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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · Beliefs and Doctrine

Covenant

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/ˈkʌvənənt/nounCommon term

In religious studies & theology, covenant means: A solemn agreement or promise, especially the relationship between God and a people described in the Hebrew Bible, for example with Abraham or with Israel at Mount Sinai.

In Turkish: ahit, antlaşma, misak

How it is used

You make, keep or break a covenant. Central in Judaism (the covenant with Abraham, the Sinai covenant) and in Christian theology (the new covenant). Islamic thought speaks of a primordial covenant (mithaq) between God and humanity.

Example sentences

  1. In Genesis, God makes a covenant with Abraham and promises him many descendants.

  2. Early Christians described their community as living under a new covenant.

Common collocations

  • make a covenant
  • the Sinai covenant
  • the new covenant
  • keep the covenant
  • covenant with Abraham
  • JudaismThe religion, culture and way of life of the Jewish people, based on the covenant with God described in the Hebrew Bible and developed in the Talmud and later teaching.
  • TorahThe first five books of the Hebrew Bible, traditionally attributed to Moses; in a wider sense, the whole body of Jewish teaching and law.
  • prophetA person believed by a religious community to have been chosen by God to receive and deliver divine messages to people.
  • Abrahamic religionsJudaism, Christianity and Islam considered together as religions that trace their origins or spiritual ancestry to the figure of Abraham.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Beliefs and Doctrine

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