Definition for Covenants of Salt
Glossary
Covenants (and Covenants of Salt):
One cannot fully understand the nuptial meaning of the body without first knowing what a covenant — especially a Covenant of Salt. They are one and the same. All covenants between God and man are Covenants of Salt.
What is a covenant? In the non-biblical sense, a covenant is a binding agreement, a contract between two or more persons. In the biblical sense, a covenant is much more: it is a solemn oath (sacratemtum in Latin) and a gift of persons.[1] To appreciate the wide gap in the relative gravity of a civil covenant versus a Divine/sacramental covenant, Dr. Scott Hahn tells us that the Trinity is a covenant relationship of three Persons in one God.[2] The word One is very important for understanding Covenants of Salt. This informs us of the nuptial meaning of the body. As St. Paul tells us, through the nuptial ceremony, a man and a woman become one-flesh. They become one family. Eventually, they have offspring. They are one family because of there exists a common genetic bond. Three-plus persons, one flesh.
A covenant is, therefore, a family oath, as can be seen by the very names given to the different Persons of the Trinity, i.e., Father, Son, and Spirit. We are meant to be part of that covenantal relationship. Otherwise, we could not rightly be called sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father (2 Cor. 6:16-18). Hahn tells us that a covenant is designed by God to forge bonds of sacred kinship; to turn people into spouses, sons, daughters, and parents ... both to each other and to Himself.[3]
We know what a Covenant of Salt is by looking at how it is entered into. According to M. G. Easton, a covenant is:
A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a “cutting,” with reference to the cutting or dividing of [one animal] into two parts, and the contracting parties passing between them [emphasis SML], in making a covenant (Gen. 15; Jer. 34:18, 19) [Thus the flesh, i.e., our salt of DNA, is involved in the covenant — SML]. … The corresponding word in the New Testament Greek is diatheke, which is, however, rendered “testament” generally in the Authorized Version. It ought to be rendered, just as the word berith of the Old Testament, “covenant.”[4][5]
Richard Whitaker et al. writes:
Berith (noun, female) covenant:I. between men. … 4. alliance of friendship[5B] between David and Jonathan. 5. alliance of marriage [where two become one flesh (cf. Gen. 2:24, Mk. 10:8, 1 Cor. 6:6) — SML]. In all cases כרת ברית is the technical phrase for making covenant except באו בברית; הגביר ברית לְ. Various preps. are used, most oft. לְ, but also עִם, אֵת, בֵּין.II. between God and man. 1. alliance of friendship[5C] (|| סוֹד). 2. covenant, as a divine constitution or ordinance with signs or pledges (vid. אוֹת). a. with Noah; a divine promise that there would be no other deluge. b. with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a promise to multiply their seed [multi-generational covenants always indicate a Covenant of Salt of DNA — SML], give them the land of Canaan, and make them a blessing to the nations. c. with Israel at Sinai = Horeb, with a covenant sacrifice; renewed in plains of Moab; with blessings [Actual (not Sanctifying) graces — SML] and curses; a divine constitution of obedience and penalties for disobedience, in the form of tables of the covenant,[5D] inscribed with the ten words, placed in ארון (ˊי) ברית the ark of the covenant[5E] [a type of the Covenant of Salt par excellance; emphasis SML]. d. with Phinehas, a constitution, establishing an everlasting priesthood [integral to the fulfilled Covenant of Salt — SML] in his line. e. with Joshua and Israel, an ordinance or constitutional agreement to serve Yahweh only. f. with David; a divine promise to the seed of David of an everlasting kingdom, the relation of sonship [a Covenant of Salt [emphasis SML].[5F]
Further to our understanding of covenants, E. A. Speiser adds the following to our exploration of Gen. 15:18. He writes:
The Hebrew verb in question (krt)[5G] means “to cut.” The noun, Hebrew beret, lacks an established etymology. M. Noth has suggested recently (Gesammelte Studien, pp. 146 ff.) that this term may go back to Akkadian birit “between,” which appears in the Mari description of a covenant as “the slaying of an ass between X and Y.” Thus an Akkadian preposition descriptive of the mutual character of the agreement would have become in Heb. a technical term for the compact itself, the “co-” in “covenant,” so to speak. For partial confirmation, we need look no farther than [verse] 10, which employs different words to describe the process, but they mean much the same thing, namely, “he slit/cut (them) in the middle.” And alongside Mari “to kill an ass,” Heb. “to cut between” would not seem too far-fetched as a technical term for so significant and serious an institution.[5H]
A good case has been made that the ritual in which a covenant is made is described by the verb “to cut.” However, the noun that describes the consequences of that ritual is co–venant, i.e., a one-flesh, one salt bond between two people or two nations of people.The term covenant is also used to designate the regular succession of day and night (Jer. 33:20), the Sabbath (Ex. 31:16), circumcision [the covenantal “cutting” of the one flesh of the male sex organ — SML] (Gen. 17:9, 10), and in general any ordinance of God (Jer. 34:13, 14). A “covenant of salt” signifies an everlasting covenant, in the sealing or ratifying of which salt, as an emblem of perpetuity, is used (Num. 18:19; Lev. 2:13; 2 Chr. 13:5).[6]
Based on the ritual described above, we can thus define a covenant of salt as a one-flesh covenant between two parties. Interpreting the ritual described in Genesis and Jeremiah, we can say that an animal cut in half remains two halves of one (single) flesh. Therefore, each of the two parties walking between the single cut-in-half-animal is representative of one half of the one animal, i.e., each party entering into the family bond of the covenant of salt. Marriage, then, is two parties entering into a nuptial one-flesh, one-salt of DNA covenant bond between the parties.
