The Suzerain Vassal Treaty of Deuteronomy

ANCIENT COVENANT STRUCTURE & RESTORATION THRU YESHUA

Mat 5:17 Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did
not come to destroy but to complete.
Mat 5:18 For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one
jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.
Mat 5:19 Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and
teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but
whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the
heavens.
Mat 5:20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the
scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the reign of the
heavens.

MATTHEW FIVE

ROYAL GRANT (UNCONDITIONAL)

A kings grant (of land or some other benefit) to a
loyal servant for faithful or exceptional service. The
grant was normally perpetual and unconditional,
but he servants heirs benefited from it only as they
continued their fathers loyalty and service (cf. 1
Samuel 8:14; 22:7; 27:6; Esther 8:1.)
MAJOR TYPES OF ROYAL COVENANTS / TREATIES IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

NOACH

Royal Grant Genesis 9:8-17

Made with righteous (6:9) Noah (and his descendants
and every living thing on earth - all life that is subject to
mans jurisdiction)
Description
An unconditional divine promise never to destroy all earthly
life with some natural catastrophe; the covenant sign
being the rainbow in the storm cloud

ABRAHAMIC #1
Royal Grant Covenant Genesis 12:1-3

Participants: Made with Abram conditional that he would leave all his
country, kindred, and fathers house, and follow the Lord into the land
which He would show him.
DESCRIPTION
The promise was a fourfold blessing:
1) Increase into a numerous people;

2) Material and spiritual prosperity;

3)The exaltation of Abrams name;
4) Abraham was not only to be blessed by God, but to be a blessing to
others implicitly by the coming of the Messiah through his descendants.

ABRAHAMIC #1Continued
Royal (land) Grant Genesis 15
Participants
Made with righteous Abram (v. 6) and his descendants (v.16)

DESCRIPTION
Renewal of Abrahamic Covenant with unconditional divine
promise to fulfill the grant of the land; a selfmaledictory oath
symbolically enacted it (v. 17)

PHINEHAS

Royal Grant Numbers 25:10-13

PARTICIPANTS
Made with the zealous priest Phinehas
DESCRIPTION
An unconditional divine promise to maintain the family of Phinehas
in a perpetual priesthood (implicitly a pledge to Israel to provide for
her forever with a faithful priesthood)

DAVIDIC
Royal Grant

2 Samuel 7:4-17

PARTICIPANTS
Made with faithful King David after his devotion to God as
Israels king and the Lords anointed vassal had come to
special expression (v. 2)
DESCRIPTION
An unconditional divine promise to establish and maintain
the Davidic dynasty on the throne of Israel (implicitly a pledge
to Israel) to provide her forever with a godly king like David and
through that dynasty to do for her what He had done through
David - bring her into rest in the promised land (1 Kings 4:20-22;
5:3,4)

RENEWED COVENANT
Royal Grant Jeremiah 31:31-34
PARTICIPANTS
Promised to rebellious Israel as she is about to be
expelled from the promised land in actualization of the
most severe covenant curse (Leviticus 26:27-39;
Deuteronomy 28:36,37, 45-68)
DESCRIPTION
An unconditional divine promise to unfaithful Israel to
forgive her sins and establish His relationship with her on a
new basis by writing His law on their heart - a covenant
of pure grace

PARITY
A covenant between equals, binding them to
mutual friendship or at least to mutual respect for
each others spheres and interests. Participants
called each other brothers. cf. Genesis 21:27;
26:31; 31:44-54; 1 Kings 5:12; 15:19; 20:32-34; Amos
1:9.)
MAJOR TYPES OF ROYAL COVENANTS / TREATIES IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

SUZERAIN-VASSAL (CONDITIONAL)
A covenant regulating the relationship between a great king
and one of his subject kings. The great king claimed absolute
right of sovereignty, demanded total loyalty and service (the
vassal must love his suzerain) and pledged protection of the
subjects realm and dynasty, conditional on the vassals
faithfulness and loyalty to him. The vassal pledged absolute
loyalty to his suzerain whatever service his suzerain demanded
and exclusive reliance on the suzerains protection. Participants
called each other lord and servant or father and son.
(cf. Joshua 9:6,8; Ezekiel 17:13-18; Hosea 12:1.)
MAJOR TYPES OF ROYAL COVENANTS / TREATIES IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

ABRAHAMIC #2
Suzerain-Vassal Genesis 17
Participants
Made with Abraham as patriarchal head of his household
Description

A conditional divine pledge to be Abrahams God and the

God of his descendants (vv. 4,9); the condition: total consecration
to the Lord as symbolized by circumcision

SINAITIC
Type: Suzerain-vassal Exodus 19-24
PARTICIPANTS
Made with Israel as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and as the people the Lord has redeemed from bondage to an earthly
power
DESCRIPTION
A conditional divine pledge to be Israels God (as her protector and
the Guarantor of her blessed destiny); the condition: Israels total
consecration to the Lord as His people (His kingdom) who live by His rule
and serve His purposes in history

Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary

to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs
while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited
domestic autonomy.[1] The dominant entity in the
suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is
called a suzerain. The regions or nations that are lesser in
power become vassals to the Suzerain.

