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
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. read more. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves? And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shall you take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have dug this well. Therefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they swore both of them.
And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh:
And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with you: and we said, Let there be now an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you;
If you shall afflict my daughters, or if you shall take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness between me and you.
The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us. And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us. And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
And the time drew near that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in your sight, put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray you, in Egypt:
And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for a heritage: I am the LORD.
If a man deliver unto his neighbor a donkey, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he has not put his hand unto his neighbor's goods; and the owner of it shall accept the oath, and he shall not make it good.
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, If a soul sins, and commits a trespass against the LORD, and lies unto his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or has deceived his neighbor; read more. Or has found that which was lost, and lies concerning it, and swears falsely; in any of all these that a man does, sinning therein: Then it shall be, because he has sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he has deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, Or all that about which he has sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it belongs, in the day of his trespass offering. And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with your valuation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he has done in trespassing therein.
Then the priest shall charge the woman to take an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD does make your thigh to rot, and your belly to swell;
Doubtless you shall not come into the land, concerning which I swore to make you dwell therein, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
You shall fear the LORD your God, and serve him, and shall swear by his name.
And Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live: and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.
And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
And David swore again, and said, Your father certainly knows that I have found grace in your eyes; and he says, 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.
And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will your servant be.
Then king Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.
Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and have come forth out of the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
And you shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay you, and call his servants by another name:
And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD lives; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.
And because of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things which the LORD your God shall send by you to us.
And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by him that lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished the shattering of the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
And it shall come to pass, that as you were a curse 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.