Covenant

Summary

The binding word by which a head establishes and governs a relationship through law, promises, and judgments. Unlike a contract among autonomous equals, those who enter a covenant come under its head and terms. God expressly calls the Ten Commandments His covenant; it is spoken, commanded, written, entered, cut in blood, kept or broken, and renewed by writing its law upon the heart.

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Definitions

Symbolic Definition

No separate symbolic sense is asserted. This entry recovers a biblical word meaning rather than interpreting an image.

Literal Biblical Definition

The binding word by which a head establishes and governs a relationship through law, promises, and judgments. Unlike a contract among autonomous equals, those who enter a covenant come under its head and terms. God expressly calls the Ten Commandments His covenant; it is spoken, commanded, written, entered, cut in blood, kept or broken, and renewed by writing its law upon the heart.

Webster’s Definition

Webster’s 1913 entry for covenant begins: “A mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, or one of the stipulations in such an agreement.”

These definitions may agree, but they are independent evidence. A biblical passage may use the term literally, symbolically, or both at the same time; the literal properties remain part of the logic when Scripture uses the object as a symbol.

The Short Case

The binding word by which a head establishes and governs a relationship through law, promises, and judgments. Unlike a contract among autonomous equals, those who enter a covenant come under its head and terms. God expressly calls the Ten Commandments His covenant; it is spoken, commanded, written, entered, cut in blood, kept or broken, and renewed by writing its law upon the heart.

“And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.” — Exodus 24:7

“And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.” — Exodus 24:8

“And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” — Deuteronomy 4:13

“Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,” — Deuteronomy 29:10

“Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:” — Deuteronomy 29:11

“That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:” — Deuteronomy 29:12

“That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” — Deuteronomy 29:13

“And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people; between the king also and the people.” — 2 Kings 11:17

The definition stays with the relationship these passages establish. Literal appearances preserve the image; they do not require every occurrence to be symbolic.

Dictionary Comparison

Webster’s 1913 entry for covenant begins:

“Cov”e*nant (kv”-nant), n. Etym: [OF. covenant, fr. F. & OF. convenir to agree, L. convenire. See Convene.] 1. A mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, or one of the stipulations in such an agreement. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant. 1 Sam. xviiii. 3. Let there be covenants drawn between us. Shak. If we conclude a peace, It shall be with such strict and severe covenants As little shall the Frenchmen gain thereby. Shak.”

The dictionary supplies the ordinary sense. The definition above is narrower or figurative only where Scripture’s own cross-references require that transfer.

Corpus and Method

This study checks the glossary’s defining citations first, then compares them with every KJV verse that prints covenant. The English-form sweep found 279 verses. It is exhaustive for those printed forms, but it is not a substitute for a Strong’s-number sweep where several Hebrew or Greek words share one English translation.

Evidence by Sense

The entry currently states one controlling sense:

1. Core sense: The binding word by which a head establishes and governs a relationship through law, promises, and judgments. Unlike a contract among autonomous equals, those who enter a covenant come under its head and terms. God expressly calls the Ten Commandments His covenant; it is spoken, commanded, written, entered, cut in blood, kept or broken, and renewed by writing its law upon the heart.
2. Defining witnesses: Ex 24:7-8; Deut 4:13; 29:10-13; 2 Kgs 11:17; Jer 31:31-33; Heb 8:10
3. Boundary: the sense applies where the passage activates the same relationship; ordinary literal uses remain literal.

Competing Definitions Tested

A common reading is: a contract or agreement negotiated between parties, obscuring the covenant head who supplies its governing word and terms.

These tests identify the boundary the definition must explain. A shared phrase or nearby theme is not enough by itself; the cited passages must establish the proposed identity and account for the countertexts without changing senses whenever the reading becomes difficult.

Relationship to Other Symbols

No reciprocal opposite is assigned. Related images may share a scene or a consequence without becoming aliases.

This definition does not depend on another glossary term.

Occurrence Register

Conclusion

The binding word by which a head establishes and governs a relationship through law, promises, and judgments. Unlike a contract among autonomous equals, those who enter a covenant come under its head and terms. God expressly calls the Ten Commandments His covenant; it is spoken, commanded, written, entered, cut in blood, kept or broken, and renewed by writing its law upon the heart.

This is the glossary conclusion. The occurrence register and competing-reading section show where further evidence would strengthen, narrow, or test it without silently changing the definition.