covenant vs obligation

covenant

noun
  • A pact or binding agreement between two or more parties. 

  • A promise, incidental to a deed or contract, either express or implied. 

  • An incidental clause in an agreement. 

  • An agreement to do or not do a particular thing. 

verb
  • To enter into, or promise something by, a covenant. 

  • To enter a formal agreement. 

  • To make a stipulation. 

  • To bind oneself in contract. 

obligation

noun
  • A legal agreement stipulating a specified action or forbearance by a party to the agreement; the document containing such agreement. 

  • A social, legal, or moral requirement, duty, contract, or promise that compels someone to follow or avoid a particular course of action. 

  • A course of action imposed by society, law, or conscience by which someone is bound or restricted. 

  • The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone. 

  • The fact of being obliged to, that is, grateful for, something. 

How often have the words covenant and obligation occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )