The Mosaic covenant is something of an anomaly among the Old Testament covenants because of the treaty form in which it is expressed. For example, the Decalogue of Exodus 20, which is the heart of the Mosaic covenant (compare Deut. 4:13), is allegedly framed in the language and convention of the Hittite Suzerainty treaty form from the late Bronze Age (ca. 1400–1200). The ideal Hittite treaty form consists of six components: preamble, historic prologue, stipulations, demand for deposit and public reading, list of witnesses, and the blessing and cursing.

According to this treaty form, which apparently enjoyed widespread use in the ancient Middle East, the suzerain, or the superior party, lays upon the vassal, the inferior party, specific stipulations based upon and in view of his gracious favors. Without question, this treaty form has shed considerable light on our understanding of the Mosaic covenant and its functions.

As for the rest of the Old Testament covenants, however, there is little resemblance between them and the Hittite Suzerainty treaty form. For example, the covenant of circumcision in Genesis 17 does not easily fit into the Hittite Suzerainty treaty form. Nor does the conditional covenant made with Noah in Genesis 6:18–22. These covenants make no specific mention of witnesses or the demand for deposit and regular reading of the covenant documents.

Furthermore, it should be noted that even within the Mosaic covenant, no single covenantal passage has been found that contains all six components of the ideal Hittite treaty form. In fact, there is no evidence that biblical covenants functioned as a treaty; most of the Old Testament covenants were graciously bestowed by God with few, if any, conditions.

To appreciate the argumentative strategy of Hebrews, it is preferable to think of the biblical covenants as a guarantee of preservation and favor that God bestows upon the heads of favored families. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Aaron, Phinehas, and David were all heads of such privileged families.

The aim of Hebrews is to present Jesus as the new head of the human race who obtains from God an unconditional guarantee of eternal preservation and favor for every human being who seeks refuge in him. Hebrews employs powerful images to reinforce this point, among them the eldest Brother (2:11, 12, 17), the Pioneer of our faith (2:10; 12:2), and the High Priest (2:17; 3:1; 4:14, 15; 5:1, 5:5, 10; 6:20, 7:1, 26; 8:1–7; 9:1–28; 10:21; 13:11–12). The in-depth discussion of Jesus’ high priestly ministry in chapters 8 and 9 goes beautifully hand in hand with his representative role as the Mediator of the new covenant (compare 8:6ff.).

Perhaps another way of looking at the question of covenant is through the concept of Greco-Roman patronage. Before the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the high priests occupied not only the most important religious office of the land but also the most important political office. In other words, the high priest not only functioned as a mediator between God and humans but also between the emperor and the people. In the Greco-Roman setting of the first century, such a go-between was known as a patron. To get anywhere in the empire, one needed a good patron who could effectively broker between the powers of the empire. Having the right or wrong patron meant life and death. A powerful patron took you out of prison, slavery, and poverty and set you on the highway to freedom, citizenship, and wealth. Julius Caesar found Pompey and Josephus found Vespasian.

But the reality of the first century was that the Jewish high priests were anything but powerful and compassionate patrons of the people. They were often busy lining their pockets with money. They were also mere and despicable puppets of Rome. Against this dismal backdrop, the author of Hebrews paints Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant and the High Priest, as a stellar Patron who has successfully brokered divine favor for all humans.

The notion of high priestly patronage, however, is only a model and cannot explain every aspect of Christ's heavenly ministry. God is no emperor and requires no patron or mediator from humans. He is more than happy to meet us where we are and forgive us when we come to him in our sore need. So why does the author emphasize the powerful patronage of Jesus? For one, it is to inspire confidence in the certainty of salvation. Also, the author wants to impress on the minds of the readers that God is the most powerful Being inhabiting the cosmos.

Furthermore, the author wants to help his readers see that, because of the effective patronage of Jesus, they can now freely, boldly, and frequently gain access to this powerful God. But perhaps the most important reason is to eliminate the need for further patrons. Obviously, angels (chs. 1–2), Moses and Joshua (chs. 3–4), the earthly high priests (ch. 9), and perhaps the Old Testament saints (ch. 12) were already emerging in some quarters of the Church as patrons who could broker God's favor in behalf of the believers. The point the author wants to score is that the powerful patronage of Jesus preempts the need for any other patron.

The believers to whom the letter was sent were a discouraged and tired bunch who were gradually drifting away from faith (2:1). Our author tries to help them catch a fresh vision of grace through the lens of high priesthood, covenant mediation, and Greco-Roman patronage: The New Covenant is the powerful access that has been graciously granted to humans by God through the work of Jesus our High Priest.

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