View source for ANE:Treaties/0

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	<h1>Treaties in the Ancient Near East</h1>
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<h2 name="Sacrifices and Covenantal Meal">Accompanied by sacrifices and a covenantal meal</h2>
<h3>Ancient Near Eastern examples</h3>
<p>Charles F. Fensham, in an article in BASOR 175 (1964): 51-54 cites examples from a letter from Mari and two treaties from Alalakh.</p>
<ul>
	<li>The letter from Mari (C. F. Jean, Archives royales de Mari II [1950], No. 37: 6-14) mentions a treaty between Ḫanaeans and Idamaras which was formed by slaughtering an ass.</li>
	<li>In a treaty from Alalakh (Donald J. Wiseman, Abban and Alalah, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Vol. 12, No. 4, 1958, pp. 126, 129), a sheep was slaughtered when Abban took an oath to Iarimlim.</li>
	<li>In another treaty from Alalakh (Sidney Smith, The Statute of Idrimi [1949], pp. 16 f.), a sacrifice was made after the covenant between Idrimi and Sutarna.</li>
<!--	<li><b>See Weinfeld, Covenant of Grant 196-198, Covenant Terminology 198-199, Covenant Making 137-138 for more examples.</b></li>
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<h3>Biblical instances</h3>
<ul>
	<li>Covenant of the Pieces (ברית בין הבתרים – <aht source="Bereshit15-7">Bereshit 15:7-21</aht>) – </li>
	<li>Yitzchak and Avimelekh (<aht source="Bereshit26-26">Bereshit 26:28-31</aht>) – </li>
	<li>Yaakov and Lavan (<aht source="Bereshit31-43">Bereshit 31:44-54</aht>) – <multilink><aht source="RDZHoffmann18-12">R. D"Z Hoffmann</aht><aht source="RDZHoffmann18-12">Shemot 18:12</aht><aht parshan="R. D&quot;Z Hoffmann" /></multilink> points to the story of Yaakov and Lavan as an example of a treaty which is accompanied by sacrifices and breaking bread together (לֶאֱכָל לֶחֶם).</li>
	<li>Yitro (<aht source="Shemot18-8">Shemot 18:12</aht>) – <multilink><aht source="RDZHoffmann18-12">R. D"Z Hoffmann</aht><aht source="RDZHoffmann18-12">Shemot 18:12</aht><aht parshan="R. D&quot;Z Hoffmann" /></multilink> suggests that Yitro's sacrifice and festive meal are part of a a diplomatic ceremony which accompanied the signing of a covenant between the nations of Israel and Midyan.  He thereby explains why the generic elohim is used, rather than Hashem (the name usually found with regard to sacrifices), see <aht page="Yitro's Sacrifices and Eating Bread Before God">Eating Bread Lifnei HaElohim</aht> and <aht page="Yitro's Visit – Purpose and Significance">Yitro's Purpose</aht> for elaboration.<fn>R. D"Z Hoffmann notes that this can also explain the absence of Moshe from the meal, as Moshe was already related to Yitro, and it was Aharon and the elders who were representing the Jewish people in this treaty.</fn></li>
	<li>The Jewish nation at Mount Sinai (<aht source="Shemot24-1">Shemot 24:3-11</aht>) – </li>
	<li>The covenantal ceremony at the mountains of Gerizim and Eival (<aht source="Yehoshua8-30">Yehoshua 8:30-35</aht>) – .</li>
	<li>David and Avner (<aht source="ShemuelII3-19">Shemuel II 3:19-21</aht>) – .</li>
	<li><aht source="Tehillim50-5">Tehillim 50:5</aht> – </li>
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