A Note on Terminology: From “Royal Torah” to “Royal Covenant”

Avoid Confusion — Stay on the Covenant Path!

When this study was first drafted, the phrase Royal Torah was chosen to describe the unchanging covenant instruction of YHWH, the eternal Word of the King that governs His people in every age. My intent was to reclaim the Hebrew term torah in its root meaning of “instruction” rather than “law,” and to show by the modifier “Royal” that this was not the temporary legal code given after the golden calf, but the eternal covenant vows written on the heart.

The idea was that most believers, whether Jewish or Christian, hear torah as a monolithic term. By pairing it with Royal, I hoped to create a clear distinction between the Book of the Covenant and the Book of the Law, demonstrating that the covenant was always the higher, enduring standard.

However, after much discussion, and a spirited debate with my covenant partner, Polly, it became clear that the term torah carries deeply entrenched associations with legalism, Zionist propaganda, and religious systems that blur or erase the distinction between law and covenant. Even with repeated explanations, the likelihood of confusion remained high. Polly reminded me of my own journey, when I too could not see the difference between the two until the Spirit brought revelation.

She argued, rightly, that introducing a term which requires advanced understanding to untangle, risks undermining the very work we are trying to do: drawing a clear line between the law that was “added because of transgression” (Galatians 3:19) and the covenant that is eternal and life-giving.

For this reason, I have retired the term Royal Torah and now use Royal Covenant exclusively. This phrase preserves the regal and eternal nature of the King’s instruction while avoiding unnecessary stumbling blocks.

The Royal Covenant is the crown of the Three Covenants of Promise, the New Covenant Ten Words written on the heart, and the eternal standard of the Kingdom.

This change is not a softening of doctrine, but a sharpening of clarity, so that the message cannot be mistaken: the law may only ever represent law, never covenant, and the covenant stands forever as the rule of life for the redeemed.