1.5 : The Covenant with Abraham

Question 1

What is the history of the Abrahamic Covenant?

Answer 1

A thousand years before Moses, the Torah says that God called Abraham to leave his family in Iraq and travel to Canaan to worship the one true God.

Question 2

What was the Abrahamic Covenant?

Answer 2

• God’s side of the covenant was his promise that he would make a great nation from Abraham’s son, and give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants as an ‘everlasting possession’.
• Abraham’s side of the covenant was for Abraham and every male descendant to be circumcised, and for Abraham’s family to worship God alone.
• As a result of the covenant, all Jewish males are circumcised and Jews worship God alone.

Question 3

What happened to Abraham’s grandson, and what does this mean for people today?

Answer 3

• Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, was renamed Israel by God, and his 12 children became known as the children of Israel and inherited Abraham’s promise.
• Any ethnic Jew descends from these 12 has a right to be a citizen of the state of Israel, whether they follow the religion or not.

Question 4

Why is the Abrahamic Covenant important for Jews today?

Answer 4

• Most Jewish baby boys are circumcised, usually at 8 days old, and enter into the covenant of Abraham. (Brit Milah)
• In Liberal and Reform Judaism, Brit Chayim (covenant of life) ceremonies, Jewish baby girls are welcomed into the faith and claimed as heirs to the Abrahamic covenant.
• In Reform Judaism, Brit Shalom (covenant of peace) claims a child as an heir to the Abrahamic covenant.
• The covenant gave the idea that Jewish people had a right to live in Israel. Israel was made an independent state in 1947, with a right for all Jewish people to live there.

Question 5

How is the Promsied Land describerd in Exoudus 3:8?

Answer 5

“a land flowing with milk and honey”

Question 6

What did God say to Abraham in Genesis about circumcision?

Answer 6

“You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you”

Question 7

What did God say to Abraham in Genesis about the Promised Land?

Answer 7

“This land will be an everlasting possession to you and your descendants, and I will be their God”

Question 8

What are some arguments for that the Mosaic Covenant is the most important covenant?

Answer 8

• Introduced the 613 Mitzvot, which they can obey to become closer to God.
• The Mitzvot form the halakhah (the divine law of Judaism) which is the basis of Jewish life today.
• This is important because it impacts Jewish people’s daily lives.
• Gave Kosher food laws, marking out Jewish people from Gentiles.
• The ocvenant allowed Jews to build the tabernacle, which allowes the shekhinah to be present and help to guide Jews out of Egypt during the Exodus. This allowed Jews to feel closer to God even though they were not in direct contact with Him.
• God release the Jews from slavery and parted the Red Sea to get them through, protecting them.

Question 9

What are some arguments that the Abrahamic Covenant is the msot important covenant?

Answer 9

• Abraham was goven many nations, meaning there was a place for Jewsh people to live to become closer to God. An example of this was that Abraham was given the Promsied Land, described in Exodus, as “a land flowing with milk and honey”, meaning that the land is rich and prosperous for God’s chosen people.
• This is important because it creates a land for Jewish people to return to and would indicate the coming of the Messiah, which Jews live in anticipation of. Belief in this Messianic Age is one of Maimonides Thirteen Principles of Faith.
• Circumcision, Brit Milah, Chayim, Shalom etc.