A covenant is a binding agreement which must not be broken. Binding agreements of various kinds are found in all societies and cultures, but a covenant initiated by God who binds himself in a personal relationship to a human being is an extraordinary kind of covenant. In ancient Hittite texts of the second millennium B.C. there is a record of a covenant between a ruler and a community in which the gods of the people concerned are called to be witnesses to the binding agreement made. The duty of the ruler is defined and the responsibility of the community who are subject to the ruler is set out. In traditional African society forms of covenant could be sealed by an oath-taking ceremony.

When we turn to Genesis 15, we find a description of a sacrificial ceremony. God told Abram to offer a sacrifice of animals, and a sign was given to him that God accepted his sacrifice. Smoke and flames appeared between the halves of the sacrifice, and Abram heard God's voice promise that the land of Canaan would be given to Abram's descendants, although at that time Abram had no son by his wife. In verse 18, we read, 'Then and there the Lord made a covenant with Abram.' The initiative in making this covenant was with God. Abram shows his obedience in offering the sacrifice as he was commanded to do. This was not a covenant between two equals, unlike many human covenants. Although the idea of covenant was familiar in the ancient Middle East, we find a new concept of it in Genesis. The totally good and all-powerful God approaches one man, who is not portrayed as particularly good or unusual against the background of his time, and promises great things to this man and his descendants. God's love for mankind becomes a reality for this man in the historical and cultural situation of the time. The covenant which God makes with Abram is more than a binding agreement in the human sense; it initiates a divine human relationship which will become a possibility for all the nations, not just the descendants of this man. It becomes the unique foundation of the later faith of Israel.

In Genesis 17 further signs are given to Abram that God's covenant has been made with him, and will be honoured. Abram and his wife are to change the forms of their names. Abram and his descendants are to follow the custom of circumcision of male children as an outward sign of their covenant relationship with God. (Circumcision was an ancient custom in the Middle East.)

Names are significant in African traditional society. Changes of name can be made at important stages in life. 'In many communities a new name is given as part of initiation rites. In Genesis 17, Abram changes his name to another form of it which sounds like the Hebrew word for 'father of a multitude'. Sarai and Sarah are two forms of a name which means ‘princesses.

In Genesis 17, the emphasis is on the need for Abraham to continue trusting God, although he is openly doubtful of what is revealed to him about the birth of a son. The birth of Isaac would become the final sign to Abraham that God's covenant with him would be honoured.