Reference: VOW
American
A promise made to God of doing some good thing or abstaining from some lawful enjoyment, under the influence of gratitude for divine goodness, of imminent danger, the apprehension of future evils, or the desire of future blessings. To fulfill a vow binding one to sin, was to all sin to sin; but no considerations of inconvenience or loss could absolve one from a vow, Ps 15:4; Mal 1:14. Jacob, going into Mesopotamia, vowed the tenth of his estate, and promised to offer it at Beth-el, to the honor of God, Ge 28:20-22. Moses enacted several laws for the regulation and execution of vows. "If thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee; that which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform," De 23:21,23; Ec 5:4-5. The vows of minors, etc., were not binding without the consent of the head of the family, Nu 30. A man might devote himself or his children to the Lord, Nu 6:2. Jephthah devoted his daughter, Jg 11:30-40; and Samuel was vowed and consecrated to the service of the Lord, 1Sa 1:11,27-28. If men or women vowed themselves to the Lord, they were obliged to adhere strictly to his service, according to the conditions of the vow; but in some cases they might be redeemed, Le 27. These self-imposed services were more in keeping with the ancient dispensation, in which outward sacrifices and observances had so large a share, than with enlightened Christianity. See CORBAN, and NAZARITES.
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Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and the LORD will be my God, read more. then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you."
"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,
When you shall vow a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not be slack to pay it: for the LORD your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.
That which is gone out of your lips you shall observe and do; according as you have vowed to the LORD your God, a freewill offering, which you have promised with your mouth.
Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, "If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering." read more. So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hand. He struck them from Aroer until you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to Abelcheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. Jephthah came to Mizpah to his house; and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances: and she was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. It happened, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter. You have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me; for I have given my word to the LORD, and I can't break it." She said to him, "My father, since you have given your word to the LORD; do to me as you promised, because the LORD has taken vengeance for you on your enemies, even on the children of Ammon." She said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions." He said, "Go." He sent her away for two months: and she departed, she and her companions, and wept because of her virginity on the mountains. It happened at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to what he had vowed. And she was a virgin. It became a custom in Israel, that the daughters of Israel went yearly four days in a year to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
She vowed a vow, and said, "LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid a boy, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head."
For this child I prayed; and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of him. Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives he is lent to the LORD." He worshiped the LORD there.
In whose eyes a vile man is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; he who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and doesn't change;
When you vow a vow to God, do not defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you vow. It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay.
"But the deceiver is cursed, who has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices to the Lord a blemished thing; for I am a great King," says the LORD of hosts, "and my name is awesome among the nations."
Fausets
To be taken voluntarily; but when taken to be conscientiously fulfilled (De 23:21-23; Ec 5:5; Ne 1:11; Psalm 1.14; Pr 20:25). The Nazarite however was often dedicated froth infancy by the parent. (See NAZARITE.) For instances (See JACOB (Ge 28:20-22 with Ge 31:13; 35:1-4). (See JACOB.) Vows were of three kinds:
(1) vow of devotion, neder;
(2) of abstinence, 'esar (See CORBAN) ;
(3) of destruction, cherem (Ezr 10:8; Mic 4:13) (See ANATHEMA.)
A man could not devote to sacred uses the firstborn of man or beast, as being devoted already (Le 27:26). The law of redeeming vowed land is given (Le 27:15,24; 25:27). An animal fit for sacrifice could not be redeemed; any attempting it had to bring both the animal and its changeling (Le 27:9-10,33). An animal unfit for sacrifice, adding a fifth (Le 27:12-13).
A devoted person became a servant of the sanctuary (2Sa 15:8). The vow of a daughter or a wife was void if disallowed by the father or husband, otherwise it was binding (Nu 30:3-16). The wages of impurity was excluded from vows (De 23:17-18); "dog" means "Sodomite" (Mic 1:7). In Ashtoreth's and the Babylonian Mylitta's worship prostitution for hire devoted to the idol was usual (Le 19:29; 2Ki 23:7). The head was shaven after a vow (Ac 18:18; 21:24).
