My Grandpa made his living cutting deals. They’d call him a horse trader, but that was just a term of limited description. He’d barter, and haggle, until the deal could be cut to the terms he desired. One that often would include the “boot” or “booty” as some would refer to it. That bit of cash, of greenbacks, that sweeten the deal helped to put beans on the table. One’s word and a handshake were all that was required to seal the deal. An agreement confirmed between both parties with contributions made by both.
Cutting a deal is an appropriate term for it is an ancient practice, known as “cutting a covenant.”
The text notes for the Transformation Study Bible states:” This solemn ritual involved the death of animals and the binding of people to a promise the persons, making the covenant would sacrifice several animals and divide the bodies, placing the halves opposite each other to the ground. Then the parties would walk between the pieces of the sacrifices in declaration that, if they filed to keep their word, they deserved the same fate as the animals.”
We don’t observe such a practice today, nor do we seal many agreements with simply our word and a handshake. Perhaps the consequences of breaking our word, our agreements are made with very little thought to sacrifice and compromise, nor with the desire that contributions might be made by both parties. Such a failure in human relations would have made for few trading partners in my Papaw’s Day and saddens me in the day in which I live.
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