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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And Abraham took sheep and oxen, stud gave to Abimelech, - and they two solemnised a covenant So then Abram set seven young sheep of the flock by them-selves, read more. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What, then mean these seven young sheep here, which thou hast set by themselves? And he said, The seven young sheep, shalt thou take at my hand, - that they may serve as my witness, that I digged this well. On this account, was the name of that place called Beer-sheba, - because there, had they two sworn.
Then called out the messenger of Yahweh unto Abraham, - a second time out of the heavens;
So Abraham said unto his servant, elder of his house, ruler of all that he had, - Place, I pray thee thy hand under my thigh;
And they said: We, saw plainly, that Yahweh was with thee, so we said, Let there be we pray thee an oath betwixt us both, betwixt us and thee, - and let us solemnise a covenant with thee: -
If thou oppress my daughters, or if thou take wives besides my daughters, - there may be no man with us - see! God, be witness betwixt me, and thee!
The Gods of Abraham and the Gods of Nahor judge betwixt us - the Gods of their fathers. And Jacob sware by the Dread of his father Isaac:
The Gods of Abraham and the Gods of Nahor judge betwixt us - the Gods of their fathers. And Jacob sware by the Dread of his father Isaac:
And the days of Israel drew near that he must die, so he called for his son for Joseph and said to him - If, I pray thee I have found favour in thine eyes, place, I pray thee thy hand under my thigh, - so shalt thou deal with me in lovingkindness and faithfulness - Do not I pray thee, bury me in Egypt.
And I will bring you into the land as to which I uplifted my hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, - and will give it to you as an inheritance: I, am Yahweh.
When a man delivereth unto his neighbour, an ass, or an ox or a sheep, or any beast, to keep, - and it dieth or is fractured, or is driven away, no one beholding, the oath of Yahweh, shall come between them both, That he hath not laid his hand on the property of his neighbour, - then shall the owner thereof accept it and he shall not make restitution.
When any person, shall sin, and shall commit a trespass against Yahweh, - and shall withhold something of the truth from his neighbour in respect of a deposit, or a pledge or anything plundered, or shall use extortion with his neighbour; or shall find something lost and shall withhold some-thing of the truth therein, and shall swear to a falsehood, - as regardeth a single thing of all that a son of earth may do, to commit sin thereby; read more. and so it shall come about that he shall commit sin and then become aware of his guilt, then shall he return the plunder which he had plundered, or the extortion which he had extorted, or the deposit that was deposited with him, - or the lost thing which he hath found: or in anything as to which he hath been swearing to a falsehood, then shall he make it good in the principal thereof, and the fifth part thereof, shall he add thereunto, - to whomsoever it belongeth, to him, shall he give it in the day he becometh aware of his guilt; but, his guilt-bearer, itself, shall he bring in unto Yahweh, - a ram without defect out of the flock by thine estimate as a guilt-bearer, unto the priest. So shall the priest put a propitiatory-covering over him before Yahweh, and it shall be forgiven him, - on account of any one thing, of all which one might do, so as to become guilty therein.
then shall the priest put the woman on oath with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, Yahweh give thee up for a curse and for an oath in the midst of thy people, - in that Yahweh shall give up thy thigh to fall away, and thy womb to swell:
none of you, shall enter into the land, as to which I uplifted my hand to give you an abode therein, - save Caleb son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun:
Yahweh thy God, shalt thou revere And him, shalt thou serve, - And by his name, shalt thou swear.
For I lift up unto the heavens my hand, - And say, Living am, I, unto times age-abiding:
And Joshua made peace with them, and solemnised with them a covenant to let them live, - and the princes of the assembly, entered into an oath with them.
And he said: My brethren, sons of my mother, they were! As Yahweh liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not have slain you.
But David sware yet further, and said - Thy father, doth know, that I have found favour in thine eyes, therefore saith he, - Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he grieve; but, indeed, by the life of Yahweh, and by the life of thine own soul, surely there is but as it were a step betwixt me and death!
But Ittai answered the king, and said, - By the life of Yahweh, and by the life of my lord the king, surely, in whatsoever place, my lord the king, may be, whether for death or for life, there will, thy servant, be.
Then swore King Solomon by Yahweh, saying, - So, let God do to me, and, so, let him add, if, at the cost of his life, Adonijah hath not spoken this word.
Hear ye this - O house of Jacob, Ye who call yourselves by the name of Israel, Yea from the waters of Judah, came they forth, - Who swear by the name of Yahweh, And, by the God of Israel, call to remembrance - Not in truth, nor in righteousness;
So shall ye leave your name for an oath, to my chosen ones, - So then My Lord Yahweh, will slay thee, - And his servants, will he, call by another name:
And it shall come to pass - If they will, diligently learn, the ways of my people - To swear by my Name saying, By the life of Yahweh, As they taught my people to swear by Baal, Then shall they be built in the midst of my people.
So shall there be taken up - from them - a curse, by all of the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon saying, - Yahweh make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, Whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!
They, therefore said unto Jeremiah, Yahweh be against us, as a witness true and faithful, - if according to all the word which Yahweh thy God shall send thee unto us, so we do not perform:
And I heard the man clothed with linen who was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left unto the heavens, and sware by him that liveth unto times age-abiding, - For a set time and times and a half, and, when the dispersion of a part of the holy people, is brought to an end, then shall come to an end all these things.
And it shall come to pass that - Just as ye had become a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So, will I save you, and ye shall become a blessing, - Do not fear, let your hands, be strong.
And, again, he denied, with an oath - I know not the man.