Page 5 - Advanced OT Survey Student Textbook

Parity Treaties and Suzerain/Vassal Treaties

The concept of covenant as mentioned earlier was not just between families or tribes, but it was also
between kingdoms. The covenants between kingdoms can be categorized in two; the parity treaty and
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the suzerain/vassal treaty. The parity treaty can also be called a “military alliance” because it was
basically between two super powers or even between petty kingdoms who wanted to defend each other
in case of a war. The suzerain/vassal treaty on the other hand was between the weak and the strong
kingdoms. Often times the less powerful would seek help and sometimes be forced to submit by a
superpower (suzerain). This meant that the weaker (vassal) nation would submit and pay tribute to the
superpower in exchange for protection from enemies. The superpower was thus responsible for
protecting the vassal in case of a war. Rebellion from the vassal was considered as act of treason and
punishable sometimes by wiping out the entire people group.

The amazing part of this concept is that God used this very concept to communicate to His people,
Israel. Israel in this case would be considered a vassal nation to God, and God as the Suzerain. The vassal
nation was supposed to submit to the suzerain nation. Thus, the nation of Israel was supposed to submit
to God after he rescued them from Egypt. God as the suzerain had the responsibility of watching over
His vassal. The beauty, however, about this story of God and the Nation of Israel is that God proved
himself better and different from the “suzerain” nations because he rescued Israel even before they
were obedient to him. Thus Israel was supposed to be obedient because of what God had already done.
He still promised blessings if they continued to obey and curses if they disobeyed. The Biblical and the
Near East concepts of a covenant were always sealed by an oath and sacrifice.

The practice of making covenants was very common in Israel especially when initiating and defining
international relations. Joshua’s relationship with the Gibeonites as an example of international
relations of covenant making in the Near East. (Joshua 9:23-27 and 1 Kings 5:15) In this case, the
Gibeonites were a vassal nation to Israel. Israel would protect them when war broke out. As mentioned
earlier the covenant was always sealed by an oath.

Validating a Covenant in the Bible

Today when two people want to make an agreement, there are various ways to ensure that both parties
will perform in their agreement. Years ago, they used to shake hands on the terms. But since today
many people are not totally honest, other means have developed to verify integrity. For example, if you
purchase some land or a home, normally both parties will sign a document that transfers ownership
from one to another. The document is notarized by witnesses and normally signed by both parties in an
attorney’s office. Then a deed of trust is recorded in a county courthouse and place as a public record of
the transaction. But in the Bible days, they did not have courthouses or law offices where legal
transactions were conducted. Rather, they came up with some other ways to validate a vow or
covenant between individuals. They basically came up with five ways to validate their contracts. Let’s
preview each type of validation based on the strength of the pact.

Salt/Friendship Validation

The Salt Covenant and the name came from an Ancient practice. Each person, seeing that they lived in a
arid land, carried a small pouch of salt. They would put a pinch of salt in their mouths to keep from
sweating internal moisture rapidly. When two or more men would enter into an agreement with one

5 https://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp?file=49026
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