ANE:Treaties in Tanakh and the Ancient Near East/0

Treaties in Tanakh and the Ancient Near East

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Treaties in Tanakh

The term ברית appears 284 times in Tanakh.  At times, it refers to treaties between individual people or countries, such as the treaties between Avraham and Avimelekh, Yaakov and Lavan, or Achav and Ben Hadad.  At other times it refers to a covenant between Hashem and man, such as Hashem's covenant with Noach, Avraham, or the nation of Israel. 

These covenants/treaties fall into two main categories:

• Promissory treaties – In these, the more powerful party unconditionally promises something or obligates themselves to the less powerful party.  An example might be Hashem's unconditional promises to Avraham or David. 
•  Obligatory treaties – These treaties, in contrast, are conditional on the fulfilling of certain conditions.  These include both suzerainty treaties in which a vassal is expected to unilaterally fulfill the stipulations of the treaty in obedience to a master (suzerain), and parity agreements where two equal parties agree to obey the same set of conditions.

Treaties in the Ancient Near East

Archaeological finds have revealed many treaties from the ancient Near East, which  both shed light on aspects of Biblical covenants and serve to highlight some of their unique features..  Second millennium treaties have been found relating to Egypt, Assyria, Mari, and Babylonia, but it is the Hittite suzerainty treaties which are most significant for Biblical studies, as they seem to be the most similar to Biblical covenants.¹ The various treaties share the same basic elements:²

• Preamble

¹ A significant number of these have been discovered and they tend to better preserved than others. Some have survived as almost complete documents, making them a very useful resource.  The treaties were found in two main archives, at the ancient capital of the Hittites, Hattusas, and at Ugarit, modern day Ras Shamra. 

² These were first noted by Viktor Korosec, Hethitische Staatsverträge, ein Beitrag zu ihrer juristischen Wertung, Leipziger rechtswissenschaftliche Studien, vol. 60 (1931): 12–14.