Abrahamic Covenant God’s promise to the first patriarch, Abraham, which functions as the basis for Israel’s covenant with Yahweh.

The Abrahamic covenant marks a transition in Genesis’ account of God’s initiated redemption of the world (Gen 12:1–3, 7; 13:14–17; 15:4–21; 17:4–16; 22:15–18). Initially made to the patriarch while he was still under the name Abram (“exalted father”; 12:1–3; 13:14–18), the promise would later be expanded to a cosmic dimension in such a way as to necessitate a change of title: Abram becomes Abraham (“father of many”; 17:5–8). While the promise/covenant remains with Israel alone, it moves from the particular of Gen 12:1–3 to the universal of Gen 17:5–6. In the context of the entire biblical story, the Abrahamic promise can be seen as part of an “hourglass” shape: what begins with the universal (Gen 1–11) is subsequently narrowed to the particular (Gen 12:1–3; or more broadly, Gen 12 through the rest of the Old Testament), to open much later from within the early church (e.g., Acts 15; Wright, Climax, 16ff; Paul, 23).