Covenant
Hebrew = Berit; Greek = Diatheke (first e is long). Diatheke may also be translated as will or testament. The name the New Testament refers just as much to covenant as to legacy or witness.
I will be your God and you will be my people. God's saving act becomes the basis for a relationship with the Israelites. The worship pattern of "God does X; therefore, we will do Y" is central to the covenant relationship.
The Sinai Covenant follows the formula of Ancient Near Eastern Suzerainty Treaties in which a people enter into a fealty relationship with a foreign king. Read the following short article: The Covenant Format in the Bible.
| Hittite Example | Sinai Covenant | |
| Preamble | These are the words of the sun King Mursilis, the great king... to Duppi-Tessub. | I am the Lord your God .. and you are my people. |
| Historical Prologue | When your father died, in accordance with your father's word Idid not drop you... To be sure, you were sick and ailing, but ...I, the Sun, put you in the place of your father.... | I have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. |
| Stipulations | The tribute ... 300 shekels of good, refined first-class gold... you shall present.... If anyone utters words unfriendly toward the king of the Hatti land before you,... you shall not withhold his name from the king.... | You shall keep all (approximately 613) my commandments. |
| Provision for Deposit of Text and Public Reading | This treaty will be deposited in the most sacred shrines of the chief gods of both lands. | The commandments are written on tablets and kept in the Tabernacle. See also Deut 6:4-9 and 17:18. |
| Ratification and List of Divine Witness | We have called the gods to be assembled and the gods of the contracting parties to be present, to listen and serve as witnesses: The Sun-goddess... the Sun-god, ... the Storm-god .... the former gods .... the rivers, Tigris and the Euphrates... | Exod 24:7-8 the covenant is ratified with the blood of the covenant sacrifice. Deut 27-28 describes a formal oath. |
| Blessings and Curses (aspects of the oath) | Should Duppi-Tessub not honor these words... may these gods of the oath destroy Duppi-Tessub .. if Duppi-Tessub honors these words .... may the gods of the oath protect him ... | In Deut 27-28 blessings and curses are enumerated. In Exodus, the blessing is the fulfillment of God's promise regarding the land. |
The Hittite covenant is extracted from Delbert R. Hillers, Covenant: The History of a Biblical Idea. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1969. Pp.30-37.
The Covenant Relationship gives rise to a metaphoric theology that marks the move to monotheism.
God is King -- Gives rise to the image of the sword as the means of God's punishment
Hesed - covenantal love; loving kindness, gracious love
God is Husband -- Gives rise to use of sexual imagery or adultery as a metaphor for idolatry or covenantal infidelity
God is Father -- this relationship is restored through confession and atonement
One has only one King, one husband, one father. While the Israelites did not think there were no other gods, they were to have no other gods.
Torah - Law; the Covenant; the first five books of the Bible (the Penteteuch or the books of Moses). Paul used the word Torah to refer to law in general, the Sinai commandments in particular, or scripture. Jesus used the phrase "the law and the prophets" to refer to scripture.
Law is central to the covenant and is integrated into the story.
Misconceptions about the Law: Torah Piety is not dead legalism.
Observation of the law = obedience to God. It does not signify a stock piling of credits versus debits in order to gain salvation, not then, not in Jesus' time, not now.
The Law is more than the Ten Commandments.
 |
In Judaism, the gift of the Torah is celebrated at the feast of Shavuot or Pentecost. The following link takes you to "Virtual Jerusalem" and its page on Shavuot. "Virtual Jerusalem" is a wonderful site in which to explore Judaism and the Modern State of Israel. |
The Purpose of the Law:
The law is a gift. 1) It brings order out of disorder. It is a continuation of the creation event. It brings stability and justice. 2) Observance of the law requires a constant consciousness of one's relationship to God. That relationship is a blessing and fulfillment of the law is a pleasure. 3) It defines a community in clear terms.
Torah is fundamental to the fulfillment of Deut 6:4-9. If God is one; then we must respond to God in wholeness, that is with our whole being and as a people not just as individuals.
