Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 32:1 (Nov 1969)
Article: Abram’s Understanding of the Lord’s Covenant
Author: John J. Mitchell

WTJ 32:1 (Nov 69) p. 24

Abram’s Understanding of the
Lord’s Covenant

John J. Mitchell

“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly” (Gen 17:1, 2).

So far as the biblical record shows, this is the first instance of God’s using the word “covenant” (בְִִּדית) in speaking to Abram.1 What did this term mean to Abram when he heard it from the Lord’s mouth? Was it a new word whose meaning became clear only as the Lord gave it content in later revelations? Or was it a concept familiar to the man from Ur?

It is the thesis of this article that the idea of the covenant was well known to Abram, that the Lord made use of a concept and its related vocabulary that had been in common use throughout the cultural milieu of the patriarch. More to the point, if we can enter into Abram’s understanding of the Lord’s covenant with him, we can better appreciate the significance of the new covenant made in Christ Jesus with us.2

One who would study the divine covenants revealed in Scripture finds himself confronted with a number of problems. Concerning the covenant made with Abram, there is a voluminous literature from all ages of the church. Yet, much of this material lacks the insights into the nature of covenants

WTJ 32:1 (Nov 69) p. 25

that might be gained from careful study of the extra-biblical covenantal data of the ancient Near East. Several recent writers have endeavored to use knowledge of the international treaties, particularly those of the Hittite empire, to illuminate the Sinaitic covenant and its consequents.3 Scarcely any attention, however, has been given to a similar application to the earlier biblical covenants.4

A second problem for the student is that of vocabulary. There simply is no agreed-upon definition of “covenant,” nor of the Hebrew בְּדִית and the Greek διαθήκη. Not to resolve all the disagreements, but to make clear the usage in this article, the present writer would define terms as follows: “Covenant” is used throughout to translate the Hebrew בְּדִית, and is