Suzerain-Vassal Treaty

6 Parts In the Ancient Near East, treaties between kings was common. These were treaties drawn up among equals and mostly outlined agreements to honor each other's boundaries to maintain trade relations return run-away slaves These treaties are preserved in the Mari Tablets and in the Amarna texts. Also preserved in these collections are treaties drafted between a superior and his inferior. If the relationship was familial or friendly, the parties are referred to as "father" and "son." If the relationship is bereft of kindness and intimacy, the parties are referred to as "lord" and "servant," or "king" and "vassal," or "greater king" and "lesser king." The greater king is the suzerain and the lesser king is a prince, or a lesser lord in the service of the greater king. The lesser lord is a representative of all the common people who are under the protection of the greater king. He enforces the treaty among the masses.

Part 1: Pre-amble The preamble opens with the title(s) of the superior party: “I am the Lord your God…”

Part 2: Historical Prologue The historical prologue assures the party of the second part (Israel) that the party of the first part (God) can fulfill the contractual terms (typically protection from invasion or economic alliance. “…Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” God was fulfilling the covenant he made with Abraham (Gen 15:14)

Part 3: Regulations/Stipulations Regulations/Stipulations make up the third and longest section. These delineate the responsibilities of the co-signatories. Treaties typically insist that the second party (the vassal) show loyalty only to the lord. Exodus 20:3-6 mandates, “You shall have no other gods before me; you shall not make for yourself a graven image…” Typically, Near Eastern covenants present cause-and-effect law, i.e., they list crime and punishment. The Decalogue’s formula is apodictic: necessarily or demonstrably true and command without result (think about these as being categorical imperatives). You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, etc. The Mosaic code also has positive injunctions, more so than its Near Eastern counterparts: “Remember the Sabbath day; six days you shall work and do your tasks, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; honor your father and mother.” In this section, treaties concentrate on the vassal’s obligations in surety for future service and loyalty.

Part 4: Deposit and Readings The next section isn’t in the Decalogue proper (it is elsewhere in the Torah). Part Four requires safe deposit of the contract and regular public readings. 1. Deut. 10:5 mentions depositing the tablets in the Ark of the Covenant. 2. Deut. 31:9-13 offer provisions for recitation: At the end of every seven years…at the Feast of Tabernacles…you shall read this law before all Israel.

Part 5: Witnesses Covenants—like all legal contracts—list witnesses. Usually the witnesses are the gods of the co-signatories. Since Israel has one God, the Bible improvises: 1. Josh, 24:22 has the people function as both signatories and witnesses: “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” 2. Josh. 24:27 uses natural phenomena: “And Joshua took a great stone and set it up under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said to all the people: ‘Behold! This stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which he spoke to us.”

Part 6: Blessings The last section introduces blessings on those who abide by the terms and curses on those who forsake them. These materials fulfill what is implied in the apodictic formulations. 1. Deut. 28:1 promises, “If you obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all the commandments…blessed will you be in the city and blessed you will be in the field.” 2. Deut. 28:15 warns, “If you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments…cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. The Lord will smite you with the boils of Egypt, and with the ulcers, and the itch of which you cannot be healed…”

Questions What sorts of contracts do we have in our everyday lives? What are the differences between written and unwritten contracts? What sorts of penalties do we suffer for breaking our contracts? Why do we enter into these contractual obligations? What are the possible implications for worship if the believing community is related to the Deity by contract?