. The fair account shows understanding.

Different perspectives

Jewish

The covenants are the framework of the Jewish relation to God. The covenant at Sinai continues, and Jewish thinkers speak of the covenant with Noah as binding on all humanity. The promises about land, the messiah and the nations await fulfillment.

Catholic and Orthodox

God educates humanity through a series of covenants. The Old Covenant is a real covenant that prepares for Christ, and the Church is understood as the people of the new covenant, which does not abolish God’s gifts to Israel. The Orthodox stress the unity of the divine economy.

Reformed Protestant

One covenant of grace runs through the Bible, administered under the law and under the gospel, preceded by a covenant of works with Adam. The Old Testament saints were saved by faith in Christ to come, and the church is the people of one covenant.

Dispensational Protestant

God has different arrangements for different periods and distinct purposes for Israel and the church. The covenants with Abraham and David are unconditional and will be fulfilled for Israel. The new covenant is applied to the church now and to Israel later.

Scholarly views

Scholars debate how early covenant became central in Israel’s thought, how far the covenant forms follow ancient treaties, and how the covenants were edited into the books. Many describe the covenant tradition as developing through crisis and reinterpretation.

Why it matters

Covenant is the thread that holds the Old Testament’s story together and links it to the New Testament and to Jewish life. A map of its development helps a student read each book in its place, notice how the prophets use older promises and understand why the traditions differ. Making the map also trains the habit of separating what a text says from what a scheme says about it.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: There is only one correct list of covenants.

Correction: Lists vary by tradition and by what is counted as a covenant or a renewal. The texts support several schemes.

Misunderstanding: Conditional and unconditional cleanly describe each covenant.

Correction: Most covenants contain both promise and requirement. The labels describe emphasis and are debated in particular cases, such as Abraham and David.

Misunderstanding: The covenant at Sinai made salvation depend on works while Abraham’s depended on faith.

Correction: Exodus presents Sinai as following rescue, and Genesis 17 includes requirements for Abraham. Readers across traditions discuss how faith and obedience relate.

Misunderstanding: A good framework picks a winner among the schemes.

Correction: A good framework states each fairly and gives reasons for a judgment, marking what remains uncertain.

Knowledge check

List the main covenants of the Old Testament with their signs.

Noah, with the rainbow; Abraham, with circumcision; Moses at Sinai, with the Sabbath; Phinehas, with a lasting priesthood; David, with the promise of a dynasty and throne. Renewals occur under Moses in Moab, Joshua, Josiah and Ezra and Nehemiah. The prophets promise a new covenant, whose sign is the law written on the heart and God’s Spirit.

What does it mean to say that covenants mix promise and demand?

Covenants usually include both what God will do and what the human partner is to do. The Noah covenant stresses God’s promise yet protects life. Abraham’s includes a promise, faith and a charge to walk blamelessly. Sinai stresses obedience but follows rescue. Labels such as conditional apply to emphasis and are debated for particular cases.

How do Reformed and dispensational readers differ on the covenants?

Reformed readers see one covenant of grace across the Bible, with the church as the people of that covenant and the promises of Israel applied to the church in Christ. Dispensational readers distinguish Israel from the church and expect the promises of land and kingdom to be fulfilled for national Israel. Each appeals to texts such as Romans 9 to 11 and Galatians 3.

Why should a framework mark certain, probable and debated claims?

Because the evidence varies. Some claims, such as the fall of Jerusalem in the early sixth century BC, are well supported. Others, such as the date of the exodus or the closeness of treaty parallels, are debated. Marking the difference keeps the framework honest, shows what each claim rests on and prevents a reader from taking a tradition’s view as settled fact.

Think it through

  1. Which covenant do you find easiest to summarize, and which hardest?
  2. What does the repeated pattern of failure and mercy suggest about the nature of the covenant relationship?
  3. How can a framework be fair to a view you do not hold?
  4. What further study would help you to decide between the schemes?

Independent assignment

A draft covenant table and note on uncertainty

In your own notebook, make a table with one row for each of Noah, Abraham, Sinai, Moab, David and the promised new covenant. Use columns for parties, promise, requirement, sign, conditions and key texts. Below it, write 300 to 450 words stating the four ways of relating the covenants described in this lesson, and listing five claims in your table, marking each as certain, probable or debated, with one line of reason. Keep it for yourself, as a start for the course assignment.

Further study