Abrahamic Covenant

• The covenant is an agreement or promise made between 2 parties. God made Abraham 3 promises.

  1. Promised land - Canaan
  2. Promise of descendants - become a great nation
  3. Promise of blessings and redemption.
• Abraham is regarded as the founder of the Jewish people and is often called "father". God forms the relationship with Abraham which would continue down the lines of Abraham's descendants.
• Abraham's descendants would be God's chosen people - Jews - and they promise to obey his commands over time. The Jewish identity developed into nationhood, religious beliefs and practices and tradition.
• Circumcision is the removal of a boy's foreskin which takes place on the 8th day after birth. Circumcision is a lifelong mark in their flesh of their relationship with God, a symbol of the Covenant.
• Abraham's father made statues for people to worship. In the midrash, there are a number of stories about Abraham smashing his fathers idols when he realises that there can only be one God of heaven and earth. Due to Abraham's purity, God called him out.
• Abraham and his descendants found their new home in the land of Canaan. This land is known as Israel. It is often referred to as the promised land because of God's repeated promise to give the land to the descendants of Abraham.