The Legacy Standard Bible frequently uses a term that is not very familiar today: “cut a covenant.” But have you ever wondered what this phrase means? Why does the LSB translate it this way?
Dr. William Varner, one of the translators of the LSB, describes it this way:
One contribution of the LSB is to recognize the nearly two dozen times in the OT where the Hebrew clearly says “cut a covenant” (karat berit). This expression goes back to Abram who was commanded to cut animals in two and Yahweh walked between the cut animals. The text states: On that day Yahweh cut a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your seed I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
Another example of this practice is the description of two men sealing a covenant by walking together between the parts of a calf (Jer 34:18). The idea is “that I may be cut in two if I break my covenant with you.” The difference in Gen 15 is that Yahweh walked alone – a unilateral covenant.
Nearly two dozen times the two terms appear together in the OT. Just one example: “Gather My holy ones to Me, Those who have cut a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” Ps 50:15
Do not forget that the New Covenant was inaugurated with the shedding of blood as well! Jer 31:31, 33/ Mark 14:24!
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*This article was originally published on https://www.masters.edu/news/legacy-article-bible.html and is reposted with permission. Both the mandate and the model for Bible translation are contained in Scripture itself. God has promised His Son a people from every people, nation, and language (Dan 7:14). The gospel must therefore go to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). That is the ...
