9 Bible Verses about Alliances
Most Relevant Verses
One of the survivors came and told Abram the Hebrew, who lived near the oaks belonging to Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and the brother of Aner. They were bound by a treaty with Abram.
At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a foreign resident.” And Abraham said, “I swear it.” read more.
But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the water well that Abimelech’s servants had seized. Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this thing. You didn’t report anything to me, so I hadn’t heard about it until today.” Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock. And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs?” He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand so that this act will serve as my witness that I dug this well.” Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba because it was there that the two of them swore an oath. After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God. And Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for many days.
Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you.” They replied, “We have clearly seen how the Lord has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties—between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you: read more.
You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have only done what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord.” So he prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank. They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. On that same day Isaac’s slaves came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water!” He called it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.
Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I. Let it be a witness between the two of us.” So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a marker. Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound, then ate there by the mound. read more.
Laban named the mound Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed. Then Laban said, “This mound is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore the place was called Galeed and also Mizpah, for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight. If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, though no one is with us, understand that God will be a witness between you and me.” Laban also said to Jacob, “Look at this mound and the marker I have set up between you and me. This mound is a witness and the marker is a witness that I will not pass beyond this mound to you, and you will not pass beyond this mound and this marker to do me harm. The God of Abraham, and the gods of Nahor—the gods of their father—will judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. So they ate a meal and spent the night on the mountain.
While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove, the people began to have sexual relations with the women of Moab. The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods. So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.
When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they acted deceptively. They gathered provisions and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly. read more.
They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land. Please make a treaty with us.” The men of Israel replied to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us. How can we make a treaty with you?” They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”
Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” They replied to him, “Your servants have come from a far away land because of the reputation of the Lord your God. For we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth. So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey; go and meet them and say, “We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.”’ This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you. But take a look, it is now dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the extremely long journey.” Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not seek the Lord’s counsel. So Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them. Three days after making the treaty with them, they heard that the Gibeonites were their neighbors, living among them. So the Israelites set out and reached the Gibeonite cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then the whole community grumbled against the leaders. All the leaders answered them, “We have sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. This is how we will treat them: we will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them.” They also said, “Let them live.” So the Gibeonites became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had promised them. Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us? Therefore you are cursed and will always be slaves—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” The Gibeonites answered him, “It was clearly communicated to your servants that the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. We greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever you think is right.” This is what Joshua did to them: he delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they did not kill them. On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers—as they are today—for the community and for the Lord’s altar at the place He would choose.
So David set out with his 600 men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath. David and his men stayed with Achish in Gath. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow. When it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him. read more.
Now David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” That day Achish gave Ziklag to him, and it still belongs to the kings of Judah today. The time that David stayed in the Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months. David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. From ancient times they had been the inhabitants of the region through Shur as far as the land of Egypt. Whenever David attacked the land, he did not leave a single person alive, either man or woman, but he took flocks, herds, donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he came back to Achish, who inquired, “Where did you raid today?”
David replied, “The south country of Judah,” “The south country of the Jerahmeelites,” or “Against the south country of the Kenites.” David did not let a man or woman live to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Or they will inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’” This was David’s custom during the whole time he stayed in the Philistine territory. So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself detestable to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”
From Thematic Bible
Alliances » Evil » Examples of heathen nations uniting in
So the five Amorite kings—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces, advanced with all their armies, besieged Gibeon, and fought against it.
At that time Horam king of Gezer went to help Lachish,
All these kings joined forces; they came together and camped at the waters of Merom to attack Israel.
After Eglon convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him, he attacked and defeated Israel and took possession of the City of Palms.
Alliances » Evil » Examples of God's people seeking
After this,
and your throat from thirst.
But you say, “It’s hopeless;
I love strangers,
and I will continue to follow them.”
“There is a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father.
Now Jehoshaphat
without asking My advice,
in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection
and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.
Alliances » Political » With idolaters forbidden
and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.
Then Jehu
without asking My advice,
in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection
and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.
and who depend on horses!
They trust in the abundance of chariots
and in the large number of horsemen.
They do not look
and they do not seek the Lord’s help.
and pursues the east wind.
He continually multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a covenant with Assyria,
and olive oil is carried to Egypt.
Alliances » Ratification of » By oaths
Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a foreign resident.”
