Covenant: An Idea In The Mind Of God -- By: Jeffrey J. Niehaus

Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 52:2 (Jun 2009)
Article: Covenant: An Idea In The Mind Of God
Author: Jeffrey J. Niehaus


Covenant: An Idea In The Mind Of God

Jeffrey J. Niehaus*

* Jeffrey Niehaus is professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 130 Essex St., South Hamilton, MA 01982.

Theologians, scholars, and other thoughtful readers have long understood that the Bible contains several covenants, both divine-human covenants and covenants between humans. The discovery and publication of the Hittite international suzerain-vassal treaties, and subsequent studies which compared them with the biblical covenants, have helped us understand better the nature of the biblical covenants against their ancient Near Eastern background.1

Nevertheless, scholarship on the topic of biblical covenants has shown a lack of consensus on the origin of the covenant idea. Some hold that the idea evolved out of the family; others hold that it evolved out of the institution of nation states. I propose that the covenant idea did not evolve out of any human institution at all; rather, it is rooted in the very nature of God, and might also be called an idea in the mind of God. I will examine the creation data and their implications for an understanding of covenant and its rooted-ness in God’s nature. In addition to these questions regarding the origin of covenant, a question has arisen as to the nature of covenant. On this matter, too, scholarship lacks consensus: does a covenant establish a new relationship on the basis of some historical background, or does a covenant confirm or ratify an existing relationship? I hope in this article to explore these questions, and to propose answers to them which suit the biblical and ancient Near Eastern data, and also comport well with what the Bible tells us about God. The first half of the article will deal with the origin of the idea of covenant; the second half will deal with the nature of that idea.

I. The Origin Of Covenant

1. An evolutionary model. Some have argued that the idea of covenant had its origins in the most fundamental of all social units, the family. The god of the family, or more particularly, the god of the father, had a tutelary relation to the family, with whom he also had mutual obligations. Albrecht Alt,

in his seminal work Der Gott der Väter, argued for three distinct patriarchal deities: the God of Abraham, the Fear of Isaac, and the Mighty One of Jacob. He thought that these three eventually became fused into one figure, the “God of the Fathers.”2 The God of the Fathers then became identified with Yahweh in Exod 3:15, “Yahweh, the <...

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