THE COVENANT OF ABRAHAM: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENESIS 15 AND 17

Abstract

The relationship between Gen 15 and 17 has long been debated, leading to conflicting viewpoints. Scholars from the diachronic perspective consider these passages to be two variants accounts from different sources. Those from the synchronic perspective garner a range of possible relationships. This article has suggested a five-element structure as a systematizing grid of the contents of these chapters. Based on structure and content, it is argued that Gen 15 and 17 constitute a single covenant, and that each chapter focuses on one side of the covenant promise. In other words, chap. 15 focuses on the promise of the land, whereas chap. 17 concentrates on the posterity element of the covenant.