The Suzerain Vassal Treaty

Document of Deuteronomy.
EXPLORING THE LEGAL TEXT

1. The preamble. The treaty text frequently opens with the

statements: These are the words of followed by the
identification of the king who gives the treaty, his titles,
appellatives, and genealogy. The treaty is thus a message
from the suzerain to the vassal.
Deuteronomy 1:1-5

7 ELEMENTS OF A SUZERAIN VASSAL TREATY

SHOWN IN ENTIRE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

2. The Historical Prologue. This consists of a description of the

previous relationship between the two parties, frequently in the
IThouform of address, emphasizing particularly the acts of
benevolence which the suzerain has performed for the good of the
vassalThese preceding acts of the suzerain are evidently regarded
as the foundation of the vassals obligation, and therefore the
historical prologue seems to be carefully composed.

Deuteronomy 1:6-3:29

7 ELEMENTS OF A SUZERAIN VASSAL TREATY

SHOWN IN ENTIRE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

3. The stipulations. This section contains the obligations to which the vassal binds himself in
accepting the covenant defined by the suzerain. The context varies widely, but military
obligations are, as expected, treated in detail. First, the vassal must not enter into alliance
with other independent kings, and he must be a friend to the suzerains friends and an
enemy to his enemies. The vassal must answer any summons for military forces, and engage
wholeheartedly in any military campaign commanded by the suzerain. Second, regulations
for the treatment of refugees are so frequent that it is necessary to conclude that this was an
important issue during this
period. Third, war booty is often regulated in advance; this also was evidently a fertile source
of discordMost interesting is the frequent prohibition of murmuring, the utterance of
unfriendly words, against the suzerain, and the obligation to report such words uttered by
others. With this is often combined an exhortation to trust the suzerain, even in spite of
appearances to the contrary. Finally, a stipulated tribute is imposed.

Deuteronomy Chapters 4-26

7 ELEMENTS OF A SUZERAIN VASSAL TREATY
SHOWN IN ENTIRE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

4. The deposit and public reading. Typically there is a

provision for the deposit of the treaty document in the
sanctuary of the vassal, and a requirement that it be read
in public at stipulated intervals, from one to four times a
year
Deuteronomy 31:9-13, 24-26

7 ELEMENTS OF A SUZERAIN VASSAL TREATY

SHOWN IN ENTIRE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

Reading the Treaty regularly

Custom of periodic public reading of treaty documents, the
contents of the two tables were of course declared in the hearing of
all Israel and the Book of the Covenant was read to the people as
part of the ratification ceremony (Exod. 24:7); but the practice of
periodic proclamation was first formulated some forty years later in
the Book of Deuteronomy when God was renewing the covenant
unto the second generation. When suzerainty covenants, were
renewed, new documents were prepared in which the stipulations
were brought up to date.

Depositing the Treaty

Instructions were given Moses at Sinai concerning the
two tables. They were to be deposited in the ark, which
in turn was to be placed in the tabernacle (Exod. 25:16,
21; 40:20; Deut. 10:2).
Because Yahweh was at once Israel's covenant
suzerain and God of Israel and Israel's oath, there was
but one sanctuary for the deposit of both treaty
duplicates.
The specified location of the documents as given in
Hittite treaties can be rendered "under (the feet of)" the
god, which would then correspond strikingly to the
arrangements in the Israelite holy of holies.

5. The list of witnesses. Ancient legal documents normally ended with

a list of witnesses, and the international treaties are no exception.

Here, however, the gods of both states are namedin fact, some of
the lists seem to attempt exhaustiveness in making all known gods of
the cultural area witnesses to the covenant. In addition, however,
important features of the natural world are included, such as
mountains, rivers, springs, the great sea, heaven and earth, winds
and clouds. It seems reasonably certain that the gods as witnesses
were expected to punish breach of contract, and thus religious awe
was appealed to as a ground for future obedience

Deuteronomy 30:19 (heaven & earth)

31:19-22 (song of Moses)
31:24ff (book of the law)

7 ELEMENTS OF A SUZERAIN VASSAL TREATY

SHOWN IN ENTIRE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

6. The blessings and curses. This consists of a list of goods and

calamites, which the divine witnesses were called upon to

bring upon the vassal for obedience and disobedience
respectively. The curses usually precede and consist of the
misfortunes usually attributed to the wrath of the gods in
antiquity: destruction, sterility, misery, poverty, plague, famine.
The blessings, conversely, are divine protection, continuity of
the vassals line, health, prosperity, and peace.
Deuteronomy 27:11-28:68

7 ELEMENTS OF A SUZERAIN VASSAL TREATY

SHOWN IN ENTIRE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

7. Ratification Ceremony with oaths and a sacrificial meal to show participation of

those involved in the Covenant Treaty. Oath of Compliance. A treaty is a text but an
oath is the actual mechanism whereby the text is ratified and brought to life,no
longer just words in a document but a functioning reality in the lives of actual people.
We have ample evidence of treaties concluding with rituals of compliance, usually
spoken oaths but sometimes physical gestures.In much the same way, treaties today
are ratified by signatures and handshakes activating the new relationships and its
terms.It should not be surprising that the biblical story of the Covenant at Mount Sinai
reaches its climax with the escaped slaves pledging to abide by the covenant
obligations therby defining and activating themselves as the people of YHWH.

