ESV Reformation Study Bible – Neh 10:29
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Neh 10:29

10:29 enter into . . . an oath. The swearing of the oath by the people (9:15; Ezra 10:5 note) emphasizes the distinctively legal nature of the Mosaic covenantal arrangement, as compared to the Abrahamic covenant of grace (Gen. 12:1–3), in which the oath is taken by God alone. As the apostle Paul would later reveal, the Mosaic covenant was a kind of “guardian” whose introduction would not annul the covenant of promise already made with Abraham (Gal. 3:17, 24). Throughout the history of redemption, all of God’s covenantal arrangements call for an obedience springing from faith in God and willing to observe the terms of the covenant.