Hebrew Word:
בְּרִית (beriyt)
Strong’s Concordance: H1285
Root Word: בָּרָה / בַּר (bar) – meaning grain or purity (varied root connections, see below)
Strong’s Definition – H1285:
בְּרִית (beriyt) – “Covenant, alliance, pledge, treaty, agreement between two parties.”
Derived from an unused root meaning “to cut”, referring to the practice of cutting an animal during covenant ceremonies.
The Cultural and Root Meaning:
The word beriyt (בְּרִית) goes far deeper than a legal contract or promise. In Hebraic culture, it conveys the idea of a binding, blood-sealed agreement made through sacrifice.
Root associations include:
בַּר (bar) – grain, pure (Strong’s H1250)
בָּרִיא (bariy) – fat, healthy (Strong’s H1277)
בָּרוּת (barut) – meat, choice pieces (linguistically associated)
All these roots connect grain, fatness, and meat, symbolizing preparation for sacrifice, often in the context of livestock. Animals were fed grain to become fattened, prepared specifically for slaughter, an essential element of covenant-making.
Covenant and Cutting – “Karat Beriyt”
The phrase commonly translated “make a covenant” in English is “karat beriyt” (כָּרַת בְּרִית) in Hebrew.
Karat (כָּרַת) – Strong’s H3772 Literally means “to cut off, cut down, or cut a covenant.”
This refers to the cutting of animals as part of the covenant ritual.
Berĕshith (Genesis) 15:10 – Avram cut the animals in two as part of his covenant with YaHuWaH.
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:18–20 – Those who broke the covenant walked between the pieces of the calf and are judged accordingly.
Meaning:
The act of cutting an animal in two and walking between the pieces signified:
If I break this covenant, let what was done to this animal be done to me.
Pictographic Insight (Ancient Paleo-Hebrew)
Beriyt (ברית):
Bet (ב) – House, family
Resh (ר) – Head, leader
Yod (י) – Arm, work, deed
Taw (ת) – Crossed sticks, sign, covenant mark
Visual Meaning:
The house (Bet) is led (Resh) by the work (Yod) of the covenant mark (Taw).”
It reveals the work of the covenant marked upon a people, a family under divine authority sealed by sacrifice.
Spiritual and Prophetic Application
The Hebrew concept of beriyt is deeply relational and sacrificial. It is never light or symbolic, it is life-binding. Every covenant in Scripture is sealed with blood, loyalty, and responsibility, including:
The Covenant with Noach (Berĕshith (Genesis) 9)
The Covenant with Avraham (Berĕshith (Genesis) 15, 17)
The Covenant with Yisra’El at Sinai (Shemoth (Exodus) 19–24)
The Renewed Covenant through Yahusha (Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 31:31–33, Mattithyahu (Matthew) 26:28)
Mattithyahu (Matthew) 26:28 – “For this is My blood, that of the renewed covenant, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Yahusha, the Lamb of Elohim, fulfills and renews the covenant through His own blood, uniting both Houses of Yisra’El under one promise (see Ib’rim (Hebrews) 8:6–10).
Covenant (beriyt) means far more than a promise, it is a blood-bound relationship.
It is rooted in the cutting of flesh and sacrificial faithfulness.
True covenant always involves responsibility, obedience, and loyalty to YaHuWaH and His Word.
Yahusha’s blood is the ultimate karat beriyt, a renewed covenant that restores us to YaHuWaH through obedience and belief.