Students of the Bible hold differing opinions as to how many major covenants were created between God and humanity, with numbers ranging from one to at least twelve. (See
covenant theology and
dispensationalism for further information on two of the major viewpoints.) Some scholars classify only two: a covenant of promise and a covenant of law. The former involved an oath taken by God – a word of promise instead of command – while the latter is known in the Bible as "the Law".
Noahic .
Noah builds an altar to the Lord after being delivered from the great
Flood; God sends the rainbow as a sign of his covenant. The Noahic covenant recounted in Genesis 9:9-17 applies to all of
humanity and
all other living creatures. In this covenant with all living creatures, God promises never again to destroy all life on
Earth by
flood and creates the
rainbow as the sign of this "everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth". Ahead of the covenant (in Genesis 9:1-7),
Noah and the generations of his posterity were required by God to procreate, and not to shed human blood (murder), because mankind was made in the image of God. Jews are forbidden to consume meat with the blood in it, but Bnei Noah
Noahidism are allowed the blood of a living animal (Maimonides, Laws of Kings and Wars, Chapter IX Law 10).
Alexander Maclaren notes that while the term
covenant "usually implies a reciprocal bond, both parties to which come under obligations by it, each to the other. But, in this case, there are no obligations on the part of man or of the creatures. This covenant is God's only."
Samaritans who believe only in the
Written Torah do not consider outsiders to be subject to
Mosaic law or the
patriarchal covenant but regardless considers the Noahic covenant to be
Divine law that is not enforced nor envisioned in the lens of
universalism but rather are a fundamental
moral code which is to expected for a nation or culture to be considered virtuous outside the covenant. Foreigners are allotted different inheritances and powers outside of the Israelite people according to the book of Deuteronomy and the commentary of
Memar Marqah. Abrahamic from the 1860
Bible in Pictures) The Book of Genesis includes a number of promises by God to
Abraham paired with actions by Abraham, notably in Genesis 12, 15, 17, and 22. Only the promises of Genesis 15 ("covenant of the pieces") and Genesis 17 ("covenant of circumcision") are referred to in the text by the term "covenant" (
brit). The covenants with Abraham were later alluded to by Abraham in discussion with his senior servant, and their contents were reaffirmed to his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. In later generations, God's covenant with the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) was repeatedly cited as a reason for God to perform kindness to their descendants, the people of Israel. In the documentary hypothesis, the promises of Genesis 12, 15, and 17 are attributed to
Jahwist,
Elohist and
Priestly sources.
Genesis 15 The Abrahamic covenant is part of a tradition of covenantal sacrifices that dates to the third millennium BC. The animals that are slaughtered in the covenant in Genesis 15 are considered a sacrificial offering. And it is that covenant which preserves the sacrificial element alongside the symbolic act. According to Weinfeld, the Abrahamic covenant represents a covenant of grant, which binds the suzerain. It is the obligation of the master to his servant and involves gifts given to individuals who were loyal serving their masters. In the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, it is God who is the suzerain who commits himself and swears to keep the promise. In the covenant there are procedures for taking the oath, which involve a smoking oven and a blazing torch. There are many similarities between Genesis 15 and the Abba-El deed. In Genesis 15 and similarly in the Abba-El deed, it is the superior party who places himself under oath. The oaths in both, moreover, involve a situation wherein the inferior party delivers the animals while the superior party swears the oath.
Genesis 17 Covenants in biblical times were often sealed by severing an animal, with the implication that the party who breaks the covenant will suffer a similar fate. In Hebrew, the verb meaning to seal a covenant translates literally as "to cut". It is presumed by Jewish scholars that the removal of the
foreskin symbolically represents such a sealing of the covenant.
Mosaic on a monument on the grounds of the
Texas State Capitol The
Mosaic covenant made with Moses and the Israelite people at Horeb-Sinai, which is found in and the book of
Deuteronomy, contains the foundations of the written Torah. In this covenant, God promises to make the
Israelites his
treasured possession among all people and "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation", if they follow God's commandments. As part of the terms of this covenant, God gives
Moses the
Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17); these are later embellished or
elaborated on in the rest of the Torah. The blood of sacrificial
oxen is thereafter sprinkled on the altar (Exodus 24:6) and on the people (Exodus 24:8) to seal the covenant. Beyond its central religious purpose, the Mosaic covenant was also political. It established Israel as a holy nation and gave them a new sense of national identity. The form of the covenant resembles the
suzerainty treaty in the ancient Near East. Like the treaties, the
Ten Commandments begins with
Yahweh's identification and what he had done for Israel ("who brought you out of the land of Egypt"; Ex 20:2) as well as the stipulations commanding absolute loyalty ("You shall not have other gods apart from me"). Unlike the suzerainty treaty, the
Decalogue does not have any witness nor explicit blessings and curses. The fullest account of the Mosaic covenant is given in the book of
Deuteronomy. God gave the
sons of Israel the
Shabbat as the permanent sign of this covenant.
Priestly The priestly covenant (
brith ha-kehuna) is the covenant that God made with
Aaron and his descendants, the
Aaronic priesthood, as found in the
Hebrew Bible and
Oral Torah. The Hebrew Bible also mentions another perpetual priestly promise with
Phinehas and his descendants.
Davidic The Davidic royal covenant () was made between God and
David. It promised to establish David's dynasty forever, designating David and his
descendants as the kings of the
united monarchy of Israel (which included Judah). This covenant is an important element in
Jewish messianism and
Christian theology. In
Jewish eschatology, the
messiah is believed to be a future Jewish king from the
Davidic paternal line. The
Hasmonean kings were not considered connected to the Davidic line, but the general belief is that in the end of times God will select and appoint a king from the Davidic line.
Other covenants Later in the Bible, the early covenants between God and the Israelites were reaffirmed through additional covenants enacted by
Asa,
Hezekiah,
Jehoiada, and
Josiah. The Bible also describes a number of covenants made between different humans, for example between Abraham and
Abimelech, and between
Solomon and
Hiram. ==Christianity==