Deuteronomy 29:1,10-15

7 ELEMENTS OF A SUZERAIN VASSAL TREATY

SHOWN IN ENTIRE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

Covenant Renewal
YESHUA THE VASSAL, THE MESSENGER, THE THRESHOLD.

Mat 4:1 Then was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tried by the devil.
Mat 4:2 And after having fasted forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.
Mat 4:3 And the trier came and said to Him, If You are the Son of Elohim, command that these
stones become bread.
Mat 4:4 But He answering, said, It has been written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that comes from the mouth of 1 .Footnote: 1Dt. 8:3.
Mat 4:5 Then the devil took Him up into the set-apart city, set Him on the edge of the Set-apart
Place,
Mat 4:6 and said to Him, If You are the Son of Elohim, throw Yourself down. For it has been written,
He shall command His messengers concerning you, and, In their hands they shall bear you up, so
that you do not dash your foot against a stone.
Mat 4:7 said to him, It has also been written, You shall not try your Elohim. 1 Footnote:
1Dt. 6:16.
Mat 4:8 Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain, and showed Him all the reigns of the
world, and their esteem,
Mat 4:9 and said to Him, All these I shall give You if You fall down and worship me.
Mat 4:10 Then said to him, Go, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship your Elohim,
and Him alone you shall serve. 1 Footnote: 1Dt. 6:13.
Mat 4:11 Then the devil left Him, and see, messengers came and attended Him.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 3 .

ANET LEGAL TERMS THAT ARE ALSO SAME IN ADOPTION CONTRACTS

FATHER vassals call their suzerain (King)

[ADOPTER]

SON The King calls his vassals

[ADOPTEE]

ADOPTION when a vassal king submits to the suzerain then the vassal kings
people become adopted by the Suzerain
BROTHER Term in Parity covenants
LOVE (Oheb) Term of loyalty to the Suzerain
KNOW (Yada)- Term used by the King who sees the faithfulness of the vassal

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria (detail). Shows

Jehu, King of (northern) Israel, or perhaps his emissary, bowing
before Shalmaneser and paying tribute to him, in 841 BCE

As these pages are going to press, Dr. Sailer calls my attention

la'abhor bibereeth, to enter, or pass over, into a covenant This phrase, as Dr.
Driver points out, is found only in one place, at Deuteronomy 29 : 12. "That
thou shouldest enter [or pass] into the covenant of the Lord thy God, and into
his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day. It is evident that
here is the idea of passing over a line or boundary, or threshold limit, into
another region, or state or condition. Until that threshold is crossed, the person
is outside of the covenant with its privileges and benefits ; but when it is
crossed, or passed, the person is a partaker of all that is within

PASSING OVER INTO A COVENANT HENRY CLAY TRUMBULL THE THRESHOLD COVENANT

7 Then said Yeshua unto them again, Verily, verily, I say

unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and
robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be
saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
JOHN CHAPTER 10

Revelation 1:
5 And from Yeshua the Messiah, who is the faithful
witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the
prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved
us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and
his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and
ever. Amen.
G758

archon
ar'-khone
Present participle of G757; a first (in
rank or power): - chief (ruler),
magistrate, prince, ruler.

H113

'adon 'adon
aw-done', aw-done'
From an unused root (meaning to
rule); sovereign, that is, controller
(human or divine): - lord, master,
owner. Compare also names
beginning with Adoni-.

1Co 15:14-28 And if Messiah has not been raised, then our proclaiming is empty, and your
belief also empty, (15) and we are also found false witnesses of Elohim, because we have
witnessed of Elohim that He raised up Messiah, whom He did not raise up, if then the dead
are not raised. (16) For if the dead are not raised, then neither Messiah has been raised.
(17) And if Messiah has not been raised, your belief is to no purpose, you are still in your sins!
(18) Then also those who have fallen asleep in Messiah have perished. (19) If in this life only
we have expectation in Messiah, we are of all men the most wretched. (20) But now
Messiah has been raised from the dead, and has become the first-fruit of those having fallen
asleep. (21) For since death is through a man, resurrection of the dead is also through a
Man. (22) For as all die in Ad?am, so also all shall be made alive in Messiah . (23) And each
in his own order: Messiah the first-fruits, then those who are of Messiah at His coming, (24)
then the end, when He delivers up the reign to Elohim the Father, when He has brought to
naught all rule and all authority and power. (25) For He has to reign until He has put all
enemies under His feet. (26) The last enemy to be brought to naught is death. (27) For He
has put all under His feet. But when He says all are put under Him, it is clear that He who
put all under Him is excepted. (28) And when all are made subject to Him, then the Son
Himself shall also be subject to Him who put all under Him, in order that Elohim be all in all.

1 CORINTHIANS 15 -STRUCTURE OF THE RESTORED KINGDOM.