The Covenant With Abraham (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B): Revision Note

Nature & history of the Abrahamic Covenant

• Abraham is known as the founder or first patriarch of Judaism

• One thousand years before Moses, Abraham was the first Jewish prophet, called by God to receive the first covenant and take God’s message to the people

• God called Abraham to travel from Iraq to the new land of Canaan, often referred to as the Promised Land, and worship the one true God

• God promised Abraham:

  • a Promised Land

  • a blessed nation

  • many descendants

• God also promised Abraham and his family blessings

• God asked Abraham to follow his rules and be a good example to others

  • In return, God promised to give Abraham and his wife Sarah the child they both longed for and to name their descendants as his chosen people

• Abraham agreed that he and his descendants would obey and worship God and he would lead by example

• As part of the covenant God commanded that the covenant was sealed through Abraham’s circumcision

• Abraham kept this covenant and his wife, Sarah, gave birth to their son, Isaac

• God chose Isaac to inherit the covenant directly from his father, and Isaac handed it on to his own son, Jacob

• Jacob’s descendants were twelve sons who established the twelve tribes of Israel

• Therefore Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are known as Israel’s patriarchs

Importance of the Abrahamic Covenant for Jews today

• As a sign of this continuing covenant, Jewish people perform the rite of circumcision of male babies eight days after they are born

• This happens in a ceremony called Brit Milah

  • At this ceremony, the father promises to bring the son up in the Jewish faith

• Some Reform and Liberal Jews choose not to circumcise their sons because of health concerns

  • Instead, some Reform Jews hold a welcoming ceremony called the brit shalom, or ceremony of peace

• Reform and Liberal Jews also hold a welcoming ceremony for Jewish girls called the brit chayim, or covenant of life

  • This welcomes girls and includes them as heirs to the Abrahamic covenant

• The Abrahamic covenant and the idea of a Promised Land has huge significance for Jews today

• It introduced the idea of the importance of the Kingdom of Israel for the Jewish people

  • In 1947 the state of Israel was established as a place of security where Jews from anywhere in the world could come to live as a citizen

• The idea of the state of Israel as a fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham of a promised land for the children of Israel has caused much debate amongst Jewish scholars

  • Some Ultra-Orthodox Jews teach that the return to the Promised Land will only happen when the Messiah comes

  • Therefore for the time being, all Jews should be concerned only with following the mitzvot and living in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, rather than supporting the state of Israel