with its assurance of forgiveness, a covenant in which God will write his law on their hearts and they will all know him (Jer. 31:31ff.; 32:40). God’s constancy to Israel is as sure as the sequence of day and night; his blessing will make the nation as immeasurable as heaven and earth (Jer. 31:35ff.; cf. 33:19–26). The words for love in the passages we have been considering are the verb ’āhēbh and its cognate noun ’ahabhāh. These words appear to signify love freely given, love given when there is