UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project
UC Davis Jewish Studies Program
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Fran Sheppard
Lesson Topic: Abraham and Moses’ Covenant with the Hebrew god
Lesson Focus Question: How do the stories of Abraham and Moses reflect the relationship of the Jews to their
God?
Lesson Teaching Thesis: As the founder of the Jewish religion, Abraham established the Jewish faith. His
Covenant is the foundation of the Jewish belief in God’s protection in return for their loyalty and obedience.
The Bible describes Abraham making an agreement with God which would provide his protection and blessing
on the Jewish race if they remained faithful to him and followed his commandments. Moses’ statement to the
Jews reaffirms this agreement. The Ten Commandments add specific laws and requirements.
Standard: 6.3 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the
Ancient Hebrews.
1. Describe the origins and significance of Judaism as the first monotheistic religion based on the concept
of one God who sets down moral laws for humanity.
2. Identify the sources of the ethical teachings and central beliefs of Judaism (the Hebrew Bible, the
Commentaries): belief in God, observance of law, practice of the concepts of righteousness and justice,
and importance of study; and describe how the ideas of the Hebrew traditions are reflected in the moral
and ethical traditions of Western civilization.
Common Core Standards:
6-8 Reading Standards for Literacy in History: Key Ideas and Details
1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
6-8 Writing Standards for Literacy in History: Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an
understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
Reading Strategy: Highlighting and annotating the text to locate evidence to answer a focus question.
Primary Source: The books of Genesis (chapters 12, 17,) and Deuteronomy (chapter 10), Exodus 20: 3-14 of
the Bible, King James Version
Primary Source Analysis: Students will read, highlight, annotate, analyze, and paraphrase. See worksheet.
Writing Instruction: After completing the reading, analyzing, and paraphrasing activities, students will
respond to the Writing Response question.
Writing Question: How do the accounts of Abraham and Moses reflect the relationship of the Jews to their
God?
Writing Strategy: The writing response is a structured analytical paragraph.
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
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Ancient Hebrews: Abraham and The Covenant
Name ________________________
(The Message of Ancient Days, pages 299-303)
Background:
A “covenant” is a special agreement between two parties (people or groups of people). In a covenant, each
party agrees to do their part, and in exchange, the other party (person) will do their side of the agreement. In
each of the following passages, there are specific actions that each party (in this case God and Abraham
speaking for the Hebrew people) is promising to do.
According to Genesis, the first book of the Torah, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis tells of how
God commanded a shepherd named Abraham from the city of Ur in Mesopotamia to move to Canaan, thought
to be about 1900 B.C.E. God told him,
“Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show
you. I will make of you a great nation.” (Genesis 12:1-2)
Genesis tells how God brought this new nation into being, beginning with the descendants of Abraham, called
the Hebrews. Both Abraham and Moses made an agreement with God, to believe in and worship only one God.
(As you read, put a question mark by words that are unclear, and use a highlighter pen to mark the actions that
God and the Hebrew people are promising to each other)
I. As it says in the Torah:
Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said to him:
“I am God almighty, walk before Me and be blameless. And I will establish my covenant between Me
and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No
longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father
of a multitude of nations.
And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from
you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendents after you throughout
their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendents after you.
(Genesis, Chapter 17)
What would Abraham (and the Jews) need to do to receive the promises made by God? What were the promises
God made to Abraham?
God’s requirement of Abraham:
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
God’s Covenant (agreement) with Abraham:
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II. Moses and the Ten Commandments
The Torah teaches that during the Exodus from Egypt, Moses climbed to the top of Mount Sinai, where God
spoke to him and gave him a message to pass on to his people.
“And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God demand of you, but only this: to revere the Lord your
God, to walk only in his paths, to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul,
and to keep the Lord’s commandments and his statues which I am commanding you today for your
good.” (Deuteronomy 10:12,13)
God’s Promise to Abraham:
God’s requirement of Abraham:
many descendants
Walk “before God” (with God?)
a new name
Walk “blameless” before God (sinless)
God’s message to the Jews from
Moses
Be Exceedingly Fruitful
Abraham’s descendants would be
king
Covenant with descendants
Question: How does Moses’ message to the Jews differ from the original Covenant between God and Abraham?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary:
Multiply- to have many children
Exceedingly – very, extremely
Blameless – without sin or evil
Behold – “used to call attention, like saying listen to this”
Multitude - many
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
Fruitful – able to have many children
Descendants - children
Generations - descendants or future children and
grandchildren
Revere – honor, respect, admire
Everlasting –eternal, lasting forever
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III. The Ten Commandments
Then the Torah describes how Moses gave the Jews ten laws engraved on two stone tablets. These written laws
are known as the “Decalogue” or the Ten Commandments. By accepting these ten laws as part of the
covenant, the Israelites accepted God as their king, and these commandments as the laws of God’s kingdom.
I, the Lord, am your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have
no other gods besides Me.
