principally: reciprocity, mutual assistance, sincerity, friendliness, brotherliness, duty, loyalty and love.2 Ḥesed is thus interpreted as general behaviour within the norms of an already established relationship. In particular, Glueck links ḥesed with relationships which are based upon a covenant, and suggests that ‘ḥesed is the real essence of bĕrît, and it can almost be said that it is its very content.’3 N.H. Snaith also wants to emphasise the close link between ḥesed and bĕrît; he translates