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The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library
Kinship by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to the Fulfillment of God's Saving Promises
A biblical scholar identifies the covenant as an overarching theme among diverse biblical texts
While the canonical scriptures were produced over many centuries and represent a diverse library of texts, they are unified by stories of divine covenants and their implications for God’s people. In this deeply researched and thoughtful book, Scott Hahn shows how covenant, as an overarching theme, makes possible a coherent reading of the diverse traditions found within the canonical scriptures.
Biblical covenants, though varied in form and content, all serve the purpose of extending sacred bonds of kinship, Hahn explains. Specifically, divine covenants form and shape a father-son bond between God and the chosen people. Biblical narratives turn on that fact, and biblical theology depends upon it. With meticulous attention to detail, the author demonstrates how divine sonship represents a covenant relationship with God that has been consistent throughout salvation history. A canonical reading of this divine plan reveals an illuminating pattern of promise and fulfillment in both the Old and New Testaments. God’s saving mercies are based upon his sworn commitments, which he keeps even when his people break the covenant.
While the canonical scriptures were produced over many centuries and represent a diverse library of texts, they are unified by stories of divine covenants and their implications for God’s people. In this deeply researched and thoughtful book, Scott Hahn shows how covenant, as an overarching theme, makes possible a coherent reading of the diverse traditions found within the canonical scriptures.
Biblical covenants, though varied in form and content, all serve the purpose of extending sacred bonds of kinship, Hahn explains. Specifically, divine covenants form and shape a father-son bond between God and the chosen people. Biblical narratives turn on that fact, and biblical theology depends upon it. With meticulous attention to detail, the author demonstrates how divine sonship represents a covenant relationship with God that has been consistent throughout salvation history. A canonical reading of this divine plan reveals an illuminating pattern of promise and fulfillment in both the Old and New Testaments. God’s saving mercies are based upon his sworn commitments, which he keeps even when his people break the covenant.
589 pages, Hardcover
First published June 16, 2009
15 people are currently reading
215 people want to read
About the author
Scott Hahn
415 books1,328 followersScott Hahn is a renowned Catholic theologian, apologist, speaker, and bestselling author whose work has had a profound impact on contemporary biblical theology and Catholic thought. A former Presbyterian minister, Hahn converted to Catholicism in 1986 after an intense personal and theological journey, which he details in his popular book Rome Sweet Home, co-written with his wife, Kimberly Hahn. Their story of conversion has inspired countless readers around the world and remains a landmark in modern Catholic apologetics.
Hahn holds the Father Michael Scanlan Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990. He is also the founder and president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting biblical literacy among the laity and biblical fluency among clergy. Through the Center, Hahn leads a wide range of initiatives, including publications, pilgrimages, Bible studies, and the scholarly journal Letter and Spirit.
Educated at Grove City College (B.A.), Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Marquette University (Ph.D. in Systematic Theology), Hahn brings a deep academic foundation to his work. His dissertation, Kinship by Covenant, was later published by Yale University Press and received praise for its theological insight and scholarly rigor.
Throughout his career, Hahn has emphasized the covenant as the key to understanding salvation history, showing how the biblical narrative reveals a divine plan that unites all of humanity into God's family. His works explore themes such as the Eucharist, the role of Mary, the sacraments, and the authority of the Church, often drawing on the writings of the early Church Fathers to bridge the ancient faith with modern understanding.
He is the author or editor of over forty books, including The Lamb’s Supper, Hail, Holy Queen, First Comes Love, Letter and Spirit, Swear to God, Reasons to Believe, The Creed, The Fourth Cup, and Holy Is His Name. Many of his books have become staples in Catholic households, study groups, and seminaries.
In addition to his writing, Hahn is a highly sought-after speaker, having delivered thousands of lectures across the United States and abroad. He appears regularly on EWTN and has collaborated with Lighthouse Catholic Media to bring his teachings to an even broader audience.
Scott Hahn lives in Ohio with his wife Kimberly. They have six children and numerous grandchildren. Together, the Hahns continue to lead efforts in evangelization and Catholic education, embodying a lifelong commitment to deepening faith and understanding through Scripture and tradition.
Hahn holds the Father Michael Scanlan Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990. He is also the founder and president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting biblical literacy among the laity and biblical fluency among clergy. Through the Center, Hahn leads a wide range of initiatives, including publications, pilgrimages, Bible studies, and the scholarly journal Letter and Spirit.
Educated at Grove City College (B.A.), Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Marquette University (Ph.D. in Systematic Theology), Hahn brings a deep academic foundation to his work. His dissertation, Kinship by Covenant, was later published by Yale University Press and received praise for its theological insight and scholarly rigor.
