Covenants

Question 1

Covenant

Answer 1

A promise or agreement between two parties
In the Torah, God made relationships through covenants between individuals and groups

Question 2

Abrahamic covenant

Answer 2

1. God called Abraham and his family to the new land of Canaan, the promised land. Now known as Israel
2. God promised Abraham that he would make a great nation from him, changing his name,e from Abram to Abraham, meaning father of many nations
3. God promised to bless Abraham and his family, and as part of the covenant, God gave aAbraha, the rite of circumcision, and God asked Abraham to remove his foreskin
   Genesis 17 ‘You will be circumcised by the flesh of your foreskin’
   3 Main parts of the Abrahamic covenant are the promised land, the promise of descendants, and the promise of blessing and redemption

Question 3

Covenant with Moses

Answer 3

• Moses is considered to be the greatest prophet
• He is believed to be the only person to see God face to face
• He was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and led them through the wilderness
• He was given the Torah by God on Mount SInai
• Orthodox Jews believe he was given the oral Torah
• Moses formed a covenant with God that as his people, the Israelites would keep the commandments
• ‘You must say to the Israelites, Yahweh, God of your fathers, the god of Abraham,, Isaac and Jacob has sent me to you’

Question 4

10 commandments

Answer 4

• Many believe that they were revealed by god to Moses and they must be kept by every Jew
• The 10 commandments are not guidance, but actual laws, such as ‘Do not have any Gods before me’
• The first four commandments relate to the Jews’ relationship with god
• The other 6 relate to the Jews’ relationship with one another