The Covenant Comes of Age: A Study of Jeremiah 31:31-34

This paper purposes to determine the historical and theological context into which Jeremiah introduced the concept of the new covenant found only in Jeremiah 31131-34. The Old Testament was acquainted with many covenants at various times; each held a place of importance with subsequent generations in understanding the relationship of Israel to the Kingdom of God. Integral to the thought of this paper is the question, “How was this once-mentioned new covenant of Jeremiah understood by God\u27s people? The scope of the problem spans the history of the Old Testament and the Christian Church. But this paper limits itself to the understanding of the covenant in the Old Testament—especially as pertinent to the prophetic movement—and to scanning briefly how the New Testament auhthors dealt with the new covenant. An appendix relates the new covenant with the Dead Sea covenant community