The Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant

There’s a lot of discussion concerning the identity of the Jews and their right to the land of Israel. I’ve written two small articles related to those topics that are below.

The Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant

God made a promise to Abraham in Gen. 12:1-3.The Abrahamic Covenant was made in Gen. 15:18-21. When Abraham was 99 years old (Gen. 17:1), God ratified His covenant with him (Gen. 17:2-9). The word “covenant” appears 13 times in Genesis 17. Every Israelite had to be circumcised which is a sign of the covenant (Gen. 17:10-14).The covenant is called an “everlasting covenant” (Gen. 17:7, 19), and the land promised to Israel is to be an “everlasting possession” (Gen. 17:8). Therefore, this covenant will never end/terminate because God is keeping His promise to Abraham and his descendants, the Jews who are also Israelites.The Mosaic Covenant is not to be confused with the Abrahamic Covenant.The Mosaic Covenant is first mentioned in Ex. 19:5-6. Israel promised to keep it (Ex. 19:7-8) but didn’t. The writer of Hebrews refers to the Abrahamic Covenant which is based on God’s promise and therefore cannot be broken (Heb. 6:13-20).There is a difference between the covenant with Abraham (an individual) and the Mosaic Covenant made with the nation of Israel, Abraham’s descendants. The Abrahamic covenant is unilateral which means only God is responsible to keep that covenant of promise. The Mosaic covenant is bilateral which means on God’s part He will bless Israel when she’s obedient and curse her when she’s disobedient. So, that means Israel’s compliance was strictly required. When Israel broke the covenant, God dissolved her as a nation but didn’t erase her identity. Why? Because God will not break His promise to Abraham.                                                      

Who Are the Jews?

Check out this first:  https://youtube.com/shorts/KvuM147VV44?si=fUeH9IxdTxt-3uiMI’ve heard and seen Tucker Carlson’s interview with Mike Huckaby a number of times, and heard many reactions to it.Here is my take:Tucker Carlson’s questions, though challenging, reflected his ignorance of the biblical theology (God’s promise), real time history of Israel, and his bias against believing the biblical definition of Israel which includes Jews.Like so many others, either Carlson doesn’t know or deliberately ignores the meaning of God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. Huckaby’s answers were okay but needed to be “fine-tuned.” He should have challenged Tucker with answers from Scripture, even if Tucker wouldn’t believe him. My responses are too many to put in a text, but I would have started with Gen. 12:1-3 and taken Tucker for a ride through the Bible. He would have been shown that Israel always means Abraham’s descendants. God promised Abraham that his son, Isaac, would be the Jews’ ancestor (Heb. 11:18). Isaac’s son was Jacob whose name was changed to Israel (Gen. 35:10). Israel had 12 sons, and they became the nation of Israel after they left Egypt (Ex. 19:6).

There was a split between them after King Solomon’s death in about 930 BC. They became Judah and Israel (1 Kings 12). The word “Jew” was first used after the captivity, appearing first in Esther 2:5, being a short form of “Judah.”  But Jews were also descendants of Israel (Jacob) and thus over time the reference (“Jews”) was extended to all of Israel’s descendants. I would advise Tucker and all other skeptics to read the list of Jesus’ ancestors in Matt. 1, Luke 3:23-38. In Rom. 4:12 Abraham is called “father of circumcision,” meaning of Jews. In Gal. 3:16 and Heb. 2:16, Abraham’s seed is Christ who, therefore, was also a Jew (see John 4:9). In Heb. 7:5, all of twelve brothers (Jacob’s sons) were descendants of Abraham.

The word “promise” is extremely important in connection with the covenant God made with Abraham.First, God promised a son and innumerable descendants (Gen. 15:4-5)Second, God demonstrated that the promised covenant cannot be broken (Gen. 15:8-17)Third, God promised him a vast amount of land (Gen. 15:7, 18-21)The writer of Hebrews indicates that these core elements were included in God’s unbreakable promise to Abraham. He said God added an oath to confirm His promise even though it wasn’t necessary (Heb. 6:13-18). It “was impossible for God to lie” regarding his promise, yet He added an unnecessary “oath” represented by the “smoking oven and a flaming torch” (Gen. 15:17).In conclusion, if God breaks or changes His promise He made to Abraham, there would be no Jews. Then, John 3:16 would be untrue, there will be no church, no rapture, no second coming, and no new heaven and earth.Apostle Paul wrote about spiritually blind people like Tucker: “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4).A side note: I don’t believe Abraham was a Jew but is the father of them.

                                                     Who Are the Jews?

Check out this first:  https://youtube.com/shorts/KvuM147VV44?si=fUeH9IxdTxt-3uiM

I’ve heard and seen Tucker Carlson’s interview with Mike Huckaby a number of times, and heard many reactions to it.Here is my take:Tucker Carlson’s questions, though challenging, reflected his ignorance of the biblical theology (God’s promise), real time history of Israel, and his bias against believing the biblical definition of Israel which includes Jews.Like so many others, either Carlson doesn’t know or deliberately ignores the meaning of God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. Huckaby’s answers were okay but needed to be “fine-tuned.” He should have challenged Tucker with answers from Scripture, even if Tucker wouldn’t believe him. My responses are too many to put in a text, but I would have started with Gen. 12:1-3 and taken Tucker for a ride through the Bible. He would have been shown that Israel always means Abraham’s descendants. God promised Abraham that his son, Isaac, would be the Jews’ ancestor (Heb. 11:18). Isaac’s son was Jacob whose name was changed to Israel (Gen. 35:10). Israel had 12 sons, and they became the nation of Israel after they left Egypt (Ex. 19:6).

