Page 13 - Advanced OT Survey Revised

Chapter 2: Testament or Covenant?

Connect…

My wife gets teary eyes at weddings which we attend. The bride enters the back of the room
and her father presents her to her groom. He is totally focused on the beautiful woman to whom he will
make a binding covenant of marriage. As the two hold hands, he is asked to give his promise or
covenant to his bride. He promises to love and care for her for the rest of his life. She responds in like
manner, promising to love him for the rest of her life. Then, the pastor gives the groom permission to
kiss his bride, declares them husband and wife, and the congregation claps with joy.

This is the marriage covenant – a promise of two to become faithful to each other unto death. A
covenant is a promise. God has made covenants with various people throughout history. People make
covenants with one another. And generally, each covenant is backed by some symbol that guarantees
that the two parties will fulfill their pledges. Now days, we sign contracts that are witnessed by the
signatures of those covenanting together. Sometimes, one of the two parties who covenant together
don’t perform their promises, and the covenant is broken. However, when God makes a covenant, it is
guaranteed to be fulfilled. God always keeps His promises! Let’s learn about covenants…

Objectives…

1. The student should be able to define a testament and a covenant, especially in the Hebrew and
Greek language.

2. The student should be able to describe how these terms were used in the Near Eastern Culture.

3. The student should be able to how these concepts were used at individual, group and national level.

4. The student should be able to explain how he/she can apply these principles in our modern society.

The role of the covenant in the Old Testament

Definition of the word “Covenant/Testament”

`The concept of covenant is very important because, “covenant is a major
structuring principle of our Scriptures…. In fact, that the two divisions of our book
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are known as the Old and New “covenants.” It is important to note that most
English Bibles use the word “Testament” instead of “covenant”. The concept,
however, remains the same even with a different usage of words. The Greek word
for “Testament” is diatheke, from the Hebrew word “berit” and it basically means covenant. In addition,
it is also very significant to note that the root of this concept was significantly and completely secular in

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