Reference: Oath
American
A solemn affirmation accompanied by an appeal to the Supreme Being. God has prohibited all false oaths, and all useless and customary swearing in ordinary discourse; but when the necessity or importance of a matter requires an oath, he allows men to swear by his name, Ex 22:11; Le 5:1. To swear by a false god was an act of idolatry, Jer 5:7; 12:16.
Among the Hebrews an oath was administered by the judge, who stood up, and adjured the party who was to be sworn. In this manner our Lord was adjured by Caiaphas, Mt 26:63. Jesus had remained silent under long examination, when the high priest, rising up, knowing he had a sure mode of obtaining an answer said, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ." To this oath, thus solemnly administered, Jesus replied that he was indeed the Messiah.
An oath is a solemn appeal to God, as to an all-seeing witness that what we say is true, and an almighty avenger if what we say be false, Heb 6:16. Its force depends upon our conviction of the infinite justice of God; that he will not hold those guiltless who take his name in vain; and that the loss of his favor immeasurable outweighs all that could be gained by false witness. It is an act of religious worship; on which account God requires it to be taken in his name, De 10:20, and points out the manner in which it ought to be administered, and the duty of the person who swears, Ex 22:11; De 6:18; Ps 15:4; 24:4. Hence atheists, who profess to believe that there is no God, and persons who do not believe in a future state of reward and punishment, cannot consistently take an oath. In their mouths an oath can be only profane mockery.
God himself is represented as confirming his promise by oath, and thus conforming to what is practiced among men, Heb 6:13,16-17. The oaths forbidden in Mt 5:34-35; Jas 5:12, must refer to the unthinking, hasty, and vicious practices of the Jews; otherwise Paul would have acted against the command of Christ, Ro 1:9; Ga 1:20; 2Co 1:23. That person is obliged to take an oath whose duty requires him to declare the truth in the most solemn and judicial manner; though undoubtedly oaths are too often administered unnecessarily and irreverently, and taken with but slight consciousness of the responsibility thus assumed. As we are bound to manifest every possible degree of reverence towards God, the greatest care is to be taken that we swear neither rashly nor negligently in making promises. To neglect performance is perjury, unless the promise be contrary to the law of nature and of God; in which case no oath is binding. See CORBAN, and VOWS.
A customary formula of taking an oath was "The Lord do so to me, and more also;" that is, the lord slay me, as the victim sacrificed on many such occasions was slain, and punish me even more than this, if I speak not the truth, Ru 1:17; 1Sa 3:17. Similar phrases are these: "As the Lord liveth," Jg 8:19 "Before God I lie not," Ro 9:1; "I say the truth in Christ," 1Ti 2:7; "God is my record," Php 1.8. Several acts are alluded to as accompaniments of an oath; as putting the hand under the thigh, Ge 24:2; 47:29; and raising the hand towards heaven, Ge 14:22-23; De 32:40; Re 10:5.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth, {that neither a thread nor} a thong of a sandal would I take from all that [belongs] to you, that you might not say, 'I made Abram rich.'
And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh
When {the time of Israel's death drew near}, he called to his son, to Joseph. And he said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, that you might [vow] to deal kindly and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,
the oath of Yahweh will be between the two of them [concerning] whether or not he has reached out his hand to his neighbor's possession, and its owner will accept [this], and he will not make restitution.
the oath of Yahweh will be between the two of them [concerning] whether or not he has reached out his hand to his neighbor's possession, and its owner will accept [this], and he will not make restitution.
" 'When a person sins in that he hears [the] utterance of a curse and he [is] a witness or he sees or he knows, if he does not make [it] known, then he shall bear his guilt.
And you shall do [what is] right and good in the eyes of Yahweh, so that {it shall go well} for you and [so that] you may go and you may take possession of the good land that Yahweh swore for your ancestors,
Yahweh your God, you shall revere him, you shall serve him, and to him you shall cling, and by his name you shall swear.
For [indeed] I lift up my hand to heaven, And I promise {as I live forever},
He said, "They [were] my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had kept them alive I would not kill you."
Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. So may Yahweh do to me, {and even more, unless} death {separates you and me}!"
In his eyes a rejected one [is] contemptible, but he honors those who respect Yahweh. He takes an oath to [his own] injury and does not retract it.
He who is innocent of hands and pure of heart, who does not lift up his soul to falseness, and does not swear deceitfully.
"{How} can I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me, and they have sworn by [those who are] not gods. But I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery, and flocked [to] the house of a prostitute.
{And then}, if they diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, '{as Yahweh lives},' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will live in the midst of my people.
But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God, or by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king.
But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!"
For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness, how constantly I make mention of you,
I am telling the truth in Christ--[I am] not lying; my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit--
(Now [the things] which I am writing to you, behold, [I assure you] before God that I am not lying.)
if indeed you remain in the faith, established and steadfast and not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
for which I was appointed a herald and an apostle--I am speaking the truth, [I am] not lying--a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
For [when] God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself,
For people swear by what is greater [than themselves], and the oath for confirmation [is the] end of all dispute for them.
For people swear by what is greater [than themselves], and the oath for confirmation [is the] end of all dispute for them. In the same way God, [because he] wanted to show even more to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his resolve, guaranteed [it] with an oath,
Now above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, in order that you may not fall under judgment.
And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven
Easton
a solemn appeal to God, permitted on fitting occasions (De 6:13; Jer 4:2), in various forms (Ge 16:5; 2Sa 12:5; Ru 1:17; Ho 4:15; Ro 1:9), and taken in different ways (Ge 14:22; 24:2; 2Ch 6:22). God is represented as taking an oath (Heb 6:16-18), so also Christ (Mt 26:64), and Paul (Ro 9:1; Ga 1:20; Php 1:8). The precept, "Swear not at all," refers probably to ordinary conversation between man and man (Mt 5:34,37). But if the words are taken as referring to oaths, then their intention may have been to show "that the proper state of Christians is to require no oaths; that when evil is expelled from among them every yea and nay will be as decisive as an oath, every promise as binding as a vow."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth,
And Sarai said to Abram, "may my harm [be] upon you. {I had my servant sleep with you}, and [when] she saw that she had conceived, {she no longer respected me}. May Yahweh judge between me and you!"
And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh
"You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him, and by his name you shall swear.
Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. So may Yahweh do to me, {and even more, unless} death {separates you and me}!"
and you swear, '{As Yahweh lives},' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations will be blessed by him, and in him they will boast."
Even though you, Israel, [are] playing the whore, do not let Judah become guilty; do not enter Gilgal, or go up [to] Beth-aven; and do not swear, "{As Yahweh lives}!"
But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God,
But let your statement be 'Yes, yes; no, no,' and anything beyond these is from the evil one.
Jesus said to him, "You have said [it]. But I tell you, from now [on] you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."
For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness, how constantly I make mention of you,
I am telling the truth in Christ--[I am] not lying; my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit--
(Now [the things] which I am writing to you, behold, [I assure you] before God that I am not lying.)
For God [is] my witness, that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
For people swear by what is greater [than themselves], and the oath for confirmation [is the] end of all dispute for them. In the same way God, [because he] wanted to show even more to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his resolve, guaranteed [it] with an oath, read more. in order that through two unchangeable things, in which [it is] impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge may have powerful encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before [us],
Fausets
Heb 6:16; "an oath for confirmation is the end of strife (contradiction)." Therefore, Christianity sanctions oaths, but they are to be used only to put an end to contradiction in disputes and for confirmation of solemn promises. God, in condescension to man's mode of confirming covenants, confirmed His word by oath; by these "two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." And "because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself": also Heb 7:28. Jesus Himself accepted the high priest's adjuration (Mt 26:63). Paul often calls God to witness the truth of his assertions (Ac 26:29; Ro 1:9; 9:1; 2Co 1:23; 11:31; Ga 1:20; Php 1:8). So the angel, Re 10:6. The prohibition "swear not at all" (Mt 5:34; Jas 5:12) refers to trivial occasions, not to oaths on solemn occasions and before magistrates. In every day conversation your simple yea or nay suffices to establish your word.