An Exploration of Deuteronomic Laws
Question: What would a society that kept these laws be like?
In order to answer this question, first ask yourself, "In what sort of society would I not want to live and why?"
Possible Answers:
In a military state: look at the laws governing warfare and conscription in Deut 20 and 24:5 [newlyweds cannot be conscripted by force]; the description of who enters the land in Deut 2:16.
Under tyranny: look at the limitations to royal power in Deut 17:14-20 ; the rules against corrupt courts in Deut 16:18-29; 17:8-13; Deut 1:16. Compare to the Code of Hammurabi: Hammurabi Stele.
In a police state: look at the laws of witness in Deut 19:15-21 [Two witnesses are required for a conviction. Today we insist that a witnesses testimony be corroborated with physical evidence. False witness, perjury is punishable with the sentence prescribed for the false charge.] the laws regarding the decision of difficult cases and the execution of justice Deut 17:8-13 [this is not a society that executes its judges to avoid justice].
Under mob rule: look at the laws against vigilante justice in Deut 19:1-13 [Cities of Refuge - unintentional homicide is not a punishable offense. In order to prevent the shedding of innocent blood, the people are to establish three cities of refuge]; the laws purging blood guilt in Deut 21:1-9 [the law prevents finding scapegoats to satisfy our need for vindication]; the law protecting falsely accused brides in Deut 22:12-21.
In a situation where I have no rights as a citizen: look at Deut 1:16.
In an economic system in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, in which there is not a equitable distribution of goods, in which the poor receive neither justice nor services: look at the laws of tithing in Deut 14:22-28; the Sabbath laws of Deut 15:1-18; the laws against changing property lines in Deut 19:14; the laws of gleanings Deut 24:19-22; restrictions on pledges taken from the poor and delayed payments to the poor Deut 24:12-17; restrictions on pledges taken from the poor and delayed payments to the poor Deut 24:12-17; finally look at the defininition of God's justice in Deut 10:17.
In a land in which one had to scratch out one's existence: look at the description of the land in Deut 11:10-12.
In New York city where you can be mugged or murdered and people just walk by: look at the laws regarding responsibility to others property in Deut 22:1-4; the law regarding parapets Deut 22:8.
Is the right question regarding the law the one about what happens if one breaks the law? Is the law a matter of "if one does X then one receives punishment Y"? Or is the right question, "What happens if we keep the law?" Deuteronomy provides an answer to that question in 6:25: "If we observe the law, we will be in the right." And what is right? Look at Deut 10:17 one more time.
Much of the legal material is concerned with right worship (cf. Deut 12:29-32) "How do these nations worship their gods? I also want to do the same." The issue is not just which gods one worships but how one worships. Deut 26:1-15 - Liturgical declarations take the form of a covenantal reiteration in which the measure of justice is made clear. The righteousness of the Israelite society is measured by its care of the foreigner, the orphan and the widow.
Micah 6:8 "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."
Life within the covenant should be characterized by stability, equity, an absence of poverty and excessive wealth, equal access to justice, and balanced justice.
Why is capital punishment prescribed? Failure to fulfill the commandments is often punishable by death. This punishment signifies the fact that the community cannot tolerate the inclusion of those who are not prepared to participate fully in the covenant (cf. Deut 17:2-7). Death then signifies the opposite of life within the Community. The covenantal relationship with God was life itself. In Second Temple Judaism, expulsion from the community was treated as tantamount to death. In Paul's discussion of the covenant, he calls inclusion in the community "Life in Christ" and life outside the community death.
How do we measure up to the standards of Deuteronomic law? Our laws of witness are often less exacting. We allow a rush to judgment. Liberal Democracy is the first form of government that attempts to offer equal access to the law, but recent cases show us that justice can be purchased. We pay taxes rather than tithe, but most of our money goes to serves that which benefits the tax payers rather than those without financial means. If we tithed 10% of our income to the Church, perhaps the Church could fulfill the role that the government is asking the Church to do. How do we treat the foreigner in our midst? Even if they contribute to the government and society, many believe that they should be denied assistance if they are in need. Many believe that we should deny health care and education to their children. Immigration procedures discourage and scare people who do not speak English and who come from countries with oppressive governments.
