Jeremiah 31:31 – A New Covenant?

Question

Yirmiyah 31:31 declares a new covenant instituted with Yisrael and Yehuda. The old covenant is nullified.

Does that include the 613 mitzvahs?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    No, not at all. A study of the context of the verse(s) shows that the prophet is speaking prior to the destruction of the First Temple built by King Solomon, and warning what would soon happen if they do not follow the Torah. They will be exiled by the Babylonians – which in fact happened approx. 2500 years ago.

    However, he continues, after an exile of seventy years the Jewish People will return to their land (approx. 400 BCE), rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra and Cyrus completed it then), and God will forgive their earlier sins and re-affirm the vow He made to the Jewish People when He took them out of Egypt, to be their God and they will be His people.

    It would be a “new vow” in the sense that although the commands of the Torah were not fully observed by the people in the past, the Jewish People are to be given another chance and help from Heaven to succeed. And so it was, and so it is.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team