The Jews held oaths not binding if God's name did not directly occur (Lightfoot, Hor. Heb.). "Thou shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths" meant in the Jews' view, which Christ combats, if not sworn to the Lord the oath is not binding. Jesus says on the contrary, every oath by the creature, heaven, earth, etc., is by the Creator whether His name be mentioned or not, and is therefore binding. In the perfect Christian state all oaths would be needless, for distrust of another's word and untruth would not exist. Meantime, they are needed on solemn occasions. But men do not escape the guilt of "taking God's name in vain" by avoiding the name itself, as in the oaths, "faith!" "gracious!" "by heaven," etc. The connection in Jas 5:12 is, Swear not through impatience to which trials may tempt you (Jas 5:10-11); in contrast stands the proper use of the tongue, Jas 5:13.
To appeal to a pagan god by oath is to acknowledge his deity, and is therefore forbidden (Jos 23:7; Jer 5:7; 12:16; Am 8:14), as in swearing to appeal to God is recognizing Him (De 6:13; Isa 19:18; 65:16). An oath even to a pagan king is so binding that Jehovah's chief reason for dethroning Zedekiah and giving him over to die in Babylon was his violating his oath to Nebuchadnezzar (Eze 17:13-20; 2Ch 36:13). Jewish criminal procedure admitted the accused to clear himself or herself by oath (Nu 5:19-22; 1Ki 8:31); our Lord, Mt 26:63. Oath gestures were "lifting up the hand" (De 32:40; Ge 14:22; Isa 3:7; Eze 20:5-6). Witnesses laid their hands on the head of the accused (Le 24:14).
Putting the hand under the thigh of the superior to whom the oath was taken in sign of subjection and obedience (Aben Ezra): Ge 24:2; 47:29; or else because the hip was the part from which the posterity issued (Ge 46:26) and the seat of vital power. In making (Hebrew "cutting") a covenant the victim was divided, and the contracting parties passed between the portions, in token that the two became joined in one. (See COVENANT.) In Ge 15:8-17 Abram was there, and God signified His presence by the burning lamp which passed between the pieces (Jer 34:18). Compare Jg 19:29; 1Sa 11:7, where a similar slaughter of the oxen of any who should not follow Saul is symbolized.
The false witness was doomed to the punishment due to the crime which he attested (De 19:16-19). Blasphemy was punishable with death (Le 24:11,16). The obligation in Le 5:1 to testify when adjured (for "swearing" translated "adjuration," 'alah) was that on which our Lord acted before Caiaphas (Mt 26:63). Alah, from 'Eel "God," is used for "imprecations" (Nu 5:23). "Shaba," from sheba' "seven" the sacred number, is the general word "swear"; compare the seven ewe lambs given by Abraham to Abimelech in covenanting (Ge 21:30).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth,
And he said, "O Yahweh God, how shall I know [that] I will possess it?" And he said to him, "Take for me a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old female goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove and a young pigeon." read more. And he took for him all these and cut them in pieces down the middle. And he put each piece opposite {the other}, but the birds he did not cut. And the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. And it happened, as the sun {went down}, then a deep sleep fell upon Abram and, behold, a great terrifying darkness fell upon him. And he said to Abram, "{You must surely know} that your descendants shall be [as] aliens in a land {not their own}. And they shall serve them and they shall oppress them four hundred years. And also the nation that they serve I will judge. Then afterward they shall go out with great possessions. And [as for] you, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And the fourth generation shall return here, for the guilt of the Amorites {is not yet complete}." And after the sun had gone down and it [was] dusk, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between those half pieces.
And he said, "You shall take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand {as proof on my behalf} that I dug this well."
And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh
All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt {who were his descendants}, not including the wives of the sons of Jacob [were] sixty-six persons in all.