Due to their eternal nature, all covenants are also salt covenants.[7] The reason why is because the substance of man consists of a composite unity of body and soul. Therefore, any covenant between God and man, through which man is to be redeemed, must involve both body and soul.
In Scripture, Luke writes, “And eating together with them, he commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem.” (Acts 1:4: Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition). Pope Benedict XVI places great significance on the wording that Luke chose to describe Jesus’ eating with them. According to Benedict, the word that Luke used is synalizômenos. Benedict tells us this wording was very important to Luke; that he must have deliberately and purposefully chosen to use it. The literal translation of the phrase in question is “eating salt [SML] with them.”[Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth Part Two, Kindle Locations 3436-3437] Benedict believed that Luke’s purpose for choosing this word was to form a direct link to the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, we form a sacred salt bond (Covenant of Salt) through and in Jesus.
The only way fallen man could exist with God eternally is through a Covenant of Salt. The only salt that can provide man with the ability to be with God eternally is the salt of DNA of the incarnate Son of God. We are sanctified through Baptism.[8][9] Receiving this Sacrament, we become the Bride of Christ (the Church) and a member of the Mystical Body of the incarnate Son of God. This covenantal one-flesh Marriage is consummated when we receive the Eucharist, becoming one-flesh with our Savior on the salt of DNA of the wood of the Cross.
A covenant forms a sacred kinship with God.[10] A type of family covenant is the Sacrament of Matrimony. The institution of sacramental marriage is the most complete image possible of the Holy Trinity existing within creation.[11] A sacramental marriage (as opposed to a civil marriage) is a covenant through which a man and a woman become one-flesh (Mt. 19:5-6, Mk. 10:8). It is a gift between two persons that is both unitive and fruitful. Man is made in the image and likeness of a God consisting of Three Persons in a covenantal relationship. This would mean that, from the very first moment of their creation, Adam and Eve would have been: 1) made, not born; 2) made for each other (made for a covenantal relationship)[12], and; 3) made such that the female was taken from the rib of the male. In a three-part blog, I prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Adam and Eve were made pretty much exactly as Genesis describes it. Read: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
ENDNOTES:
[1] Scott Hahn. (2011-07-18). A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God’s Covenant Love in Scripture (p. 24). St. Anthony Messenger Press, Servant Books. Kindle Edition.
[2] Scott Hahn. A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God’s Covenant Love in Scripture, 29.
[3] Scott Hahn. A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God’s Covenant Love in Scripture, 26.
[4] M. G. Easton, “Covenant,” (1893), In Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (p. 164). New York: Harper & Brothers.
[5] This is why we use different words in describing the two main parts of Scripture, i.e., the Old and New Testaments versus the Old and New Covenants. I agree with Easton. The Old and New Covenants would be the more appropriate and explanatory wording. After all, virtually all of Scripture was originally written in Hebrew (the word berith is translated as “covenant”), and Covenant Theology is the “Big Picture” of Scripture.
[5B] There is a four-part blog that elaborates on what Lot’s wife (who became a pillar of salt); the Dead Sea; Sodom and Gomorrah; and Ezekiel’s dream of the rebuilt temple can teach us about covenants of salt — the Big Picture of Scripture. Part One of the series starts here: https://stossbooks.com/blog/index.php?covenants-salt--the-big-picture-of-scripture.
[5C] Ibid.
[5D] The book read at Mt. Sinai has been taken to refer either to the Ten Commandments or to the whole section of Exodus 20 to 23 minus the narrative parts. [Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Book of the Covenant,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 374].