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Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and the LORD will be my God, read more. then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you."
I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you vowed a vow to me. Now arise, get out from this land, and return to the land of your birth.'"
God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother." Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, change your garments. read more. Let us arise, and go up to Bethel. I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went." They gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
"'Do not profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.
then let him reckon the years since its sale, and restore the surplus to the man to whom he sold it; and he shall return to his property.
"'If it is an animal, of which men offer an offering to the LORD, all that any man gives of such to the LORD becomes holy. He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change animal for animal, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy.
and the priest shall value it, whether it is good or bad. As you the priest values it, so shall it be. But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of it to its valuation.
If he who dedicates it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall be his.
In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belongs.
"'Only the firstborn among animals, which is made a firstborn to the LORD, no man may dedicate it; whether an ox or sheep, it is the LORD's.
He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he changes it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy. It shall not be redeemed.'"
"Also when a woman vows a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by a bond, being in her father's house, in her youth, and her father hears her vow, and her bond with which she has bound her soul, and her father holds his peace at her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she has bound her soul shall stand. read more. But if her father disallow her in the day that he hears, none of her vows, or of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD will forgive her, because her father disallowed her. "If she has a husband, while her vows are on her, or the rash utterance of her lips, with which she has bound her soul, and her husband hears it, and holds his peace at her in the day that he hears it; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she has bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband forbids her in the day that he hears it, then he shall make void her vow which is on her, and the rash utterance of her lips, with which she has bound her soul: and the LORD will forgive her. "But the vow of a widow, or of her who is divorced, everything with which she has bound her soul, shall stand against her. "If she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath, and her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and did not disallow her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband made them null and void in the day that he heard them, then whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband has made them void; and the LORD will forgive her. Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows, or all her bonds, which are on her: he has established them, because he says nothing to her on the day that he heard them. But if he shall make them null and void after that he has heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity." These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter, being in her youth, in her father's house.
There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sacred male prostitute of the children of Israel. You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute, or the wages of a dog, into the house of the LORD your God for any vow: for even both these are an abomination to the LORD your God.
When you shall vow a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not be slack to pay it: for the LORD your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you. But if you shall forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in you. read more. That which is gone out of your lips you shall observe and do; according as you have vowed to the LORD your God, a freewill offering, which you have promised with your mouth.
For your servant vowed a vow while I stayed at Geshur in Syria, saying, 'If the LORD shall indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.'"
and that whoever did not come within three days, according to the counsel of the officials and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.
Lord, I beg you, let your ear be attentive now to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who delight to fear your name; and please prosper your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." Now I was cup bearer to the king.
It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication, then later to consider his vows.
It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay.
All her idols will be beaten to pieces, and all her temple gifts will be burned with fire, and all her images I will destroy; for of the hire of a prostitute has she gathered them, and to the hire of a prostitute shall they return."
Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion; for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs brass; and you will beat in pieces many peoples: and I will devote their gain to the LORD, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.
Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow.
Take them, and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses for them, that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is no truth in the things that they have been informed about you, but that you yourself also walk keeping the Law.
