Not every divine covenant is ratified by an 'ot. Priests, for instance, cherished a covenant of their own which consecrated them into an elect with its own supernumerary miṣvot. Nevertheless, their covenant is not hallowed by an 'ot. So even though the 'ot would seem to be optional, when one is given, it habitually targets all partners on the human side of the compact. Noah's covenant was made with all flesh; its sign, the rainbow, is correspondingly universal (Gen 9:9–12). The sign of the covenant with Israel mediated by Moses was to be the sabbath. Again, all inductees, in this case every Israelite man and woman, partake jointly in the sign. The Abrahamic covenant of Genesis 17 diverges from the pattern. In v. 7–8 God says to Abram (Abraham):

The word zar‘akhah, semantically speaking, encompasses Abram's entire progeny. Even the composite phrase “your seed after you” has nothing scrimpy about it at Gen 9:9 or at Dt 1:8, 4:37 and 10:15. This is why the reader of Gen 17: 7–8 expects the sign – should one be appointed – to auspicate all Abram's seed.