Page 4 - Old Testament Survey Student Textbook

household would be considered part of the family upon agreement by oath. The concept was very
important in the Near East because of the patriarchal cultural system, especially concerning privileges
and responsibility. Privileges and responsibilities were only reserved for the members of the
household/family or the bet ab. Thus the significance of kinship lies in its power to make it possible for
an individual (non-kin) to establish a relationship of privilege and responsibility to another household by
means of an oath. It is this concept that made the outsider to be considered and treated as part of the
family or bet ab. For example the widows and orphans would greatly benefit because of this concept.
Belonging to a family in this culture was very cardinal because of the privileges and responsibility, but
the opposite was not good. 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 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. Just like a
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. Sandra L gives 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 and sacrifice. And often times the one
making an oath would pass between the sacrificed animals while swearing, “May what has happened to
these animals happen to me if I do not keep this oath.”

The Five different types in Covenants in Old Testament

There are basically six important covenants but for the purposes of this course we will
focus on five.

(A) NOAHIC COVENANT
The covenant which God made with Noah is also called re-creational covenant. God
destroyed the entire planet with water and then recreated it. God also was now
redefining his relationship with humanity for the first time since Eden. God was beginning
afresh with his fallen humanity. The covenant that God was making is a clear echo of (Genesis 1:28-30),

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