You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image….
You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your god….
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy…
Honor your father and your mother that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is
assigning to you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against you neighbor.
You shall not covet (desire)...anything that is your neighbor’s.
(Exodus 20: 3-14)
Lesson Question: How did the Ten Commandments show the values of the ancient Hebrews?
Part I: As you can see, by accepting the Ten Commandments, the Hebrews agreed to worship only God. They
also agreed to value human life, self-control, and justice. Over time the commandments shaped the
development of Hebrew society.
Ancient Civilizations, (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2006): page 228.
Underline the 4 ways (categories) of how they shaped society and list them below. Then, categorize the
Commandments on the chart on page 7.
A. ____________________________________________________________________________________
B. ____________________________________________________________________________________
C. ____________________________________________________________________________________
D. ____________________________________________________________________________________
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
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Part II. As part of the agreement made in the Covenant, and in return for God’s protection and blessing, what
promises regarding their behavior were the Hebrew people making? In the middle column, put the Ten
Commandments into your own words. Then categorize the Commandments in the last column on the chart.
Ten Commandments
You shall have no other
gods besides Me.
In your own words
What values or beliefs
does it reflect?
(Example) They would have no gods beside the one
Hebrew God
You shall not make for
yourself a sculptured
image
You shall not swear
falsely by the name of
the Lord your god
Remember the Sabbath
day and keep it holy
Honor your father and
your mother
You shall not murder
You shall not commit
adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not bear false
witness against you
neighbor
You shall not covet
(desire)...anything that is
your neighbor’s
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
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IV. Written Response:
Write a paragraph about how the Ten Commandments reflect the values of ancient Hebrew society. Explain
how the commandments teach people how to live. Conclude with a sentence that describes why you think rules
and laws were important to Ancient Hebrew society and why societies need laws.
Writing Question: How did the Ten Commandments show the values of the ancient Hebrews?
The Ten Commandments show the ancient Hebrews _______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
The commandments that explain the Hebrews relationship with God are________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
They tell the Hebrews to_____________________________________________________________________.
The commandments that describe how people should behave towards others (human life) are ______________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
because __________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
The commandments that show how people should value self-control __________________________________
because ___________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
The commandments that show how people should value justice_______________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
These laws were important to Ancient Hebrew society because ______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
In my opinion, laws are important to a society because _____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
6
KEY: Ancient Hebrews: Abraham and The Covenant
(The Message of Ancient Days, pages 299-303)
Background:
A “covenant” is a special agreement between two parties (people or groups of people). In a covenant, each
party agrees to do their part, and in exchange, the other party (person) will do their side of the agreement. In
each of the following passages, there are specific actions that each party (in this case God and Abraham
speaking for the Hebrew people) is promising to do.
According to Genesis, the first book of the Torah, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis tells of how
God commanded a shepherd named Abraham from the city of Ur in Mesopotamia to move to Canaan in about
1900 B.C. God told him,
“Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show
you. I will make of you a great nation.” (Genesis 12:1-2)
Genesis tells how God brought this new nation into being, beginning with the descendants of Abraham, called
the Hebrews. Both Abraham and Moses made an agreement with God, to believe in and worship only one God.
(As you read, put a question mark by words that are unclear, and use a highlighter pen to mark the actions that
God and the Hebrew people are promising to each other,)
I. As it says in the Torah KEY:
Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said to him:
“I am God almighty, walk before Me and be blameless. And I will establish my covenant between Me
and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No
longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father
of a multitude of nations.
And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from
you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendents after you throughout
their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendents after you.
(Genesis, Chapter 17)
What would Abraham (and the Jews) need to do to receive the promises made by God? What were the promises
God made to Abraham?
God’s requirement of Abraham
Walk “before God” (with God?)
Walk “blameless” before God (sinless)
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
God’s Covenant(agreement) with Abraham:
Will have many descendants
Get a new name
One of Abraham’s descendants would be king
Make you exceedingly fruitful
Will be Nations of you (your people)
Will have a Covenant with your descendants
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II. Moses and the Ten Commandments KEY
The Torah teaches that during the Exodus from Egypt, Moses climbed to the top of Mount Sinai, where God
spoke to him and gave him a message to pass on to his people:
“And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God demand of you, but only this: to revere the Lord your
God, to walk only in his paths, to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul,
and to keep the Lord’s commandments and his statues which I am commanding you today for your
good.” (Deuteronomy 10:12,13)
God’s Promise to Abraham:
God’s requirement of Abraham:
many descendants
a new name
Walk “before God” (with God?)
Walk “blameless” before God
(sinless)
Be Exceedingly Fruitful
Abraham’s descendants would be king
Covenant with descendants
Moses’ message from God to the
Jews
revere (worship and honor) God
walk only in his paths (obey God)
love God
serve God with whole heart and soul
keep and obey God’s commandments
and statutes laws
Question: How does Moses’ message to his people differ from the original Covenant between God and
Abraham?