There was a split between them after King Solomon’s death in about 930 BC. They became Judah and Israel (1 Kings 12). The word “Jew” was first used after the captivity, appearing first in Esther 2:5, being a short form of “Judah.”  But Jews were also descendants of Israel (Jacob) and thus over time the reference (“Jews”) was extended to all of Israel’s descendants. I would advise Tucker and all other skeptics to read the list of Jesus’ ancestors in Matt. 1, Luke 3:23-38. In Rom. 4:12 Abraham is called “father of circumcision,” meaning of Jews. In Gal. 3:16 and Heb. 2:16, Abraham’s seed is Christ who, therefore, was also a Jew (see John 4:9). In Heb. 7:5, all of twelve brothers (Jacob’s sons) were descendants of Abraham.

The word “promise” is extremely important in connection with the covenant God made with Abraham.First, God promised a son and innumerable descendants (Gen. 15:4-5)Second, God demonstrated that the promised covenant cannot be broken (Gen. 15:8-17)Third, God promised him a vast amount of land (Gen. 15:7, 18-21)The writer of Hebrews indicates that these core elements were included in God’s unbreakable promise to Abraham. He said God added an oath to confirm His promise even though it wasn’t necessary (Heb. 6:13-18). It “was impossible for God to lie” regarding his promise, yet He added an unnecessary “oath” represented by the “smoking oven and a flaming torch” (Gen. 15:17).In conclusion, if God breaks or changes His promise He made to Abraham, there would be no Jews. Then, John 3:16 would be untrue, there will be no church, no rapture, no second coming, and no new heaven and earth.Apostle Paul wrote about spiritually blind people like Tucker: “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4).A side note: I don’t believe Abraham was a Jew but is the father of them.Sent from my iPhone

Check out under Biblehub.com

the title,

“Who is Considered the First Jew?”

Origins of the Term “Jew”

The term “Jew” is closely linked to “Judah” (Hebrew: Yehudah). Historically, “Jew” eventually came to refer to any descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, particularly after the kingdom of Judah became the most prominent surviving monarchy of the Israelites (cf. 2 Kings 16:6; 25:25). Yet long before the etymology took shape, the foundations of the Jewish people were laid through a pivotal covenant with one man.

Abraham as the Father of the Jewish Nation

In discussions of who is the “first Jew,” Abraham stands preeminent. Though the label “Jew” appears later in Scripture, Abraham is identified as the founder of the family and nation that would eventually be called “the Jews.” Genesis 12 narrates a decisive moment:

• “Then the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country…to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation…’” (Genesis 12:1-2).

This promise-often described as the Abrahamic Covenant-established a perpetual relationship. God promised that Abraham’s descendants would become a distinct people group, inherit a particular land, and serve as a source of blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:3).

Covenant of Circumcision

The concept of a “first Jew” is inseparable from the covenant sign of circumcision, instituted in Genesis 17. God spoke of a mark that would distinguish Abraham’s descendants:

• “This is My covenant…Every male among you shall be circumcised” (Genesis 17:10).

While Abraham’s grandson Jacob would later be renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28), it was the faith and obedience of Abraham in receiving this covenant that became the root of the Jewish identity. He is recognized as the progenitor of the covenant people and is often referred to as “the father of us all” in New Testament discourse (Romans 4:16).

Biblical References and Theological Emphasis

1. Genesis 12:1-9: Focuses on the initial call to Abram and the establishment of the promise.

2. Genesis 17:1-22: Describes the covenant of circumcision and Abram’s name change to Abraham (“father of many”).

3. Romans 4:13-25: Highlights Abraham’s faith as the foundation of the covenant, underscoring that he is the spiritual father of all who believe.

This united testimony across Old and New Testaments underscores Abraham as the key figure through whom the Jewish people and, ultimately, the Messiah would come.

Etymology, Judah, and the Wider Connection

Strictly from a linguistic standpoint, one could argue that the earliest person actually called a “Jew” would be someone from the tribe of Judah (later the kingdom of Judah). Judah himself, a son of Jacob, bore the name that would become “Jew.” However, because biblical tradition traces the covenant and chosen-people identity to Abraham, the vast majority of theological and historical sources identify Abraham as the first Jew in a covenantal sense.

Historical and Archaeological Corroboration

Archaeological findings such as the Nuzi and Mari tablets (20th-18th centuries BC) provide details on customs (marriage practices, inheritance rules) that align with the Genesis narratives describing life in the patriarchal era. While these tablets do not name Abraham directly, they shed light on the plausibility of the cultural context recorded in Scripture. In modern times, the Dead Sea Scrolls (3rd century BC-1st century AD) preserve extensive portions of Genesis, verifying the remarkable consistency of the patriarchal account throughout centuries of transmission.

Relationship to the Broader Biblical Timeline

Following a conservative biblical timeline akin to Ussher’s dating, Abraham is placed roughly in the early second millennium BC. From a genealogical standpoint (Genesis 5, 10, and 11) through Shem’s lineage, the Scriptures place Abraham as approximately the twentieth generation after Adam. Thus, long before “Jew” became a tribal or national label, Abraham functions-even chronologically-as the pivotal starting point of a bloodline selected by God.

Summation and Conclusion

In summary, while the term “Jew” etymologically derives from Judah, the broader consensus-both in Jewish tradition and throughout Christian theological study-identifies Abraham as the first Jew. He stands as the foundational figure with whom God established a unique covenant, a sign of belonging (circumcision), and the promise of a people set apart. Through Abraham, this nation would ultimately bring forth the Messiah, in fulfillment of God’s plan for redemption.

Abraham’s position as the first Jew is thus understood in light of covenant, promise, and the consistent testimony of Scripture, connecting the earliest chapters of Genesis to the later historical development of the Jewish people and their ongoing identity rooted in the faith of their founding ancestor.

Blessings!