6 Bible Verses about Contracts

Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a covenant.

The Hittites sold the field and its cave to Abraham as his property to be used as a tomb.

It was the custom for the seller to take off his sandal and give to the buyer to settle a sale or exchange of property. By doing this, Israelites showed that the matter was settled. So when the man said to Boaz: You buy it, he took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz.

Then Hiram sent Solomon the following message: I received your message. I am ready to do what you ask. I will provide the cedars and the pine trees. My men will bring the logs from Lebanon to the sea and will tie them together in rafts to float them down the coast to the place you choose. My men will untie them. There your men will take charge of them. On your part, I would like you to supply the food for my men. So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the cedar and pine logs he wanted. read more.
Solomon provided Hiram with one hundred thousand bushels of wheat and one hundred and ten thousand gallons of pure olive oil every year to feed his men.

Brothers, I speak like a man speaks: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.

Brothers, I speak like a man speaks: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.

When you buy a Hebrew slave he will be your slave for six years. In the seventh year he may leave as a free man without paying for his freedom. If he was single at the time you bought him he alone must be set free. If he was married at that time, both he and his wife must be given their freedom. If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master. He shall go out alone. read more.
What if the slave loves his wife and children so much that he will not leave without them? He must stand beside either the door or the doorpost at the place of worship. His owner will punch a small hole through one of his ears with a sharp metal rod. This makes him a slave for life.

Jehovah gave the following regulations to Moses: If any of you sin against Jehovah by failing to do your duty, if you lie to your neighbor about something you were supposed to take care of or if you lie about something stolen or seized from your neighbor, you are sinning and will be guilty.

you have sinned and are guilty. Return what you stole or seized, what you were supposed to take care of, the lost item you found, or whatever it was that you swore falsely about. Pay it back in full plus one-fifth more. Give it back to its owner on the day you bring your guilt offering. Then bring your guilt offering to Jehovah. Bring a ram that has no defects or its value in money. Bring it to the priest. read more.
The priest will pay compensation for your wrong and make peace with Jehovah. Then you will be forgiven for whatever you did that made you guilty.

When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, They resorted to a ruse (scheme) (trick). They acted as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, worn out, torn, and mended. They had worn out and patched shoes on their feet, they wore old garments; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. read more.
They went to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel: We come from a distant country, make a treaty with us. The men of Israel said to the Hivites: Perhaps you live near us. How can we make a treaty with you? They said: We are your servants. Joshua said to them: Who are you? Where do you come from? They said: From a very far country, your servants came because of the name of Jehovah your God, for we have heard about him and all he did in Egypt;

Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a covenant.

The Hittites sold the field and its cave to Abraham as his property to be used as a tomb.

It was the custom for the seller to take off his sandal and give to the buyer to settle a sale or exchange of property. By doing this, Israelites showed that the matter was settled. So when the man said to Boaz: You buy it, he took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz.

Then Hiram sent Solomon the following message: I received your message. I am ready to do what you ask. I will provide the cedars and the pine trees. My men will bring the logs from Lebanon to the sea and will tie them together in rafts to float them down the coast to the place you choose. My men will untie them. There your men will take charge of them. On your part, I would like you to supply the food for my men. So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the cedar and pine logs he wanted. read more.
Solomon provided Hiram with one hundred thousand bushels of wheat and one hundred and ten thousand gallons of pure olive oil every year to feed his men.

You will live there as a foreigner. I will be with you and bless you. I will keep my promise to your father Abraham by giving this land to you and your descendants.

Early the next morning each man made his promise and sealed it with a vow. Isaac said good-bye to them. They parted as friends.

Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live. The leaders of the congregation ratified it by an oath.

This we will do to them. We will even let them live in case we become angry. This is because of the oath we swore to them.

Remember the covenant that he made to Abraham, and his sworn promise to Isaac.

A man without understanding shakes hands and becomes surety for his friend.

Do not give pledges and be guarantors for debts.

My son, if you serve as surety for your friend and you give your pledge to him,

Hand in hand united, the wicked shall not be unpunished; but the descendants of the righteous will be delivered.

He broke his oath and the treaty he had made. He did all these things, and now he will not escape.'

Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water that the servants of Abimelech had seized. Abimelech said: I do not know who has done this thing. You did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today. Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a covenant. read more.
Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Abimelech asked Abraham: What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves? He said: You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well.

Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing. He gave it to David along with his armor, including his sword, his bow and his belt.

His property included the field with the cave in it as well as all the trees inside the boundaries of the field. The Hittites together with all who had entered the city gate were the official witnesses for the agreement.

Boaz went to the public place in the town and sat down. When the kinsman-redeemer came along, the one he had mentioned, Boaz said: Come here, and sit down. He came and was seated. Then he got ten of the responsible men of the town, and said: Be seated here. And they took their seats.

