I came across this article this morning and thought it would be great for discussion. The main premise from the article is this:
Thoughts?
Quoting linked article:
I noticed that in another answer you called the new covenant the renewed covenant. Can you please explain?
In Jeremiah 31:31 we see God renewing, restoring, or refreshing - not replacing - the covenant with his people. So why do we express the covenant in such terms?
The Term - "New"
Both the Hebrew chadash (Jer. 31:31) and the Greek kainos (Heb. 8:8) words for "new" may be more properly translated "renewed" as opposed to "new" or "brand-new" in certain contexts.
Chadash may mean new in quality, not new in time (1 Sam. 11:14; 2 Chron. 15:8; 24:4, 12; Job 10:7; Psa. 103:5; 104:30; Isa. 61:4; Lam. 5:21). It may also mean to "renew" or "repair". For instance, in Psalm 51:10 David says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." David uses the same word as in Jeremiah 31:31 (chadash). David was not asking for something brand-new, but was asking for a renewal of what he had previously. In 2 Chronicles 24:4, 12 we see the use of the terms repair and restore (root, chadash) with the already existent house of the Lord. So, in all these verses, there is a renewal, a repairing, a restoring of that which was already in existence. The same is true for Jeremiah 31.
In the New Testament, of the eight times that "new" is applied to the New Covenant, seven of them use the term kainos - meaning "renewed," or "new in quality," not necessarily time (Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:13; 9:15) as opposed to neos (meaning new in time - Heb. 12:24). The use of term kainos means there was a pre-existing covenant to which Jesus gave a qualitative difference.
As to the one verse that uses neos to describe the New Covenant (Heb. 12:24), it simply means Jesus was the "brand-new" (neos) Administrator of the re-newed (kainos) covenant (as opposed to Moses some two thousand years earlier). This is brand-new and makes the covenant re-newal possible.
The Re-Newed or New Covenant?
This would help explain Daniel's 70 week prophecy where it's stated "He will confirm a covenant with many for one week"(Daniel 9:27)I noticed that in another answer you called the new covenant the renewed covenant. Can you please explain?
In Jeremiah 31:31 we see God renewing, restoring, or refreshing - not replacing - the covenant with his people. So why do we express the covenant in such terms?
The Term - "New"
Both the Hebrew chadash (Jer. 31:31) and the Greek kainos (Heb. 8:8) words for "new" may be more properly translated "renewed" as opposed to "new" or "brand-new" in certain contexts.
Chadash may mean new in quality, not new in time (1 Sam. 11:14; 2 Chron. 15:8; 24:4, 12; Job 10:7; Psa. 103:5; 104:30; Isa. 61:4; Lam. 5:21). It may also mean to "renew" or "repair". For instance, in Psalm 51:10 David says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." David uses the same word as in Jeremiah 31:31 (chadash). David was not asking for something brand-new, but was asking for a renewal of what he had previously. In 2 Chronicles 24:4, 12 we see the use of the terms repair and restore (root, chadash) with the already existent house of the Lord. So, in all these verses, there is a renewal, a repairing, a restoring of that which was already in existence. The same is true for Jeremiah 31.
In the New Testament, of the eight times that "new" is applied to the New Covenant, seven of them use the term kainos - meaning "renewed," or "new in quality," not necessarily time (Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:13; 9:15) as opposed to neos (meaning new in time - Heb. 12:24). The use of term kainos means there was a pre-existing covenant to which Jesus gave a qualitative difference.
As to the one verse that uses neos to describe the New Covenant (Heb. 12:24), it simply means Jesus was the "brand-new" (neos) Administrator of the re-newed (kainos) covenant (as opposed to Moses some two thousand years earlier). This is brand-new and makes the covenant re-newal possible.
The Re-Newed or New Covenant?
Thoughts?
Last edited: