ʿôlām

Semantic range

1. 1the remote past — time out of mind
2. 2the far future; perpetuity
3. 3an age or epoch

ʿÔlām points to a horizon rather than to infinity: as far back or forward as sight reaches. "Everlasting covenant" (bərît ʿôlām) means a covenant belonging to the age, unbounded from within the speaker's vantage. Whether it means strictly endless depends on context, not on the word alone.

The Doctrine and Covenants supplies a striking parallel move with the words eternal and endless: "Eternal punishment is God's punishment... for Endless is my name" (D&C 19:10–12). The adjective describes whose punishment it is, not how long it lasts. Both languages warn against reading temporal words too flatly.

See also

• בְּרִיתbərît