If you could choose only seven passages from the Old Testament to understand the entire covenant story of Scripture, which seven would they be?
The Old Testament contains thousands of verses, hundreds of narratives, and centuries of history. Yet beneath its complexity lies a covenant framework that unites everything into a coherent whole. Certain passages function as foundational pillars. They establish the promises, relationships, obligations, identity, kingship, divine character, and future hope that shape the entire biblical story.
In The Seven Foundational Scriptures That Mark the Covenantal Landscape of the Old Testament, Taylor Halverson, Ph.D., guides readers through seven of the most important covenant texts in all of Scripture, revealing how they serve as the theological backbone of the Bible.
These seven passages form a roadmap for understanding God's relationship with humanity:
• Genesis 12:1–3; The Covenant of Promise
• Genesis 15; The Unconditional Covenant
• Genesis 17; The Covenant of Belonging
• Exodus 19–20; The Covenant of Instruction
• Exodus 34:6–7; The Covenant of Divine Character
• 2 Samuel 7; The Covenant of Kingship
• Jeremiah 31:31–34; The Covenant of Renewal
For each passage, you'll discover:
• Its historical and literary setting
• The ancient Near Eastern world behind the text
• How Israel adapted and transformed surrounding cultural ideas
• The covenant significance of the passage
• How the text influences the rest of Scripture
• Practical ways to recognize covenant themes throughout the Bible
Along the way, readers will uncover how covenant serves as the organizing logic of the Old Testament. From Abraham's call to leave his homeland, to God's self-revelation at Sinai, to the promise of a renewed covenant written upon the heart, these passages reveal a God who remains faithful across generations and throughout history.
Rather than treating the Old Testament as a collection of disconnected stories, this book shows how its major themes, laws, narratives, prophecies, and promises all emerge from a unified covenantal framework. The result is a clearer understanding of the Bible's message, structure, and purpose.
Whether you are a Bible student, teacher, minister, Latter-day Saint, scholar, or lifelong learner, this book provides one of the most powerful frameworks available for understanding the Old Testament on its own terms.
Learn the seven passages that illuminate the entire biblical landscape and discover how covenant provides the key to reading Scripture with greater clarity, depth, and confidence.
