Abrahamic Covenant

Biblical Text and Content

The Abrahamic covenant is the promise God gave to Abraham. It is repeated and developed in several passages of Genesis.

• Genesis 12:1-3: God calls Abram to leave his homeland and promises him a great nation, blessing, and a great name. He also declares that all the families of the earth will be blessed through him.
• Genesis 15: The covenant is ratified in a ceremony in which a burning lamp passes between the divided animals. Here God promises the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates. This chapter also contains 15:6: "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
• Genesis 17: God calls this covenant "an everlasting covenant." He changes Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah, and He establishes circumcision as the sign of the covenant.
• Genesis 22:16-18: After the burnt offering on Mount Moriah, God confirms the promise with an oath.

The same promise is reaffirmed to Isaac (Genesis 26:3-5) and to Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15).

Background

The Hebrew word translated "covenant" is berit. The Hebrew idiom for making a covenant literally means "to cut a covenant." The ritual of cutting animals in two and passing between the pieces also appears in Jeremiah 34:18-19. Some scholars explain it by comparison with ancient Near Eastern treaty customs. A frequently noted feature of Genesis 15 is that Abraham did not pass between the pieces; only the fire did. Scholars differ on when Abraham moved from Ur of the Chaldees by way of Haran to Canaan.

The Covenant in the New Testament

• Romans 4 states that Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised and for this reason calls him the father of all who believe.
• Galatians 3 reads the promise "In thee shall all nations be blessed" as the gospel preached in advance (3:8). It identifies the promised "seed" as Christ (3:16) and says that those who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed (3:29).
• Luke 1:72-73, Acts 3:25, and Hebrews 6:13-18 also refer to this covenant.

Interpretations and Debates

• Covenant theology: The covenant theology of the Presbyterian and Reformed traditions regards this covenant as a stage in the unfolding of the covenant of grace and emphasizes the continuity between the Old and New Testaments. Holding that baptism may be administered to the children of believers just as circumcision was given to children, it treats this as a basis for infant baptism (Colossians 2:11-12).
• Baptists: Baptists regard circumcision as the sign of a community defined by physical descent. Because the people of the new covenant are those who have been born again through faith, they hold that baptism should be administered only to those who have professed faith. For a fuller discussion, see the infant baptism debate.
• Dispensationalism: Dispensationalism regards this covenant as unconditional and holds that the land promise will be literally fulfilled for national Israel in the future. Covenant theology, by contrast, tends to read its fulfillment more broadly in Christ and the church.
• Conditionality: Whether the covenant is conditional or unconditional is also debated. Those who regard it as conditional cite verses such as "be thou perfect" (17:1) and "because thou hast obeyed my voice" (22:18).

The story that Abraham smashed his father's idols comes from midrash (Jewish interpretive literature on Scripture) and does not appear in the text of Genesis.

In the Korean Church

"The blessing of Abraham" is a phrase frequently used in Korean sermons and prayers. The Korean Revised Version rendered Genesis 12:2 as "you shall be the source of blessing," and this rendering has become widely known. The New Korean Revised Version renders the same verse as "you shall be a blessing." Some sermons interpret this blessing primarily in terms of material prosperity. Critics respond that Galatians 3:14 connects the blessing of Abraham with the promise of the Spirit received by the Gentiles in Christ. For related discussion, see prosperity theology.