Advent Series: Split in two - a podcast by Mandy Arioto

In today's episode...

Split in Two

As a kid did you ever talk about becoming blood brothers with a friend? Well, the concept comes from an ancient practice where people would "cut a covenant," meaning two people would cut their arms and suck a bit of one another's blood. The mingling of blood was considered a sacred bond and a solemn promise. This is where this whole concept becomes fascinating. 

In the ancient Middle East and even in some modern societies, when a covenant, like a marriage, is made, the heads of the household make a solemn pact that the wife will be faithful to her husband and that the husband will not abuse his wife. The two men agreeing will take an animal, cut it in two, then each person walks between the two pieces as a sort of self-curse; by passing through the severed bodies of the animals, each person is in effect saying, "May the same thing happen to me if I do not keep my word." It's like a life-and-death version of Blood Brothers, and in the ancient Middle East, it was the most binding and sacred agreement a person could enter into. 

The reason this is important is that 4000 years ago, there was a guy named Abrahm, who was an elderly man without an heir and believed that God had promised him a son and land, but with his age and the age of his wife, it seemed biologically impossible that it would ever happen. 

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Song: Would You Forgive, by Jorm @iamjorm

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