ABSTRACT
One key to understanding any tradition is the language of discourse used by those who share in it among themselves; the recurring basic terminology that creates the conceptual and perceptual frameworks for considering and dealing with their affairs. It is well recognized that language is the “program” through which humans give shape to their universe. This truth, first stated in the Bible in the first two chapters of Genesis where Adam is given dominion over the animals by virtue of his power to name each species (1:28 and 2:20) and reiterated in the Babel story (Genesis 11) has long been reaffirmed and reinforced by contemporary behavioral science. Since this is the case, it is reasonable to expect that, if covenant is truly an organizing principle of human society, the worldview which it encapsulates should be reflected in the languages of those communities shaped by it.
