Abrahamic religions The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...

believe in the Mosaic covenant (named after

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

), also known as the Sinaitic covenant (after the

biblical Mount Sinai Mount Sinai (, ''Har Sīnay'') is the mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to the Prophets in Judaism, Hebrew prophet Moses by God in Judaism, God, according to the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. In the Book of ...

), which refers to a covenant between the Israelite tribes and

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, including their proselytes, not limited to the

ten commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

, nor the event when they were given, but including the entirety of laws that their patriarch

delivered from God in the five books of Torah. According to the biblical narrative, the Book of the Covenant, recording all the commands of the , was written by Moses in the desert and read to the people, and to seal the covenant, the blood of sacrificial oxen was then sprinkled, half on an altar and half on the people.

Historical-critical scholarship

The concept of a covenant began long before the biblical era, specifically the beginnings of Israel. According to George E. Mendenhall, covenants were originally established as legal customs and then later were replicated in the field of religion. These covenants were created on the basis of an

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

, a promise between two parties followed by performance. Engaging in an oath implied that the more powerful party would ensure that the other received proper punishment if it were to default. In the case of religion, the god(s) would be carrying out punishment. Such covenants assured that either blessings or curses be enacted in response to the circumstances. The

covenant of the pieces According to the Hebrew Bible, the covenant of the pieces or covenant between the parts () is an important event in Jewish History. In this central narrative God revealed himself to Abraham and made a covenant with him (in the site known nowadays ...

between God and Abraham is not conditional. Future covenants between Israel and God would be conditional. This is clearly expressed in , recited twice-daily as part of the foundational prayer, the Shema. According to Mendenhall, the covenant was not just an idea, but actually a historical event. This event was the formation of the covenant community. Wandering the desert, the clans left Egypt following Moses. These people were all of different backgrounds, containing no status in any social community. With all these circumstances they formed their own community by a covenant whose texts turned into the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

. The Israelites did not bind themselves to Moses as their leader though and Moses was not a part of the covenant. The Israelites followed the form of the suzerainty treaty, a particular type of covenant common in the Near East and were bound to obey stipulations that were set by God, not Moses. M. Weinfeld argues that there are two forms of covenants in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Hittite Empire The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

, and a "royal grant" as shown through the covenants tied to Abraham and David. A

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

entails a promise to the master by the

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

and ultimately protects the rights of the master. This consequently works in a manner that promotes future loyalty of the vassal since the suzerain had previously done favors for them. A grant, on the other hand, pertains to an obligation from the master to his servant, thus ensuring protection of the servant's rights.

Judaism

In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

after he saved them from slavery in Egypt in the

book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...

. Moses led the Israelites to the promised land known as Canaan after which Joshua led them to its possession. The Mosaic covenant played a role in defining the Kingdom of Israel. Rabbinic Judaism asserts that the Mosaic covenant was presented to the Jewish people and converts to Judaism and does not apply to

Gentiles ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites, groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsider ...

, with the notable exception of the Seven Laws of Noah which apply to all people.

Christianity

The Mosaic covenant or Law of Moses, which Christians generally call the "Old Covenant" in contrast to the

New Covenant The New Covenant () is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a Book of Jeremiah#Sections of the Book, phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31–34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the ...

, has played an important role in the shaping of Christianity. It has been the source of serious dispute and contention seen in

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

' expounding of the Law during his Sermon on the Mount, the circumcision controversy in early Christianity, and the Incident at Antioch which has led scholars to dispute the relationship between Paul of Tarsus and Judaism. The

Book of Acts The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

says that after the ascension of Jesus,

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

, the first Christian martyr, was killed when he was accused of speaking against the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

and the Mosaic Law. Later, in , the

Council of Jerusalem The Council of Jerusalem or Apostolic Council is a council described in chapter 15 of the Acts of the Apostles, held in Jerusalem . The council decided that Gentiles who converted to Christianity were not obligated to keep most of the rule ...

addressed the circumcision controversy in early Christianity.

References

{{reflist

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: Mosaic Legislation
Jewish law Commandments Jewish theology Mosaic law in Christian theology Covenants in the Hebrew Bible

Historical-critical scholarship

Judaism

Christianity

See also

References

External links