Woman and the Offspring

The covenant with Abraham apparently went into effect when Abram (Abraham) crossed the Euphrates on his way to Canaan. The Law covenant was made 430 years later. (Ga 3:17) Jehovah had spoken to Abraham when he was living in Mesopotamia, in Ur of the Chaldeans, telling him to travel to the country that God would show him. (Ac 7:2, 3; Ge 11:31; 12:1-3) Exodus 12:40, 41 (LXX) tells us that at the end of 430 years of dwelling in Egypt and in the land of Canaan, “on this very day” Israel, who had been in slavery in Egypt, went out. The day they were delivered from Egypt was Nisan 14, 1513 B.C.E., the date of the Passover. (Ex 12:2, 6, 7) This would seem to indicate that Abraham crossed the Euphrates River on his way to Canaan on Nisan 14, 1943 B.C.E., and evidently that is when the Abrahamic covenant took effect. God appeared to Abraham again after he had traveled into Canaan as far as Shechem and enlarged on the promise, saying, “To your seed I am going to give this land,” thereby giving an indication of the connection of this covenant with the promise in Eden, and revealing that the “seed” would take a human course, that is, would run through a human line of descent. (Ge 12:4-7) Other enlargements by Jehovah were later expressed, as recorded at Genesis 13:14-17; 15:18; 17:2-8, 19; 22:15-18.

The Law covenant between Jehovah and the nation of natural Israel was made in the third month after their leaving Egypt, in 1513 B.C.E. (Ex 19:1) It was a national covenant.

Covenant With King David. The covenant with David was made at some time during David’s reign in Jerusalem (1070-1038 B.C.E.), the parties being Jehovah and David as representative of his family. (2Sa 7:11-16)

New Covenant. Jehovah foretold the new covenant by the prophet Jeremiah in the seventh century B.C.E., stating that it would not be like the Law covenant, which Israel broke. (Jer 31:31-34) On the night before his death, Nisan 14, 33 C.E., when he established the celebration of the Lord’s Evening Meal, Jesus Christ announced the new covenant, to be validated by his sacrifice. (Lu 22:20) On the 50th day from his resurrection and 10 days after he had ascended to his Father, he poured out the holy spirit, which he had received from Jehovah, on his disciples gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem.

Finally Phar′aoh commanded all his people: “You are to throw every newborn son of the Hebrews into the Nile River, but you are to keep every daughter alive.”

Both the Bible and secular history report repeated contacts between Israel and Assyria. In time Israel was forced to pay tribute to the king of Assyria. Then in 740 B.C.E., Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom, was conquered, and thereafter thousands were sent into exile. The fact that Jehovah allowed this to occur reflects the low level to which apostate Israel had sunk. But when Sennacherib attempted to add Jerusalem to his list of conquests, an angel of Jehovah annihilated 185,000 of Assyria’s troops in one night. (Isa 36:1–37:38) As Jehovah’s prophets foretold, Assyria in time became a desolate ruin, and Babylon succeeded it on the world scene.—Isa 23:13; Zep 2:13.

Herod evidently concluded that by killing all babies up to two years of age he would be sure to get this one who was born “king of the Jews.” (Mt 2:2)