Throughout his career, Hahn has emphasized the covenant as the key to understanding salvation history, showing how the biblical narrative reveals a divine plan that unites all of humanity into God's family. His works explore themes such as the Eucharist, the role of Mary, the sacraments, and the authority of the Church, often drawing on the writings of the early Church Fathers to bridge the ancient faith with modern understanding.
He is the author or editor of over forty books, including The Lamb’s Supper, Hail, Holy Queen, First Comes Love, Letter and Spirit, Swear to God, Reasons to Believe, The Creed, The Fourth Cup, and Holy Is His Name. Many of his books have become staples in Catholic households, study groups, and seminaries.
In addition to his writing, Hahn is a highly sought-after speaker, having delivered thousands of lectures across the United States and abroad. He appears regularly on EWTN and has collaborated with Lighthouse Catholic Media to bring his teachings to an even broader audience.
Scott Hahn lives in Ohio with his wife Kimberly. They have six children and numerous grandchildren. Together, the Hahns continue to lead efforts in evangelization and Catholic education, embodying a lifelong commitment to deepening faith and understanding through Scripture and tradition.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 25, 2013
This book helped me understand more fully God's heart towards us as revealed in Sacred Scripture. The approach that Canonical Criticism takes to the texts of Luke, Galatians, and Hebrews helps the reader to comprehend the familial understanding of covenant in regards to God and Israel.
The following quote from the book summarized my experience with Dr. Hahn's writing:
"Christ's atoning self-sacrifice, then, should not be understood simply in ancient or modern legal/judicial categories, but in light of its function to fulfill the terms of a familial bond established by covenant oath between God and his people, the ultimate goal of which was the restoration of the familial relationship with all humanity. Thus, the atonement is ordered to kinship by covenant."
The study on the first nine chapters of Hebrews in relation to understanding covenant(especially Abrahamic and Davidic) showed Dr.Hahn's first rate scholarship.
This read/study was well worth the effort. After reading this work you will be excited to share the fruit of the study with others.
January 28, 2019
The covenant is central to theology. Scott Hahn does a fabulous job of defining and defending covenant types. Although this academic treatise may well be intended to edify the mind, I found it ministers to the soul as well. It's comforting to see the logic behind God's ways, and when it all makes sense, so does our basis for believing in Jesus Christ as Lord. Thank you, Scott, for the effort that went into this book.
September 15, 2025
Brilliant exposition and explication of the concept of covenant. Fine balance between overarching themes, exegetical work and theological implications.
Read
July 9, 2017very dense but very insightful
December 29, 2020
Good for anyone interested in doing a little bit of heavy reading on the relationship between the old covenant and the new covenant in the Bible.
October 7, 2025
Reading this was a paradigm shift
September 29, 2021
This book is both helpful and stimulating in certain places, but inconsistent and flawed in other places.
Hahn neglects to deal with the concept of an Adamic/Creation covenant, and the absence of a chapter-length treatment on this subject is felt across the book.
He also at times seems to impose preexisting ANE covenant types and categories upon the biblical covenants, rigidly boxing them in, without letting the biblical data speak for itself, on its own terms.
His problematic source-critical tendencies only exacerbate his rigid commitment to ANE covenant types, especially in his sections on the Mosaic Covenant, which he splits into a Sinai kinship-type, a Priestly/Levitical grant-type, and a Deuteronomic treaty-type.
Nevertheless, his analysis of the Abrahamic narrative of Gen 12-22 is quite fascinating, and his sections on the Davidic Covenant and its connection to Luke-Acts are well done.
As an exercise in biblical theology, this book is filled with great passages. However, the whole does not quite live up to the sum of its parts.
Hahn neglects to deal with the concept of an Adamic/Creation covenant, and the absence of a chapter-length treatment on this subject is felt across the book.
He also at times seems to impose preexisting ANE covenant types and categories upon the biblical covenants, rigidly boxing them in, without letting the biblical data speak for itself, on its own terms.
His problematic source-critical tendencies only exacerbate his rigid commitment to ANE covenant types, especially in his sections on the Mosaic Covenant, which he splits into a Sinai kinship-type, a Priestly/Levitical grant-type, and a Deuteronomic treaty-type.
Nevertheless, his analysis of the Abrahamic narrative of Gen 12-22 is quite fascinating, and his sections on the Davidic Covenant and its connection to Luke-Acts are well done.
As an exercise in biblical theology, this book is filled with great passages. However, the whole does not quite live up to the sum of its parts.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews