Covenant

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This article is about legal and historical covenants. For other uses, see Covenant (disambiguation).

Covenant, in its most general sense, is a word for a solemn promise or similar undertaking.

It's a binding or agreement between a superior and inferior sect.

More specifically, a covenant, in contrast to a contract, is a one-way agreement whereby the covenantor is the only party bound by the promise. A covenant may have conditions and prerequisites that qualify the undertaking, including the actions of other parties, but there is absolutely no inherent agreement by such other parties to fulfil those requirements. Consequentially, the only party that can break a covenant is the covenantor.

The covenant is an important concept in Jewish and Christian thinking, derived in the first instance from the biblical covenant tradition.

[edit] Historical Covenants

Historically, certain treaties and compacts have been given the name of covenant, most notably the Solemn League and Covenant that marked the Covenanters, a Protestant political organization important in the history of Scotland. Other covenants appear in Scottish, English and Irish history.

The term covenant could be used in English to refer to either the Bundesbrief of 1291, or the Pfaffenbrief of 1370, documents which led to the formation of the Swiss state or "Eidgenossenschaft". In this usage the German "Eid" is being translated as covenant rather than oath in order to reflect its written status.

Other important documents that have been given the name 'covenant' include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Palestinian National Covenant. the covenent can be used religiousley and be seen in the bible it is used in the saying the covenent is real fom paige

"A covenant may have conditions and prerequisites that qualify the undertaking, including the actions of other parties, but there is absolutely no inherent agreement by such other parties to fulfil those requirements. Consequentially, the only party that can break a covenant is the covenantor." But maybe the Mosaic Covenant was different: Jeremiah 31:31-32 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

[edit] Legal Covenants

Under the common law a covenant was distinguished from an ordinary contract by the presence of a seal. Because the presence of a seal indicated an unusual solemnity in the promises made in a covenant, the common law would enforce a covenant even in the absence of consideration.

In contemporary practice in the USA, a covenant typically refers to restrictions set on contracts like deeds of sale. "Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions," abbreviated "CC&Rs," is a common term for covenants attached to a contract of sale for a house, condominium, or cooperative, particularly in the tens of millions of American homes governed by a Homeowners' Association (HOA) or condominium association.

In the 1920s and 1930s, covenants that restricted the sale of property on the basis of race, ethnicity, and religion were common throughout the USA, particularly in the South. These were invalidated by the US Supreme Court by Lee vs. Hansberry in 1940. The playwright Lorraine Hansberry wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun based on her father's experience as lead plaintiff in that case.