When {the time of Israel's death drew near}, he called to his son, to Joseph. And he said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, that you might [vow] to deal kindly and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,
" 'When a person sins in that he hears [the] utterance of a curse and he [is] a witness or he sees or he knows, if he does not make [it] known, then he shall bear his guilt.
Then the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the name, and he cursed, so they brought him to Moses--and the name of his mother [was] Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
"Bring the curser {outside the camp}, and all the hearers shall place their hands on his head, and the whole community shall stone him.
And he who blasphemes Yahweh's name certainly shall be put to death; the whole community certainly shall stone him. As the alien, so the native shall be put to death at blaspheming his name.
Then the priest will make her swear an oath, and he will say to the woman, "If a man has not slept with you, and if you have not had an impurity affair under your husband, go unpunished from the waters of bitterness that brings this curse. But if you have had an affair under your husband, and if you are defiled and a man other than your husband had intercourse with you," read more. the priest will make the woman swear an oath of the sworn oath of the curse, the priest will say to the woman, "May Yahweh give you a curse and a sworn oath in the midst of your people with Yahweh making your hip fall away and your stomach swollen; and these waters that bring a curse will go into your intestines to cause [your] womb to swell and to make [your] hip fall away." And the women will say, "Amen. Amen." " 'And the priests will write these curses on the scroll, and he will wipe [them] off into the waters of the bitterness.
"You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him, and by his name you shall swear.
If {a malicious witness} gets up {to accuse} anyone to testify against him falsely, then the two men {to whom the legal dispute pertains} shall stand {before} Yahweh, {before} the priests and the judges who are [in office] in those days. read more. Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and [if] it turns out that the witness is a false witness [and] he testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he meant to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.
For [indeed] I lift up my hand to heaven, And I promise {as I live forever},
so as not to go among these remaining nations with you; {do not profess} the name of their gods, and do not swear by them, serve them, or {bow down to them}.
When he entered his house he took a knife, and he grasped his concubine and cut her into twelve pieces; and he sent her throughout the whole territory of Israel.
He will lift up [his voice] on that day, saying, "I will not be a healer; in my house there is no bread and there is no cloak. You shall not make me [the] leader of [the] people!"
On that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the {language} of Canaan and swear an oath to Yahweh of hosts. One will be called "City of the Sun."
Whoever blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of trustworthiness, and the one who swears an oath in the land shall swear by the God of trustworthiness, because the former troubles are forgotten, and they are hidden from my eyes.
"{How} can I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me, and they have sworn by [those who are] not gods. But I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery, and flocked [to] the house of a prostitute.
{And then}, if they diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, '{as Yahweh lives},' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will live in the midst of my people.
And I will make the men who transgressed my covenant, who have not kept the words of the covenant that they {made} {before me}, [like] the calf which they cut in two and they passed between its parts--
And he took from the seed of the kingship, and he made with him a covenant, and {he brought him under oath}, and he took the rulers of the land, so that [they would] be a humble kingdom and not lift itself up to keep his covenant {in order for it to stand}. read more. But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers [to] Egypt to give to him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he escape doing these [things], and can he break [the] covenant and escape? {As I live},' {declares} the Lord Yahweh, '{surely} in the place of the king {who made} him king, who despised his oath and who broke his covenant with him--in the midst of Babylon he will die. And not with a great army and with a great crowd will Pharaoh work with him in the war, at the pouring out of a siege ramp and the building of siege works to destroy many lives. And he despised [the] oath to break covenant. And, look, he gave his hand [in pledge], and [yet] he did all of these [things]. He will not escape.' Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: '{As I live}, {surely} my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke I will return upon his head. And I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net, and I will bring him [to] Babylon, and I will enter into judgment with him there [about] his infidelity that he displayed against me.
And you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "On the day of my choosing Israel {I swore} to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and {I swore} to them, {saying}, 'I [am] Yahweh your God.' On that day {I swore} to them to bring them out from the land of Egypt to [the] land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey--it [is the most] beautiful of all of the lands.
[These are] those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, 'By the life of your gods, O Dan,' and 'By the life of the way of Beersheba,' they will fall and they will not rise again."
But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God,
But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!"
But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!"
But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!"
And Paul [replied], "I pray to God, whether in a short time or in a long time, not only you but also all those who are listening to me today may become such [people] as I also am, except for these bonds!"
For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness, how constantly I make mention of you,
I am telling the truth in Christ--[I am] not lying; my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit--
(Now [the things] which I am writing to you, behold, [I assure you] before God that I am not lying.)
For God [is] my witness, that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
if indeed you remain in the faith, established and steadfast and not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
For people swear by what is greater [than themselves], and the oath for confirmation [is the] end of all dispute for them.
For the law appoints men [as] high priests who have weakness, but the statement of the oath, after the law, [appoints] a Son, who is made perfect {forever}.
Brothers, take [as an] example of perseverance and endurance the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider blessed those who have endured. You have heard about the patient endurance of Job, and you saw the outcome from the Lord, that the Lord is compassionate and merciful. read more. Now above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, in order that you may not fall under judgment.
Now above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, in order that you may not fall under judgment. Is anyone among you suffering misfortune? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praise.
and swore by the one who lives {forever and ever}, who created heaven and the [things] in it, and the earth and the [things] in it, and the sea and the [things] in it, "There will be no more delay!
Morish
A solemn asseveration with an appeal to God that what is said is true. The apostle said that among men an oath for confirmation is the "end of all strife" or dispute; and God, willing to show "the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things His word and His oath in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation." Heb 6:16-18. Jehovah swore that the Lord Jesus should be a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. Ps 110:4.
Le 5:1 has been interpreted as signifying that when the voice of adjuration was heard, persons were compelled to confess what they knew as to any charge. Thus the Lord Jesus when adjured by the high priest answered him. The Lord was under an accusation, and was adjured to say if it was true. He acknowledged that He was "the Christ the Son of God." Mt 26:63-64.
The Lord exposed the folly of the tradition that some oaths were not binding. Mt 23:16-22.
In the common intercourse of life there should be no oaths, the simple 'yea' and 'nay' should be enough, "swear not at all," Mt 5:34-37; Jas 5:12; the context of these passages shows that they do not refer to judicial oaths: cf. also Heb 6:13,16; 7:21; Re 10:6.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
" 'When a person sins in that he hears [the] utterance of a curse and he [is] a witness or he sees or he knows, if he does not make [it] known, then he shall bear his guilt.
Yahweh has sworn and he will not change [his mind], "You [are] a priest forever according to the manner of Melchizedek."
But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God, or by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king. read more. And do not swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. But let your statement be 'Yes, yes; no, no,' and anything beyond these is from the evil one.
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound [by his oath].' Fools and blind [people]! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? read more. And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift [that is] on it is bound [by his oath].' Blind [people]! For which [is] greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything [that is] on it. And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells [in] it And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.
But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "You have said [it]. But I tell you, from now [on] you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."
For [when] God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself,
For people swear by what is greater [than themselves], and the oath for confirmation [is the] end of all dispute for them.
For people swear by what is greater [than themselves], and the oath for confirmation [is the] end of all dispute for them. In the same way God, [because he] wanted to show even more to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his resolve, guaranteed [it] with an oath, read more. in order that through two unchangeable things, in which [it is] impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge may have powerful encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before [us],
but he with an oath by the one who said to him, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You [are] a priest {forever}'"),
Now above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, in order that you may not fall under judgment.
and swore by the one who lives {forever and ever}, who created heaven and the [things] in it, and the earth and the [things] in it, and the sea and the [things] in it, "There will be no more delay!
Smith
Oath,
The principle on which an oath is held to be binding is incidentally laid down in
viz. as an ultimate appeal to divine authority to ratify an assertion. On the same principle, that oath has always been held most binding which appealed to the highest authority, as regards both individuals and communities. As a consequence of this principle, appeals to God's name on the one hand, and to heathen deities on the other, are treated in scripture as tests of allegiance.
etc. So also the sovereign's name is sometimes used as a form of obligation.