They replied, "We have clearly seen how the Lord has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties-between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you: You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have only done what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord." So he prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank. read more.
They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.
So Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them. Three days after making the treaty with them, they heard that the Gibeonites were their neighbors, living among them. So the Israelites set out and reached the Gibeonite cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. read more.
But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then the whole community grumbled against the leaders. All the leaders answered them, "We have sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. This is how we will treat them: we will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them."
Then Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the Lord hold David's enemies accountable." Jonathan once again swore to David in his love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.
Alliances » Instances of » Zedekiah and pharaoh
Zedekiah son of Josiah reigned as king in the land of Judah in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made him king. He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the Lord that He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, requesting, "Please pray to the Lord our God for us!" read more.
Jeremiah was going about his daily tasks among the people, for they had not [yet] put him into the prison. Pharaoh's army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah's king, who is sending you to inquire of Me: Watch: Pharaoh's army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt. The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.
However, this king revolted against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt so they might give him horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and [still] escape? "As I live"-[this is] the declaration of the Lord God -"he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke. Pharaoh will not help him with [his] great army and vast horde in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives.
Alliances » Instances of » Ahaz and tiglath
Although Ahaz plundered the Lord’s temple and the palace of the king and of the rulers and gave the plunder to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. March up and save me from the power of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me." Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the Lord's temple and in the treasuries of the king's palace and sent [them] to the king of Assyria as a gift.
Alliances » Instances of » Asa and benhadad
So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the Lord's temple and the treasuries of the royal palace and put it into the hands of his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion king of Aram who lived in Damascus, saying, "There is a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me."
“There’s a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Israel’s King Baasha so that he will withdraw from me.”
Alliances » Instances of » Jehoshaphat and ahab
Now Jehoshaphat
Alliances » Instances of » Solomon and hiram
The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him.
The Lord says:
for three crimes, even four,
because they handed over
a whole community of exiles to Edom
and broke
Alliances » Instances of » Isaac and abimelech
Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you." They replied, "We have clearly seen how the Lord has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties-between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you: read more.
You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have only done what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord." So he prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank. They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.
Alliances » Instances of » Abraham and abimelech
At that time Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me here by God that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have kept faith with you, so you will keep faith with me and with the country where you are a resident alien." And Abraham said, "I swear [it]." read more.
But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the water well that Abimelech's servants had seized. Abimelech replied, "I don't know who did this thing. You didn't report anything to me, so I hadn't heard about it until today." Then Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. But Abraham had set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock. And Abimelech said to Abraham, "Why have you set apart these seven ewe lambs?" He replied, "You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand so that this act will serve as my witness that I dug this well." Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba because it was there that the two of them swore an oath. After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.
Alliances » Instances of » Moabites, amalekites, and ammonites
The Israelites again did what was evil in the Lord's sight. He gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel, because they had done what was evil in the Lord's sight. After Eglon convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him, he attacked and defeated Israel and took possession of the City of Palms.
Alliances » Instances of » Canaanitish nations against israel
When all the kings heard [about Jericho and Ai], those who were west of the Jordan in the hill country, in the Judean foothills, and all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea toward Lebanon-the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites- they formed a unified alliance to fight against Joshua and Israel.
Alliances » Instances of » Jehoshaphat and ahaziah
After this,
Alliances » Instances of » Between abraham and mamre, eshcol, and aner
One of the survivors came and told Abram the Hebrew,
Alliances » Instances of » Rezin and pekah
Then
Alliances » Ratification of » By giving the hand
Alliances » Instances of » Joshua and the gibeonites
Evil » Alliances » Examples of heathen nations uniting in
So the five Amorite kings—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces, advanced with all their armies, besieged Gibeon, and fought against it.
At that time Horam king of Gezer went to help Lachish,
All these kings joined forces; they came together and camped at the waters of Merom to attack Israel.
After Eglon convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him, he attacked and defeated Israel and took possession of the City of Palms.
Evil » Alliances » Examples of God's people seeking
After this,
and your throat from thirst.
But you say, “It’s hopeless;
I love strangers,
and I will continue to follow them.”
“There is a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father.
Now Jehoshaphat
without asking My advice,
in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection
and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.
Topics on Alliances
Political Alliances, By Oaths
1 Samuel 20:16-17Then Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David,
