The Abrahamic Covenant - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - WJEC

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1. The Jewish covenant
2. The Abrahamic covenant
3. The Mosaic covenant
4. Covenant today

The Abrahamic covenant

The covenant between Abraham and God consisted of three separate parts:

• the promised land
• the promise of the descendants
• the promise of blessing and redemption

Key factAbraham was the founder of Judaism and was the first to make a covenant with God.

The promised land

The first part of the covenant is known as the promised land and can be found in Genesis 12:1, where Abraham is called by God to leave Ur and go to a place known as Canaan. The land of Canaan then became known as Israel. Israel was named after Abraham's grandson and is often referred to as the promised land because the belief is that God promised to give the land to the descendants of Abraham.

The promise of the descendants

The second part of the covenant is known as the promise of the descendants and can be found in Genesis 12:2. This is where God promised Abraham that he would make a great nation out of him – I will increase your numbers very, very much, and I will make you into nations.... This is when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham meaning ‘father of many nations’.

The promise of blessing and redemption

The third and last part of the Abrahamic covenant is known as the promise of blessing and redemption. It can be found in Genesis 12:1-3, where God promises to bless Abraham and all of his descendants. As part of this last covenant, God asked Abraham to remove his foreskin and the foreskin of all Jewish boys after him. This process is known as circumcision and is a sign of the Abrahamic covenant.

Next pageThe Mosaic covenantPrevious pageThe Jewish covenant

More guides on this topic

• Sacred texts
• Jewish identity
• Festivals and commemorations

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