Other forms of oath, serious or frivolous, are mentioned, some of which are condemned by our Lord.
and see
(There is, however, a world-wide difference between a solemn appeal to God and profane swearing.) The forms of adjuration mentioned in Scripture are --
1. Lifting up the hand. Witnesses laid their hands on the head of the accused.
Ge 14:22; Le 24:14; De 17:7; Isa 3:7
2. Putting the hand under the thigh of the person to whom the Promise was made.
3. Oaths were sometimes taken before the altar, or, as some understand the passage, if the persons were not in Jerusalem, in a position looking toward the temple.
4. Dividing a victim and passing between or distributing the pieces.
As the sanctity of oaths was carefully inculcated by the law, so the crime of perjury was strongly condemned; and to a false witness the same punishment was assigned which was due for the crime to which he testified.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth,
And he took for him all these and cut them in pieces down the middle. And he put each piece opposite {the other}, but the birds he did not cut.
And after the sun had gone down and it [was] dusk, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between those half pieces.
And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh
By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh you will not go out from here unless your youngest brother comes here.
When {the time of Israel's death drew near}, he called to his son, to Joseph. And he said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, that you might [vow] to deal kindly and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,
"You shall not {misuse the name of Yahweh your God}, because Yahweh will not leave unpunished [anyone] who {misuses his name}.
" 'And you will be attentive to all that I have said to you, and you will not {profess} the name of other gods; it will not be heard in your mouth.
And Yahweh passed over before him, and he proclaimed, "Yahweh, Yahweh, God, [who is] compassionate and gracious, {slow to anger}, and abounding with loyal love and faithfulness,
and you shall not swear {falsely} in my name, and so [one of] you profane the name of your God; I [am] Yahweh.
"Bring the curser {outside the camp}, and all the hearers shall place their hands on his head, and the whole community shall stone him.
The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person to kill the person, and afterward the hands [of] all the people, and [so] you shall purge the evil from your midst.
{in order for you to enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God}, and into his oath that Yahweh your God [is] {making with you} {today},
[If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house,
And I will make the men who transgressed my covenant, who have not kept the words of the covenant that they {made} {before me}, [like] the calf which they cut in two and they passed between its parts--
But seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these [things] will be added to you.
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound [by his oath].' Fools and blind [people]! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? read more. And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift [that is] on it is bound [by his oath].' Blind [people]! For which [is] greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything [that is] on it. And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells [in] it And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.
For people swear by what is greater [than themselves], and the oath for confirmation [is the] end of all dispute for them.
Now above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, in order that you may not fall under judgment.
Watsons
OATH, a solemn invocation of a superior power, admitted to be acquainted with all the secrets of our hearts, with our inward thoughts as well as our outward actions, to witness the truth of what we assert, and to inflict his vengeance upon us if we assert what is not true, or promise what we do not mean to perform. Almost all nations, whether savage or civilized, whether enjoying the light of revelation or led only by the light of reason, knowing the importance of truth, and willing to obtain a barrier against falsehood, have had recourse to oaths, by which they have endeavoured to make men fearful of uttering lies, under the dread of an avenging Deity. Among Christians, an oath is a solemn appeal for the truth of our assertions, the sincerity of our promises, and the fidelity of our engagements, to the one only God, the Judge of the whole earth, who is every where present, and sees, and hears, and knows, whatever is said, or done, or thought in any part of the world. Such is that Being whom Christians, when they take an oath, invoke to bear testimony to the truth of their words, and the integrity of their hearts. Surely, then, if oaths be a matter of so much moment, it well behoves us not to treat them with levity, nor ever to take them without due consideration. Hence we ought, with the utmost vigilance, to abstain from mingling oaths in our ordinary discourse, and from associating the name of God with low or disgusting images, or using it on trivial occasions, as not only a profane levity in itself, but tending to destroy that reverence for the supreme Majesty which ought to prevail in society, and to dwell in our own hearts.
