Although at one level they must be about Christ (as must everything) at the level I consider useful and helpful in discussing and thinking about the bible more deeply I don’t think they do. Noah’s covenant (Gen 9) is made between God and all living souls. Unless I missed something very major, Jesus’ death and resurrection as described in the NT do not really extend to the turtles and gallahs and kangaroos. Although the new earth/heaven/universe would certainly be a great place for the animals to live in, I don’t think Noah’s covenant is a promise for the new universe.

As for Phinehas’ covenant (Num 25) it almost seems to be at odds with Christ. I’d be interested in hearing more people’s opinions of it, but if it is somehow about Christ, it must be through a long and convoluted connection!

For what it’s worth ....

Longenecker suggests that the Jewish Targums took the promises to Abraham’s seed as plural to support the notion that simple descent guaranteed inclusion in the promises. He suggests that this provides a background for a polemic swipe at Targumic plural.

Dunn and Daube say that “seed” in Genesis can sometimes refer to singular Isaac and sometimes to a plural multitude of descendants. He suggests that Paul is making a rhetorical play on the ambiguity. Does this help the dilemma? Not sure it does.

On another topic .... The covenant with Phinehas where God promises to Phinehas and his seed is a covenant of an everlasting priesthood on the basis of his zeal. It seems difficult to connect directly with Christ except that Jesus also has an everlasting priesthood on the basis of his zeal. In this case the covenant with Phinehas is a type. But Phinehas’ line no longer serves as priests so how is the erpetual nature of it understood? was the covenant conditional? If it was not conditional and its everlasting nature is continued in Christ’s priesthood then I also ask the question .. how?

Adam

Oh I’m sure it is a type, but that is not the same as being fulfilled in Christ. If Jesus fulfilled it somehow, wouldn’t that mean the covenant is still valid and Phinehas’ line still stands?

Numbers 25:12-13a Therefore say, ‘Behold I give to him my covenant of peace and it shall be to him and his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood. [ESV]

Numbers 25:13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites. [NIV]

Now I of course don’t know any Hebrew so you can correct me on this, but isn’t the key phrase ‘a perpetual priesthood.’ it doesn’t say ‘the perpetual priesthood of Phinehas’s descendants’, It seems to me all God is promising is a perpetual priesthood which is fulfilled in Jesus, (Hebews 7:11-28)

It reads like a covenant between God and Phinehas (and his descendants) that God will not wipe out the priesthood (though it didn’t mean he wouldn’t change it). The covenant was made with someone on the behalf of others, much like the covenant between God and Noah was made as much on our behalf as it was on his own. Phinehas and his descendants have the covenant of a perpetual priesthood in the same fashion that Noah has the covenant that we (that is the world) will not be destroyed by another flood.

BUT, I stress I don’t know Hebrew and perhaps it does imply explicitly a line of priest from Phinehas’s descendants.

NASB: Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’

I don’t know Hebrew, but I think the English says that the priests would be of his descendants. If what God meant was that there would always be a priest, that’s a weird way to say so.

Still, I find the statement lacking, the only thing I can be sure of when reading the statement is that there is a perpetual priest hood…

Still I would be interested if someone who knew Hebrew could shed some light on the statement…

I agree with Dannii the perpetual priesthood has to do with ongoing descendants who are priests. This is clearly the natural way it would be understood.

It would be good to have a few more people post some light on how Phinehas’ covenant is fulfilled.

Adam