MSJ 10:2 (Fall 99) p. 175 (e.g., 2 Sam 12:17; 13:5, 6, 7, 10).7 But while the root may suggest such, the usage of bĕrît declares otherwise, drawing into question what influence the root should hold in determining the meaning. As Quell notes, “Yet in none of the 286 instances of בְּרִית (bĕrît) in the Mas. does it have such a meaning, nor does it ever seem to have been attached to it…. We must also remember that the verbal expressions with which בְּרִית (bĕrît) is firmly linked in actual usage