The Old Covenant, the New Covenant, and the Law - examining these from the NT Christian perspective. (original) (raw)
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Covenant & Law in the Hebrew Bible
Forthcoming in a volume on Biblical Law edited by Pamela Barmash.
No ancient Near Eastern parallels exist for the presentation of civil and criminal law as clauses attaching to a covenant, established between a God and a people or nation. In the Hebrew Bible, this conception is widespread. In particular, the Covenant Code (Exod 21-23), the Holiness Code (Lev 17-25), and the Deuteronomic Code (Deut 12-26) all—though in different ways—pretend to draw their force from a covenant between YHWH and Israel. In the present chapter, the notion of covenant and the various elaborations of covenant theology are explored. It is suggested that the combination of law and covenant was first established in Exod 19-24, and that the other law codes adopted the idea, together with an important number of laws (more in the case of Deuteronomy than in the Holiness Code), from there.
The Covenants in the Old Testament
This essay attempts to define covenant as seen in the Old Testament. It will give an overview of some of the current and historical thinking on the subject and explain the types of covenant. Five covenants in particular shall be discussed: the Edenic, Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Palestinian, Davidic and New Covenants – and the common strands within each will be identified. A common way of interpreting the covenants shall be explained before so that these five covenants can more easily be compared. The essay shall then conclude with an explanation of these strands and an allusion to the (re-)new(ed) covenant in the New Testament.
A Biblical View of Covenants Old and New
This article responds to Adam Gregerman's article on covenant theology in recent Jewish-Catholic dialogue by arguing three points: (1) Scripture presents a multiplicity of covenants (rather than a singular "Old Covenant"), which coexist together in complementary ways. (2) This multiplicity produces dynamic tension among the covenants. (3) The tendency in recent theological discussion to describe the New Covenant as a fulfillment of its predecessors lacks a biblical basis.
Revisiting Sinai Covenant Theology, Its Values and Resonances for Today
European Journal of Theology and Philosophy
The relevance of Sinai covenant (Exod 19-24, 32-34; Deut, Josh-2kings) in Hebrew and Christian religions cannot be overemphasized. It is a point of departure for understanding Israel’s basic religion and its components: God’s relationship with his people, the kingship of God, revelation and liberation from myth. It also illumines the riches of Israel’s history, its persons, liturgy, rituals, cults and commandments, the role of the prophets, fulfilled in Christ, the Messiah stressed by our honoree in the course of his ministries. Many would see it as a conditional and relational covenant binding both God and his people. Its meaning, nature, and patterns as discussed historically, pastorally and contextually in this essay, went through various roots of nuances and shifts in the ancient Near East, Hebrew, Greek and Roman cultures, including commitment, faithfulness, resilience, and obedience, trust in divine providence and sharing together. Finally, its relevance, NT resonances and the...
Law, Society, and Religion: Essays in Memory of George E. Mendenhall. Edited by Bernard M. Levinson. Special double issue of Maarav: A Journal for the Study of the Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures 24: 1–2 (2020): 27–43 + 265–72 (plates)., 2020
“Revisiting the ‘and’ in Law and Covenant in the Hebrew Bible: What the Evidence from Tell Tayinat Suggests about the Relationship between Law and Religion in the Ancient Near East,” examines how the concepts of law, covenant, and religion have been treated in the past century of scholarship within biblical studies. Using both the work of George Mendenhall and the widely held view of a Bundestheologische Redaktion [covenant-theological redaction] of Deuteronomy as case studies, I argue that scholars theorizing about the development of law and covenant theology in Israelite religion have perpetuated a binary in biblical scholarship that privileges religion over law. As a result, scholars have minimized the legal origins of covenant theology (which is derived from political treaty tradition) and view law as an originally independent concept that was imported into Israelite religion. A straightforward reading of the evidence from Near Eastern treaty tradition, including the copy of Esarhaddon’s Vassal Treaty that was found at Tell Tayinat in Southeastern Turkey, suggests an alternate conclusion: that law and religion were inseparable concepts in the ancient Near East. The Tayinat material is reviewed extensively here and color plates are provided.
Hebrews: The Superiority of the New Covenant
BTHNT4163/6163-The Book of Hebrews Singapore Baptist Theological Seminary introduction which old one similarities differences why bother with old implications conclusion introduction which old one similarities differences why bother with old implications conclusion 3 Which Old One? Old Covenant ▪ Moses ▪ Sacrifice ▪ Levitical High Priest ▪ Sanctuary and Tent ▪ The Law introduction which old one similarities differences why bother with old implications conclusion
Yükseköğretim Kurulu Başkanlığı, 2023
After E.P. Sanders’ “New Perspective on Paul”, the overflooding “Paul and the Law” discussions took a different path. The relationship between Judaism and Christianity in the first three centuries was reexamined, focusing on the divergence between the two and the role of the law in salvation. This work explores different perspectives on Paul's view of the law, including the Classical Perspective, starting with Augustine through the Middle Ages until 19th-century German scholarship, in sight of the New Perspective on Paul in the 1980s and recent works on the Third Perspective that seeks to give biblical law its proper place in the plan of salvation. The thesis concludes by highlighting the ongoing debates and complexities surrounding Pauline's studies and the interpretation of the law in Christianity.
The Missiology of Old Testament Covenant
The present article, inspired by Wright, sketches out a more precise formulation of his statement: it is the worldview communicated by covenant concepts, understood in the historical and religious context of the ancient Near East, that makes for a radical break with the worldview of paganism. Old Testament covenant provides both a model and a standard for communicating the Gospel across cultures.