Q. How many covenants are there in the Bible? If there are too many to list, what are the main ones?
Hebrews 8:7 talks about the first covenant and the second covenant. Is that the Mosaic Covenant and the New Covenant? If so, wouldn’t be more accurate to call the Abrahamic (or Adamic Covenant) the first covenant? How can the Mosaic Covenant be the first covenant and the New Covenant be the second covenant if there are other covenants before and after the Mosaic Covenant (and in between the Mosaic Covenant and the New Covenant)?
Why do we call the 39 books of the Hebrew Bible the Old Testament? Which covenant is the Old Testament a reference to? Is it the Mosaic Covenant or the Abrahamic Covenant? Is it the Mosaic Covenant because that was the main Covenant in those books?
Thank you for your excellent questions. I will answer them according to the way I understand the biblical covenants.
While various people make covenants with each other over the course of the Bible’s story (for example, Jonathan and David), there are five covenants between God and humans, and those provide the framework for the biblical narrative at its highest level:
First, the covenant between God and every living creature, mediated by Noah, in which God promises unconditionally that a flood will never again destroy all life on earth.
Second, the covenant between God and Abraham, unmediated, in which God promises unconditionally to give Abraham descendants, to give those descendants a land in which to live, and to make Abraham a blessing to all nations. God extends this covenant to Isaac and Jacob.
Third, the covenant between God and the Israelites, mediated by Moses, in which God promises, conditional on obedience to his law, to give the Israelites the land of Canaan in which to live and to show their “wisdom and understanding to the nations.”
Fourth, the covenant between God and David, unmediated, in which God promises unconditionally that a descendant of David will always be on the throne of Israel. (Christians believe that while Israel ceased to be a kingdom, this promise is nevertheless being fulfilled in the reign of Jesus the Messiah.)
Fifth, the covenant between God and people of all nations who believe, mediated by Jesus, in which God promises unconditionally to forgive their sins and put his law in their minds and write it on their hearts so that they will know him.
It is clear from the context in the book of Hebrews that when the author refers in 8:7 to “that first covenant,” he is referring to the covenant mediated by Moses and contrasting it with the covenant mediated by Jesus. The word “first” can be well translated as “former.” Many English Bibles say “another” rather than “a second.” So the author of Hebrews only has two covenants in view and is contrasting them. He is not saying that these are the only two covenants or that the covenant mediated by Moses was the first one that God made with humans.
The meaning is the same in the title Old Testament, which means Old Covenant. I like the title in other languages such as French, Ancien Testament, or Spanish, Antiguo Testamento. That suggests the idea of Former Covenant or Covenant of Antiquity. Such titles acknowledge this covenant as one step on the way towards the ultimate covenant between God and humans, the one mediated by Jesus. It is important to recognize, as the book of Hebrews particularly stresses, along with Paul’s writings, that believers are no longer bound to keep the law of that covenant as a law. In that sense it is “old,” meaning no longer in effect. But believers nevertheless keep the law as the Spirit leads them to live according to what God has put in their minds and written in their hearts. So in that sense, it is “of antiquity.”
I hope these responses are helpful.
A reader responded through the “Ask a Question” option:
I found your answer here to be very helpful. I just wanted to ask for clarification on one or two points. You said, ‘The meaning is the same in the title Old Testament, which means Old Covenant.’ So the meaning of Old Testament is the covenant mediated by Moses, correct? Also, does the Hebrew Bible have this name ‘Old Testament’ because the covenant mediated by Moses was the main Covenant in the Hebrew Bible?
In response, I would say yes, the title Old Testament refers to the covenant mediated by Moses, using the word “Old” in the same sense that the book of Hebrews uses the term “first” or “former.” We might also think of this as “old” in the sense of “the covenant that was in effect when Jesus brought the new covenant.” And yes, the covenant mediated by Moses is the main covenant in the Hebrew Bible. It is the focus of most of the writings in the Old Testament.
Good Question 
(Covenant of Sailt)what about the salt covenant how does the salt covenant ( covenanat of Salt) fit in?
The “covenant of salt” was not a separate covenant from the ones I describe in this post. In Numbers 18, within the Mosaic covenant, the Lord promises to support the priests from the line of Aaron through the meat and grain that are brought as sacrifices, and he tells them that this is a “covenant of salt” with them. In 2 Chronicles, a king of Judah, who is from the line of David, tells an attacking army from the northern kingdom of Israel that they will not be able to defeat him because God’s covenant with David, to keep his successors on the throne, is a “covenant of salt.” In both cases the expression probably means “a permanent covenant,” since in this culture salt was used to preserve meat, fish, etc.