Watsons
VOW, a promise made to God, of doing some good thing hereafter. The use of vows is observable throughout Scripture. When Jacob went into Mesopotamia, he vowed to God the tenth of his estate, and promised to offer it at Bethel, to the honour of God, Ge 28:22. Moses enacts several laws for the regulation and execution of vows. A man might devote himself, or his children, to the Lord. Jephthah devoted his daughter, Jg 11:30-31. Samuel was vowed or consecrated to the service of the Lord before his birth, by his pious mother Hannah; and was really offered to him, to serve in the tabernacle, 1Sa 1:21, &c. If a man and woman vowed themselves to the Lord, they were obliged to adhere strictly to his service, according to the conditions of the vow; but in some cases they might be redeemed. A man from twenty years of age till sixty, gave fifty shekels of silver; and a woman thirty, Le 27:3. From the age of five years to twenty, a man gave twenty shekels, and a woman ten; from a month old to five years, they gave for a boy five shekels, and for a girl three. A man of sixty years old, or upward, gave fifteen shekels, and a woman of the same age gave ten. If the person was poor, and could not procure this sum, the priest imposed a ransom upon him, according to his abilities. If any one had vowed an animal that was clean, he had not the liberty of redeeming it, or of exchanging it, but was obliged to sacrifice it to the Lord. If it was an unclean animal, and such as was not allowed to be sacrificed, the priest made a valuation of it; and if the proprietor would redeem it, he added a fifth part to the value, by way of forfeit. They did the same in proportion, when the thing vowed was a house or a field. They could not devote the first born, because in their own nature they belonged to the Lord, Le 27:28-29. Whatever was devoted by way of anathema, could not be redeemed, of whatever nature or quality it was. An animal was put to death, and other things were devoted for ever to the Lord. The consecration of Nazarites was a particular kind of vow. The vows and promises of children were void, of course, except they were ratified either by the express or tacit consent of their parents. It was the same with the vows of a married woman; they were of no validity, except confirmed by the express or tacit consent of her husband, Numbers 30. But widows, or liberated wives, were bound by their vows, whatever they were.
Whosoever invokes the awful name of God to witness, any untruth, knowing it to be such, is guilty of taking it in vain. Our Lord did not mean to preclude solemn appeals to heaven, whether oaths or vows, in courts of justice, or in important compacts. For an oath, or appeal to the greatest of all beings, as the Searcher of hearts, to witness a transaction, and to punish falsehood or perjury, is necessary, for putting an end to all strife or controversy among men, to promote confirmation or security of property, Heb 6:16. And it was sanctioned by the example of God, swearing by himself, Ge 22:15; Heb 6:17-18; and by the example of the patriarchs and saints of old; thus Abraham swore by the most high God, Creator of heaven and earth, Ge 14:22; the transjordanite tribes, by the God of gods, the Lord, Jos 22:22. And the law prescribed, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name," De 6:13. And afterward, "All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn unto the Lord with a loud voice, with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them; and the Lord gave them rest round about," 2Ch 15:14-15. And a highly gifted Apostle uses the following most solemn asseveration, "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not," 2Co 11:31. See the vows of the priests and Levites, to put away strange wives, Ezr 10:5; and to take no usury from their brethren, Ne 10:29, St. Paul also vowed a vow, which he performed, Ac 18:18; 21:23. Our Lord, therefore, reenacted the law, while he guarded against the abuse of it, by prohibiting all oaths in common conversation, as a profanation either of God's name, where that was irreverently used, or where any of his works was substituted instead of the awful and terrible name of the Lord, which the Jews, through superstitious dread, at length ceased to use, from misinterpretation of De 28:58: "But I say unto you, Swear not at all," in common conversation, by any of your usual oaths, "neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, &c. For, by the detestable casuistry of the scribes and Pharisees, some oaths were reckoned binding, others not, as we learn from the sequel; thus, to swear by the temple, the altar, heaven, &c, they considered as not binding: but to swear by the gold of the temple, by the gift on the altar, &c, they considered as binding; the absurdity and impiety of which practice is well exposed by our Lord in Mt 23:16-22.
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Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to the LORD, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
The angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of the sky,
then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you."
Your valuation shall be of a male from twenty years old even to sixty years old, even your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
"'Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote to the LORD of all that he has, whether of man or animal, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD. "'No one devoted, who shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
You shall fear the LORD your God; and you shall serve him only, and shall swear by his name.
If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, The LORD your God;
"El, God, the LORD. El, God, the LORD. He knows; and Israel shall know. If it was in rebellion, or if in trespass against the LORD, do not save us this day,
Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, "If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering."
The man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.
They swore to the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. All Judah rejoiced at the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest all around.
Then Ezra arose, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they swore.
they joined with their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;
"Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.' You blind fools. For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? read more. 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated?' You blind men. For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it, and by everything on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him who was living in it. He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits on it.
Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow.
Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow.
The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forevermore, knows that I do not lie.
For men swear by a greater one, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation. In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; read more. that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.