Covenants were important aspects of social and political life in the ancient Near East, and they are the term of choice that the Hebrew Bible uses to describe the binding arrangements with which G-d enters into relationship with humans. Covenants, as practiced between persons or nations, operated like social contracts, with stipulations of agreements and penalties for both sides. When G-d makes a covenant with people, that covenant always contains promises to which G-d commits, usually along with stipulations for the humans’ conduct (though even when people break those stipulations, G-d remains faithful). Among the major covenants described in the Hebrew Bible are the following: the Noahic Covenant (which G-d makes with Noah, his family, and all creation in Genesis 9), the Abrahamic Covenant (made with Abraham in Genesis 15 and 17 and reaffirmed for his descendants), and the Mosaic Covenant (made with all of Israel under Moses’ leadership, as recorded in Exodus 19 and 24).

In the Hebrew Bible, “prophecy” refers to the content of messages from G-d to his people. In common English usage, the word tends to be taken as a prediction of future events, but this is only one part of its role in the Hebrew Bible.