Question: What does it signify that the purity and ritual laws and ethical or criminal law are given in random and interlacing order?
The prophets declare that God does not find offerings acceptable or worship meaningful if his people are not just to one another. Worship and justice are inseparable.
In Genesis, we find stories of sibling rivalry leading to violence. After murdering his brother, Cain asks, "Am I my brother's keeper?" When Jacob steals his brother Esau's blessing, Esau pleads with his father, "Do you not have a blessing for me?" and Isaac responds by blessing him with a curse. Joseph's brothers sell him into bondage because of jealousy and the dread of his tyranny over them. The laws of Deuteronomy create a society in which such rivalry does not take place. Note how the book of Deuteronomy ends with Moses blessing all the tribes.
Holiness and Purity
The purity laws and holiness code of the Torah often strike modern Christian readers as superstitions or incomprehensible. One way of thinking meaningful about these concepts is to ask the following questions. What purpose do they serve within the covenant? How do they help to define Israel as God's people?
Holiness: The Covenant establishes sacred time and sacred space.
Time: Sabbath + Annual Festivals (Passover, Pentecost or Azeret, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot or Booths). How does one keep time holy? On the Sabbath one does not work. How does one define work?
Space: The Arch of the Covenant (the Mercy Seat) and the Tabernacle and later the Temple are the epicenters of sacred space. They impart God's holiness to the Israelites. Mircea Eliade uses the term axis mundi to describe sacred objects that bridge the sacred and the profane. Offerings of consecration such as the bikkerim (the consecration of the first fruits and the first born) render the entire harvest and the entire people holy. This is why tithing is so important.
The Social Circles of Holiness:
| God | Heaven |
| High Priest | Holy of Holies (Ark) |
| Priests and Levites | Court of the Priests (altar) |
| Israelites | Temple |
| The Nations |
Purity is a concept that intersects with holiness. In order to approach the holy, one must maintain a level of purity. The Israelites sustained a level of purity that set them apart form the rest of the nations and allowed them to worship in the Temple.
| Impurity |
Food - pork bottom feeders milk and meat |
fluids - semen or menses | corpse |
leprosy skin disorders |
transgression |
| Purification | Time | immersion | red heifer | words of priest | atoning sacrifice |
Purpose of sacrificial cult and temple offerings:
1. Communion meal with God - The Passover lamb commemorates God's deliverance of the people from Israel and signifies participation in a relationship with God.
2. Expiation for transgression (penitence and reconciliation) -- violation of a commandment brings a rupture of good relations between God and the worshiper. The sacrifice expresses the intent of the worshiper to make restitution. The sacrifice of an animal is a vicarious self sacrifice, but the cost of the animal is a real sacrifice.
3. Consecration -- The offering of a part of the flock or the harvest renders the whole harvest the property of God, that is, holy. One offers a sacrifice at the birth of the first born son in order to consecrate one's entire family. The sacrifice of the covenant in Exod 24 consecrates the covenant; it renders it a holy relationship.
4. Purification -- The remainder of the burnt sacrifice purifies the worshiper of uncleanness (impurity) brought about by contact with a corpse, childbirth etc.
Christians often limit their understanding of sacrifice to expiation for sin and, thereby, miss some of the other nuances that Jesus' death as a sacrifice or the Eucharistic words of Jesus have. The greek word katallagen (long e) is frequently translated atonement (cf. Roman 5:11), but the word atonement has lost its original meaning because it is associated with expiation. The word reconciliation communicates the intent of the Greek much better. Paul's understanding of Jesus' death is perhaps seen most clearly in 2 Corinthians 5:15-21. Here forgiveness does not seem to require or entail expiatory vicarious suffering.
Narrative and the Law: Supply the Deuteronomic editorial voice.
Judges 14 especially verses 5-9