[5E] In the book of Joshua, we read how the Ark of the Covenant proceeded before the people of the nation of Israel in crossing over the Jordan River into the land to which God had led them. When the feet of the priests that bore the Ark rested in the waters of the Jordan, the river ceased to flow and the waters divided [SML] so that all of the people crossed over to the other side on dry land (Josh. 3:12-17). Interestingly, inside the Ark was: 1) Moses’ staff which was budding (a miracle attributable to the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit giving new life to the salt of DNA in the previously lifeless rod). Perhaps this was a type of the resurrected body of Jesus, who is often represented by wood. Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD) who was a historian and eyewitness to much of the earliest events in Church history, described Moses/Aaron’s rod as growing new branches upon which were also growing almonds, which is the type of tree from which the rod had been cut [Josephus, The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus, Kindle Locations 3599-3600.]; 2) the two stone tablets which were written by the finger of God, i.e., the Holy Spirit; and 3) a gold urn containing some of the manna from heaven (Heb. 9:4). The Manna is a type of that which fulfills the New Covenant, i.e., the Eucharist. In my opinion, the two stone tablets represent the salt of DNA (the dust of the earth) of our flesh upon which the Law is written (and also in the heart). They also represent the unchangeable Truth and Justice of Jesus, the incarnate Son of God [cf. Hildegard, Scivias, 191, 213, 333, 360.] (who took upon himself the heaviness of a mortal body). The manna represents the salt of DNA of Jesus in the Eucharist through whom we receive an increase of the purifying gifts of the Holy Spirit. In other words, all three items represent the coming of the newly rebuilt Temple (from Ezekiel’s dream), which is the final and everlasting Covenant of salt. So, what happens when the feet of the priests carrying the Ark enter the waters of the Jordan: the waters divide! This is a deep mystery upon which I hope to shed some light during the remainder of this book.
[5F] Richard Whitaker et al., “Berith,” The Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament: From A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Francis Brown, S.R. Driver and Charles Briggs, Based on the Lexicon of Wilhelm Gesenius (Boston; New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1906).
[5H] E. A. Speiser, Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, Vol. 1, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 114.
[6] This is why we use different words in describing the two main parts of Scripture, i.e., the Old and New Testaments versus the Old and New Covenants. I agree with Easton. The Old and New Covenants would be the more appropriate and explanatory wording. After all, virtually all of Scripture was originally written in Hebrew (the word berith is translated as “covenant”), and Covenant Theology is the “Big Picture” of Scripture.
[7] Rabbi Moshe Yoseph Koniuchowsky, written in an email to ‘heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org, “Children of Salt,” Covenant of Salt, http://www.hebroots.org/hebrootsarchive/0209/0209b.html, (accessed 4/08/2008).
[8] According to the USCCB, “Lex orandi, lex credendi has become something of a tenet of liturgical theology, especially in the years since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Literally translated, it means ‘the law of prayer [is] the law of belief.’ The original version of the phrase, ut legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi (“that the law of praying establishes the law of believing”), highlighted the understanding that the Church’s teaching (lex credendi) is articulated and made manifest in the celebration of the liturgy and prayer (lex orandi). In other words, the liturgical form of the Sacraments and sacramentals teaches us that the salt of DNA of Jesus’ Body instrumentally gifts to us the graces necessary to purify the salt of DNA of our body through the flavor of the Holy Spirit. [USCCB, “Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi: The Word of God in the Celebration of the Sacraments,” USCCB, https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catechesis/catechetical-sunday/word-of-god/upload/lex-orandi-lex-credendi.pdf, September 20, 2009 (accessed 08/01/2021)].
[9] As a Catholic sacramental, salt blessed by the liturgical prayer of a priest may be used by itself, unmixed, as in exorcisms, and [formerly in the exorcistic prayer at baptism]**, or it may be mixed with water to make holy water, as the Ritual prescribes (reminiscent of Elisha’s miracle). In whichever form, it is intended to be an instrument of grace to preserve one from the corruption of evil occurring as sin, sickness, demonic influence, etc. As in the case of all sacramentals, its power comes not from the sign itself, but by means of the Church’s official (liturgical, not private) prayer of blessing–a power the Church derives from Christ himself (see Matt. 16:19 and 18:18). As the Vatican II document on the Liturgy states (art. 61), both Sacraments and sacramentals sanctify us, not of themselves, but by power flowing from the redemptive act of Jesus, elicited by the Church’s intercession to be directed through those external signs and elements. [“Catholic Sacramentals,” Sacred Heart Holdings LLC, https://www.catholicsacramentals.org/about, accessed 8/08/2021].
[10] Scott Hahn. A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God’s Covenant Love in Scripture, 27.
[11] Pastoral letter of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan, http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/love-and-life/upload/pastoral-letter-marriage-love-and-life-in-the-divine-plan.pdf, November 17, 2009.
[12] CCC, n. 2361.