A formal agreement between individuals or nations, promising commitment to each other's interests. Israel was forbidden to enter into such agreements with other nations in the promised land.
Treaties between individuals
1 Samuel 18:3–4 See also Genesis 21:22–32, Genesis 26:26–31; 1 Samuel 20:8, 1 Samuel 20:16–17, 1 Samuel 22:8, 1 Samuel 23:18; 2 Samuel 3:12–13
Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
Treaties between individuals acting on behalf of their nation
1 Kings 5:12–18, 1 Kings 15:18–19; Isaiah 33:8 Probably the agreement made when Hezekiah paid large sums to Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:14); Ezekiel 17:12–14
Treaties between cities or nations
Joshua 9:3–16, Joshua 10:1, Joshua 11:18–19; 1 Samuel 11:1–2; Hosea 12:1
Treaties entered into should be honoured
Ezekiel 17:15–18 See also Jeremiah 34:8–20; Daniel 11:22–24 “he will act deceitfully” (verse 23), is a reference to Antiochus Epiphanes (of the Seleucid dynasty) who reneged on the friendship shown to Egypt; Hosea 10:4; Amos 1:9–10; Galatians 3:15
But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’ ‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who enthroned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke. Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast horde will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives. He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Seeing that he gave his hand in pledge yet did all these things, he will not escape!’
Israel forbidden to enter into treaties with other nations in the promised land
Deuteronomy 7:1–2 See also Exodus 23:31–32, Exodus 34:11–12, Exodus 34:15–16; Deuteronomy 23:6; 1 Kings 20:34, 1 Kings 20:42–43; Ezra 9:12
When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations— the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.