Moses’ message to his people explained specifically how the people should behave towards God, while
Abraham’s Covenant merely promised to be faithful to God. Abraham’s agreement was very general and asked
only that Abraham (and his descendants) be faithful to God and act morally. Moses’ message told the Jews
specifically how they should act. Moses told the Jews that they needed to love and worship God and to obey
God’s laws and statues.
Vocabulary:
Multiply- to have many children
Exceedingly – very, extremely
Blameless – without sin or evil
Behold – “used to call attention, like saying listen to this”
Multitude - many
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
Fruitful – able to have many children
Descendants - children
Generations - descendants or future children and
grandchildren
Revere – honor, respect, admire
Everlasting –eternal, lasting forever
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III. The Ten Commandments KEY
Then the Torah describes how Moses gave the Jews ten laws engraved on two stone tablets. These written laws
are known as the “Decalogue” or the Ten Commandments. By accepting these ten laws as part of the
covenant, the Israelites accepted God as their king, and these commandments as the laws of God’s kingdom.
I, the Lord, am your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have
no other gods besides Me.
You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image….
You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your god….
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy…
Honor your father and your mother that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is
assigning to you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against you neighbor.
You shall not covet (desire)...anything that is your neighbor’s.
(Exodus 20: 3-14)
Lesson Question: How did the Ten Commandments show the values of the ancient Hebrews?
Part I: As you can see, by accepting the Ten Commandments, the Hebrews agreed to worship only God. They
also agreed to value human life, self-control, and justice. Over time the commandments shaped the
development of Hebrew society.
Ancient Civilizations, (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2006): page 228.
Underline the 4 ways (categories) of how they shaped society and list them below. Then, categorize the
Commandments on the chart on page 7.
A. Worship only God
B. Value human life
C. Self-control
D. Justice
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
9
Part II. As part of the agreement made in the Covenant, and in return for God’s protection and blessing,
what promises regarding their behavior were the Hebrew people making? In the middle column, put the Ten
Commandments into your own words. Then categorize the Commandments in the last column on the chart.
Ten Commandments
In your own words
What values or beliefs does it reflect?
You shall have no other
gods besides Me.
You shall not make for
yourself a sculptured
image
You shall not swear
falsely by the name of
the Lord your god
Remember the Sabbath
day and keep it holy
They would have no gods beside the
one Hebrew God
Don’t make idols
Worship God (Monothesism, only Hebrew
god)
Worship God
Honor God’s name by not using it in
oaths
Worship God
Take one day out of seven to rest and
devote to God
Worship God
Honor your father and
your mother
You shall not murder
Respect and obey parents
Self control
Don’t kill people (war?)
Self control, Justice
You shall not commit
adultery
Be faithful to your own spouse and
not physically intimate with anyone
else
Self control, Justice
You shall not steal
Don’t take what isn’t yours
Justice
Don’t lie about other people
You shall not bear false
witness against you
neighbor
Don’t want what someone else owns;
You shall not covet
(desire)...anything that is be happy for other’s success
your neighbor’s
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
Justice
Self control
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Part III Written Response KEY:
Write a paragraph about how the Ten Commandments reflect the values of ancient Hebrew society. Explain
how the commandments teach people how to live. Conclude with a sentence that describes why you think
rules and laws were important to Ancient Hebrew society and why societies need laws.
Writing Question: How did the Ten Commandments show the values of the ancient Hebrews?
The Ten Commandments show the ancient Hebrews _believed in four basic values: the importance of worship
of God, the value of human life, the importance of self control, and importance of justice._________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
The commandments that explain the Hebrews relationship with God are __the first four commandments._
They tell the Hebrews to__ worship only one God, to not make idols, to take a day each week to worship God ,
and to not use his name falsely.________________________________________________________________
The commandments that describe how people should behave towards others (value human life) are _the fifth
and sixth commandments _________________________________
because they remind the Jews that everyone’s life is valuable, and to not kill anyone and to treat others
(especially parents) with respect.
The commandments that show how people should value self-control _are the commandments about seventh and
ninth commandments.
because _these laws about adultery and coveting other people’s possessions reminded the Jews about honoring
other people’s rights and to restrain one’s own unfair or selfish impulses.
The commandments that show how people should value justice are the eighth and ninth commandments about
not stealing and not telling lies about people.______________________________________
These laws were important to Ancient Hebrew society because they believed that the laws came from God and
that following the laws would create a moral society, in which people would respect each other and treat each
other fairly.
In my opinion, laws are important to a society because they show the values of that society. They also create a
fair pattern for behavior that is consistent with that society’s values. Laws help people know what treatment
and behavior they may expect from each other, and what is expected of themselves. It helps the whole society to
have laws that everyone has agreed will make the society fair and supportive of the rights of all people.
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Lesson Application #2: The Covenant by Fran Sheppard
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