Reference: Oaths
Hastings
How the need of oaths must first have arisen can be seen in such a passage as Ex 22:10-11 : 'If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or a beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing It: the oath of the Lord shall be between them both, whether he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner thereof shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution.' As there is no witness to substantiate the innocence or prove the guilt of the suspected person
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So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a league or covenant. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock, read more. And Abimelech said to Abraham, What do these seven ewe lambs which you have set apart mean? He said, You are to accept these seven ewe lambs from me as a witness for me that I dug this well. Therefore that place was called Beersheba [well of the oath], because there both parties swore an oath.
The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time
And Abraham said to the eldest servant of his house [Eliezer of Damascus], who ruled over all that he had, I beg of you, put your hand under my thigh;
They said, We saw that the Lord was certainly with you; so we said, Let there be now an oath between us [carrying a curse with it to befall the one who breaks it], even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you
If you should afflict, humiliate, or lower [divorce] my daughters, or if you should take other wives beside my daughters, although no man is with us [to witness], see (remember), God is witness between you and me.
The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, and the god [the object of worship] of their father [Terah, an idolator], judge between us. But Jacob swore [only] by [the one true God] the Dread and Fear of his father Isaac.
The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, and the god [the object of worship] of their father [Terah, an idolator], judge between us. But Jacob swore [only] by [the one true God] the Dread and Fear of his father Isaac.
When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and [promise to] deal loyally and faithfully with me. Do not bury me, I beg of you, in Egypt,
And I will bring you into the land concerning which I lifted up My hand and swore that I would give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you for a heritage. I am the Lord [you have the pledge of My changeless omnipotence and faithfulness].
If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep and it dies or is hurt or driven away, no man seeing it, Then an oath before the Lord shall be required between the two that the man has not taken his neighbor's property; and the owner of it shall accept his word and not require him to make good the loss.
And the Lord said to Moses, If anyone sins and commits a trespass against the Lord and deals falsely with his neighbor in a matter of deposit given him to keep, or of bargain or pledge, or of robbery, or has oppressed his neighbor, read more. Or has found what was lost and lied about it, or swears falsely, in any of all the things which men do and sin in so doing, Then if he has sinned and is guilty, he shall restore what he took by robbery, or what he secured by oppression or extortion, or what was delivered him to keep in trust, or the lost thing which he found, Or anything about which he has sworn falsely; he shall not only restore it in full, but shall add to it one fifth more and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day of his trespass or guilt offering. And he shall bring to the priest his trespass or guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued by you to the amount of his trespass; And the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for anything of all that he may have done by which he has become guilty.
Then the priest shall make the woman take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman, The Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people when the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your body swell.
Surely none shall come into the land in which I swore to make you dwell, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
You shall [reverently] fear the Lord your God and serve Him and swear by His name [and presence].
Joshua made peace with them, covenanting with them to let them live, and the assembly's leaders swore to them.
And he said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
But David replied, Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.
But Ittai answered the king, As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or life, even there also will your servant be.
Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not requested this against his own life.
Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and who come forth from the seed of Judah, you who swear allegiance by the name of the Lord and make mention of the God of Israel -- "but not in truth and sincerity, nor in righteousness (rightness and moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) -- "
And you will leave your name to My chosen [to those who will use it] for a curse; and the Lord God will slay you, but He will call His servants by another name [as much greater than the former name as the name Israel was greater than the name Jacob].
And if these [neighbor nations] will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, saying, As the Lord lives -- "even as they taught My people to swear by Baal -- "then will they be built up in the midst of My people.
And because of them, this curse shall be taken up and used by all from Judah who are in captivity in Babylon: The Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire -- "
Then they said to Jeremiah, May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we fail to do according to all the things that the Lord your God sends you to tell us.
And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right and his left hand toward the heavens and swore by Him Who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half a time [or three and one-half years]; and when they have made an end of shattering and crushing the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
And as you have been a curse and a byword among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong and hardened.