Genesis 9, Noah’s Covenants and Jewish Theology of Religions

Genesis 9 plays an important role in contemporary Jewish theology of religions. The covenant with Noah is understood as the universal covenant, providing a balance to the particularity of the covenant with Abraham. Such an understanding is found in the works of Jonathan Sacks, Irving Greenberg, and Jon Levenson. This article offers a novel reading of Genesis 9 as a covenant of no-harm, in which both parties commit to avoid inflicting harm upon one another. It introduces a novel typology to covenant studies and undermines our ability to read Genesis 9 in line with the covenants with Abraham and Israel at Sinai. Beyond the contribution to the theological discussion, the article raises the question of the impact of biblical interpretation on theology. The final part of the article offers an alternative reading of the theological import of Noah’s covenant. It is as powerful creator that God is encountered in Genesis 9, rather than as relational partner. If one does not enter into relationship with God, one can at least know him, and the covenant of no harm becomes a means of knowing God

The New Covenant - Jeremiah 31:30-33 (31:31-34) in Jewish Interpretation

Jeremiah 31:30-33 is the famous oracle of a future new covenant. This text is foundational for Christianity. However, other than polemical uses in the middle ages it has almost no echo in classical Jewish sources. The reason is not because of its significance for Christianity, but due to the decline in the conceptual centrality of the notion of "covenant" and due to the fact that other than suggesting some future change, it has little present significance. After reviewing classical uses, this article surveys later developments in Jewish spiritual literature, especially Hassidic literature. In this literature the term "new covenant” receives new life. This is made possible due to the individualization of the covenant and the dissociation of the term from the complex of ideas in Jeremiah. Covenant becomes a way of affirming commitment, reestablishing a personal relationship with God, and even receiving inspiration from God. In the thought of some Hassidic authors it also plays an important role in a view of history, once it is seen as part of an ongoing historical movement that is relevant to the present, and not only as a future oriented prophecy. These later developments provide new and interesting points of contact between Jewish and Christian uses and invite us to consider the ongoing vitality and relevance of the oracle in Jeremiah