Laban said to Jacob: You should not work for me for nothing just because you are my relative. How much pay do you want? Laban had two daughters. The older was named Leah and the younger Rachel. Leah had soft eyes and Rachel was shapely and very beautiful. read more.
Jacob was in love with Rachel, so he said: I will work seven years for you, if you will let me marry Rachel. Laban answered: It is better that I give her to you than to anyone else. Stay here with me. Jacob worked seven years for Laban. The time seemed like only a few days, because he loved Rachel so much.

Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years. Jacob did that. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife. Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. read more.
Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.

But Laban said: If now it pleases you, stay with me. I have observed that Jehovah has blessed me on your account. He continued: Name your wages, and I will pay. Jacob responded: You know how much work I have done for you and what has happened to your livestock under my care.

Laban asked: What should I give you? Jacob answered: Do not give me anything. Instead, do something for me. Then I will go back to taking care of and watching your flocks again. Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled and spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted and speckled goat. They will be my wages. My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that is not speckled or spotted or any lamb that is not black will be considered stolen. read more.
Laban answered: I agree; we will do as you have said.

Yet he has cheated me. He changed my wages ten times. However, God did not let him harm me.

Jacob took green branches of poplar (storax), almond, and plane trees and stripped off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. He placed these branches in front of the flocks at their drinking troughs. He put them there, because the animals mated when they came to drink. So when the goats bred in front of the branches, they produced young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. read more.
Jacob kept the sheep separate from the goats and made them face in the direction of the streaked and black animals of Laban's flock. In this way he built up his own flock and kept it apart from Laban's. When the strongest of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods. When the flock was feeble, he did not put them in. That way the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. He became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.

In the evening when it was dark, he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him. Jacob slept with her. Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her maid. What have you done to me? Jacob asked Laban: Did I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me? read more.
Laban answered: It is not our custom to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years.

The Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father. They filled them with dirt.

Hiram, king of Tyre, had given Solomon cedar-trees and cypress-trees and gold, as much as he needed. King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in the land of Galilee.

My men will bring the logs from Lebanon to the sea and will tie them together in rafts to float them down the coast to the place you choose. My men will untie them. There your men will take charge of them. On your part, I would like you to supply the food for my men. So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the cedar and pine logs he wanted. Solomon provided Hiram with one hundred thousand bushels of wheat and one hundred and ten thousand gallons of pure olive oil every year to feed his men.

Brothers, I speak like a man speaks: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.

Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water that the servants of Abimelech had seized. Abimelech said: I do not know who has done this thing. You did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today. Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a covenant. read more.
Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Abimelech asked Abraham: What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves? He said: You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well. Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba, because there the two of them took an oath. They made a covenant at Beer-sheba. Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Philistines.

Now, let us make an agreement (covenant) and let it stand as a witness between you and me. Jacob took a stone and set it up as a marker. Jacob said to his relatives: Gather some stones. They took stones, put them into a pile, and ate there by the pile of stones. read more.
In his language, Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha (Witness Pile), but Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said: This pile of stones stands as a witness between you and me today. This is why it was named Galeed, and also Mizpah (Watchtower), because he said: May Jehovah watch between you and me when we are unable to see each other. If you mistreat my daughters or marry other women behind my back, remember that God stands as a witness between you and me. Laban also said to Jacob: Here is the pile of stones. Here is the marker that I have set up between you and me. This pile of stones and this marker stand as witnesses that I will not go past the pile of stones to harm you, and that you will not go past the pile of stones or marker to harm me. May the God of Abraham and Nahor the God of their father judge between us. So Jacob swore this oath out of respect for his father Isaac. He offered a sacrifice on the mountain. He invited his relatives to eat the meal with him. They ate with him and spent the night on the mountain.

He continued: Name your wages, and I will pay. Jacob responded: You know how much work I have done for you and what has happened to your livestock under my care. The little that you had before I came has grown to a large amount. Jehovah has blessed you wherever I have been. When may I do something for my own family? read more.
Laban asked: What should I give you? Jacob answered: Do not give me anything. Instead, do something for me. Then I will go back to taking care of and watching your flocks again. Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled and spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted and speckled goat. They will be my wages. My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that is not speckled or spotted or any lamb that is not black will be considered stolen. Laban answered: I agree; we will do as you have said.

He blotted out the bond written in ordinances. It was against us and was contrary to us. He has taken it out of the way. He nailed it to the stake.

The near relative said: I am not able to redeem it for myself, for fear of damaging the heritage I have. You may do it in my place, for I am not able to do it myself. It was the custom for the seller to take off his sandal and give to the buyer to settle a sale or exchange of property. By doing this, Israelites showed that the matter was settled. So when the man said to Boaz: You buy it, he took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz.

I have given you, your sons, and your daughters all the holy contributions which the Israelites offer to Jehovah. These contributions will be yours from generation to generation. It is an everlasting promise of salt in Jehovah's presence for you and your descendants.

Moses departed and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him: Please, let me go, that I may return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive. Jethro said to Moses: Go in peace.