The Role of the Torah and Special Covenant

Week 6 Discussion for World Religions – REL212

“The Role of the Torah and Special Covenant” Please respond to the following:

Discuss the significance of the “special covenant” between the Jewish people and God. Name at least two examples of this covenant in the Jewish religion.

The Torah enlightens that God established a special covenant with the people of Israel in which he would exalt them above other peoples of the earth for which they were required to strictly obey his law. Belief in this covenant relationship between God and the Israelites largely shaped Jewish identity in biblical times and provided a framework for Jewish history. As the people of Israel abided by the law as given to them by Moses the Jewish Bible indicates that they were blessed. When they were defiant, the Bible records that God sent prophets to remind the Israelites of their duties, urge them to repent and return to God, and warn them of the impending chastisements that awaited them at the hand of God if they continued to disregard their covenant. Jewish men were circumcised as a symbol of this covenant.

You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

Genesis 17

The continuation of the covenant with Jacob and the story of wrestling with the angel and being renamed “Israel”.

Genesis 32:4-36:43

Fisher, M. P. (2014). Living religions (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

http://www.faithology.com/beliefs/the-jewish-covenant