The Contours of an Elusive Phrase: Berit Olam and Some Contributions to Covenant Theology in the Pentateuch

<div><br/><div><br/><p class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">A perusal of Old Testament covenant studies shows that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'">Berit Olam</span></i><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'"> </span>lacks significant scholarly attention. This is surprising since even a quick glance at the eighteen instances shows that though the phrase occurs relatively infrequently it resides within very important passages in the Old Testament, and is connected to some of the most prominent figures of the Old Testament story. Moreover, when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'">Berit Olam</span></i> is addressed in scholarship it is generally conceived as an unbreakable, unilateral promise. But is this an accurate assessment of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'">Berit Olam</span></i>? What <i>is</i> an eternal covenant? How does an eternal covenant work? What are the relationships between the respective eternal covenants? What ideas of the text are we referring to when talk about an eternal covenant?</p><br/><p class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>This book answers these sorts of questions involving eternal covenant in the Bible by beginning with an exegetical study of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'">Berit Olam</span></i><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'"> </span>in the Pentateuch. While word studies on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'">Olam</span></i><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'"> </span>and<span style="FONT-FAMILY: SPTiberian"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'">Berit</span></i> do exist, this study is interested in identifying the ideas and themes associated with each instance of the phrase within the final-form of the text in order to understand its meaning and significance. By addressing each instance in canonical order (Genesis 9, 17; Exodus 31; Leviticus 24; Numbers 18, 25), the study reveals that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'">Berit Olam</span></i><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'"> </span>actually represents a bilateral and conditional arrangement that reflects certain common themes as it is used within distinct passages. The study serves as a starting point for grasping the contours of this elusive phrase within the Old Testament.</p></div></div>>

Steven D. Mason is currently Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at LeTourneau University, Texas.