The term "covenant" which originally meant "shackle" or "chain" derived from the Hebrew word, berit. It later came to be known as any form of binding agreement. There are a number of examples of covenants in the Bible (1). Abraham had made a covenant alliance with the Canaanites (Gn 14:13). Isaac made a covenant with Abimelech concerning water rights (Gn 26:26ff), and Jacob had once made a covenant with Laban (Gn 31:44ff), to mention just a few (2). The agreement I will discuss is the covenant of Sinai. I will refer to it as this; although the exact geographical location is uncertain.…