The forms of oaths, says Dr. Paley, "like other religious ceremonies, have in all ages been various; consisting, however, for the most part of some bodily action, and of a prescribed form of words." Among the Jews, the juror held up his right hand toward heaven, Ps 144:8; Re 10:5. The same form is retained in Scotland still. Among the Jews, also, an oath of fidelity was taken by the servant's putting his hand under the thigh of his lord, Ge 24:2. Among the Greeks and Romans, the form varied with the subject and occasion of the oath; in private contracts, the parties took hold of each other's hands, while they swore to the performance; or they touched the altar of the god by whose divinity they swore: upon more solemn occasions, it was the custom to slay a victim; and the beast being struck down with certain ceremonies and invocations, gave birth to the expression, ferire pactum; and to our English phrase, translated from this, of "striking a bargain." The form of oaths in Christian countries is also very different: but in no country in the world worse contrived, either to convey the meaning or impress the obligation of an oath, than in our own. The juror with us, after repeating the promise or affirmation which the oath is intended to confirm, adds, "So help me God;" or, more frequently, the substance of the oath is repeated to the juror by the magistrate, who adds in the conclusion, "So help you God." The energy of this sentence resides in the particle so: So, that is, hac lege, upon condition of my speaking the truth, or performing this promise, and not otherwise, may God help me! The juror, while he hears or repeats the words of the oath, holds his right hand upon a Bible, or other book containing the Gospels, and at the conclusion kisses the book. This obscure and elliptical form, together with the levity and frequency of them, has brought about a general inadvertency to the obligation of oaths, which, both in a religious and political view, is much to be lamented; and it merits public consideration, whether the requiring of oaths upon so many frivolous occasions, especially in the customs, and in the qualification for petty offices, has any other effect than to make such sanctions cheap in the minds of the people. A pound of tea cannot travel regularly from the ship to the consumer, without costing half a dozen oaths at least; and the same security for the due discharge of their office, namely, that of an oath, is required from a churchwarden and an archbishop; from a petty constable and the chief justice of England. Oaths, however, are lawful; and whatever be the form, the signification is the same. Historians have justly remarked, that when the reverence for an oath began to diminish among the Romans, and the loose epicurean system, which discarded the belief of providence, was introduced, the Roman honour and prosperity from that period began to decline. The Quakers refuse to swear upon any occasion, founding their scruples concerning the lawfulness of oaths upon our Saviour's prohibition, "Swear not at all," Mt 5:34. But it seems our Lord there referred to the vicious, wanton, and unauthorized swearing in common discourse, and not to judicial oaths; for he himself answered, when interrogated, upon oath, Mt 26:63-64; Mr 14:61. The Apostle Paul also makes use of expressions which contain the nature of oaths, Ro 1:9; 1Co 15:31; 2Co 1:18; Ga 1:20; Heb 6:13-17. The administration of oaths supposes that God will punish false swearing with more severity than a simple lie, or breach of promise; for which belief there are the following reasons:
1. Perjury is a sin of greater deliberation. 2. It violates a superior confidence. 3. God directed the Israelites to swear by his name, De 6:13; 10:20; and was pleased to confirm his covenant with that people by an oath; neither of which, it is probable, he would have done, had he not intended to represent oaths as having some meaning and effect beyond the obligation of a bare promise.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh
"You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him, and by his name you shall swear.
Yahweh your God, you shall revere him, you shall serve him, and to him you shall cling, and by his name you shall swear.
whose mouth speaks falsely, and their right hand [is] a false right hand.
But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God,
But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "You have said [it]. But I tell you, from now [on] you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."
But he was silent and did not reply anything. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"
For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness, how constantly I make mention of you,
(Now [the things] which I am writing to you, behold, [I assure you] before God that I am not lying.)
and he himself is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in everything,
For [when] God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, "Surely {I will greatly bless} you, and {I will greatly multiply} you." read more. And so, [by] persevering, he obtained the promise. For people swear by what is greater [than themselves], and the oath for confirmation [is the] end of all dispute for them. In the same way God, [because he] wanted to show even more to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his resolve, guaranteed [it] with an oath,
And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven