Covenant simply means agreement. There are numerous agreements that were struck in the bible. Here is a little exposition of some from them from Wikipedia.



A biblical covenant is an agreement found in the Bible between God and His people in which God makes specific promises and demands. It is the customary word used to translate the Hebrew word berith (ברית Tiberian Hebrew bərîṯ Standard Hebrew bərit) as it is used in the Tanakh 135 times (see appended list), thus it is important to all Abrahamic religions. The equivalent word in the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament is διαθήκη/diatheke (Strong's G1242).
In theology and Biblical studies, the word "covenant" principally refers to any of a number of solemn agreements made between God and the children of Israel in the Hebrew Bible, as well as to the New Covenant, which some Christians consider to be the replacement or final fulfilment of these, see Supersessionism. Likewise, some Christians use the term Old Covenant to collectively refer to the covenants described in their "Old Testament".
how many covenants were there in the bible?

The Noahic covenant[Gen 8-9] applies to the whole of humankind. In this covenant, God:
1. blesses[Gen 9:1] and commands[Gen 9:7][1] Noah and his sons, that they should be fruitful and multiply, and populate the earth.
2. places all plants and animals under human command[Gen 9:2-3]
3. forbids eating meat with the blood still in it[Gen 9:4]
4. forbids murder[Gen 9:5]
5. Says that violent men will be repaid by violence[9:6]
6. promises that he will never again destroy all life on earth by flood[Gen 9:11]
7. creates the rainbow as the sign of this "everlasting covenant" for all ages to come[Gen 9:12-17]



The Abrahamic covenant, found in Genesis 15-17, is known as the Brit bein HaBetarim, the "Covenant Between the Parts" in Hebrew, and is a commandment for Brit milah in Judaism. The covenant was restated for the descendants of his son Isaac found in Genesis 17:2-9 and Deuteronomy 1:7-8.
In Genesis 12-17, three covenants can be distinguished based on the differing J, E, P, and D sources according to the Documentary Hypothesis[2]. In Gen. 12 and 15, God grants Abram land and descendants but does not place any stipulations (unconditional). By contrast, Gen. 17 contains the covenant of circumcision (conditional).
[edit] Covenant with Isaac
• To make of Abraham a great nation and to bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him and all peoples on earth would be blessed through Abraham.[Gen 12:1-3]
• Circumcision is to be the permanent sign of this everlasting covenant with Abraham and his male descendants and is known as the covenant of circumcision.[Gen 17:9-14]
• To give Abraham's descendants all the land from the river (or wadi) of Egypt to the Euphrates. [Gen 15:18-21] Wadi means seasonal river in reference to the Nile Delta which flooded seasonally during those days. Later, this land came to be referred to as the Promised Land or the Land of Israel, however the land specified by the Abrahamic Covenant also includes the modern nations of Saudi Arabia, Omen, Yemen, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, UAE, and several other nations within the Middle East Region. (Where is Olabowale, I can imagine the the moslems jumping on this fact as proof that they are the ones that have received the promises of this covenant)
• To make Abraham a father of many nations and of many descendants and the land of Canaan as well as the entire middle-east to his descendant.[Gen 17:2-9]
• The Abrahamic Covenant of Isaac did not pass to all the descendants of Isaac, however. From Isaac the Covenant passed to Jacob [Gen 27] and from Jacob the Covenant passed to Joseph [48:3-4]and then to his son Ephraim [48:17-19] so that while it was prophesied that the Messiah would come from Jacob's descendant Judah a.k.a. the Jewish people the birthright of many nations remained with Joseph's son Ephraim. [5:1-2] However the Ephraimites were defeated by the Assyrians in 556 BC and systematically dispersed throughout the Assyrian Empire (which included parts of the modern nations of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, etc.) so that their modern day identity has been lost. Many groups have attempted to claim this identity, see Ten Lost Tribes, however, most of these groups in America, Britain and Australia do not correspond to the locations specified in the Abrahamic Covenant.

(We can not that Tithing is not a part of the covenant with Abraham though circumcision is. Tithing only comes into the Mosaic covenant). (Although Jacob made a covenant in which he promised to tithe).

The Mosaic Covenant, beginning in Exodus 19-24, contains the foundations of the Torah. In this covenant, God promises:
• To make the children of Israel His special possession among all people if they obey God and keep his covenant [Exo 19:5]
• To make the children of Israel a kingdom of priests and a holy nation[Exo 19:6]
• To give the children of Israel the Sabbath as the permanent sign of this covenant [31:12-17]
As part of the terms of this covenant, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments. These will later be elaborated in the rest of the Pentateuch. The form of the covenant resembles the suzerainty treaty in the ancient Near East [3] but those are not matching exactly. Like the treaties, the Decalogue begins with Yahweh's identification and his doing for Israel ("who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Ex 20:2) as well as the stipulations commanding absolute loyalty("You shall not have other gods apart from me". Yet, unlike the suzerainty treaty, the Decalogue in the book of Exodus doesn't have any witness nor explicit blessings & curses.[4] The fullest account of the Mosaic covenant is given in the book of Deuteronomy


The Israel covenant[Deut. 29:1-29] [30:1-10] is a conditional covenant between God and the children of Israel. After warning that Israel will be dispersed among the nations, and conditional to Israel's repentance, return to God, and obedience to the Mosaic law. In regard to this covenant Israel and the Jewish people are referenced separately so that when God refers to Israel he is referencing the descendants of Ephraim.[Jer 31:9-10] The Lord also references that he has chosen Israel over Judah a.k.a. the Jewish people in regard to the return to the land. [Jer 3:11-14] God promises:
1. That Israel would lose their identity[Isa 7:8]
2. That while Israel (Ephraim) will become many nations between the Nile and the Euphrates, yet only a remnant of the people of Ephraim will return[Isa 10:22]
3. That Israel and Judah will be at war with each other, but that the Lord would bring about a peace between Israel and Judah[Zech 9:10] [11:14] [Jer 30:1-7]
4. That Ephraim would return to Lebanon and Gilead, which is located in Western Jordan [Zech 10:7-10] However, the only people living in these areas now are the Arab peoples. The Palestinian Refugee camps are also located in these locations
5. That there would be a conflict between Ephraim and many other nations of the World[Deut 33:17] [Zech 9:13]
6. The remnant that will return from Ephraim will be the descendants of those who did not bow to Baal[1 Kings 19:10-18]
7. That a new nation of Ephraim will form south of Israel in Saudi Arabia or Egypt. A nation the Jewish people will refer to as Sodom[Ezek 16:46,49]
8. To regather Israel from its dispersion and unite them with Judah, but that Judah would not recognize them [Ezek 16:59-63] [Deut 33:9]
9. That a people who are called "Not his people" will be called his people[Hos 1:10]
10. To bring the Israelites to the land which their fathers possessed (here named Land of Canaan)[Hos 1:11]
11. To prosper the Israelites above their fathers.
12. To restore the Israelites spiritually so that Israel will love the Lord with all their heart and soul
13. To put all the curses of Israel upon Israel's enemies
14. That the descendants of Judah, a.k.a. the Jewish people would return to where their family "Israel" already was [Deut 33:7]
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The Davidic covenant[2 Sam 7] establishes David and his descendants as the rightful kings of Judah until the Messiah comes.[Gen 49:10] In Christian theology, the Davidic covenant is an important element of Jesus' claim to be the Messiah (see also Nativity of Jesus). Christian scholar John F. Walvoord maintains that the Davidic covenant deserves an important place in determining the purposes of God and that its exegesis confirms the doctrine of a future reign of Christ on earth.[5] According to Christian theology, the "features" or provisions of the Davidic covenant are found in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. Among conservative theologians, the opinion is unanimous that Christ fulfills the Davidic Covenant, the provisions of which include the following items:
1. David is to have a child, yet to be born, who shall succeed him and establish his kingdom.
2. This son (Solomon) shall build the temple instead of David.
3. The throne of his kingdom shall be established forever.
4. The throne will not be taken away from him (Solomon) even though his sins justify chastisement.
5. David’s house, throne, and kingdom shall be established forever.[5]




National covenants by the nations of Israel and Judah can be found in texts such as Exodus 19:8, Joshua 24:24, 2 Kings 3:3 (Josiah), 2 Chron. 15:8-15, 23:16, 34:31-32, Nehemiah 10:29 and Jeremiah 50:5. National covenants were often associated with times of spiritual renewal or revival.



The Christian New Covenant resembles the theological concept of a new relationship between God and humans mediated by Jesus which necessarily includes all people[6], both Christians, Gentiles, Muslims, Jews and members of other religions. Therefore the global missionizing of Jews (See the Gospel according to the Hebrews) or Muslims in the name of Christianity still remains an important pivotal christian activity, as represented in the Great Commission to "all nations".
Christians



As an Abrahamic faith Islam continues the belief of the Covenant with Abraham. Circumcision is still carried out as a symbol of this Covenant, although not compulsory. A blood link is not required either. Any person confessing to faith can become a Muslim and partake of this Covenant with God:
Remember We made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer; and We Covenanted with Abraham and Isma'il, that they should sanctify My House for those who compass it round, or use it as a retreat, or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer).[Qur'an 2:125]
[edit] See also



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_%28biblical%29

We should not forget that part of the synonyms for covenant = testament= Will.