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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And Jacob voweth a vow, saying, 'Seeing God is with me, and hath kept me in this way which I am going, and hath given to me bread to eat, and a garment to put on -- when I have turned back in peace unto the house of my father, and Jehovah hath become my God, read more. then this stone which I have made a standing pillar is a house of God, and all that Thou dost give to me -- tithing I tithe to Thee.'
'Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When a man or woman doeth singularly, by vowing a vow of a Nazarite, to be separate to Jehovah;
When thou vowest a vow to Jehovah thy God, thou dost not delay to complete it; for Jehovah thy God doth certainly require it from thee, and it hath been in thee -- sin.
The produce of thy lips thou dost keep, and hast done it, as thou hast vowed to Jehovah thy God; a free-will-offering, which thou hast spoken with thy mouth.
And Jephthah voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, 'If Thou dost at all give the Bene-Ammon into my hand -- then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon -- it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it -- a burnt-offering.' read more. And Jephthah passeth over unto the Bene-Ammon to fight against them, and Jehovah giveth them into his hand, and he smiteth them from Aroer, and unto thy going in to Minnith, twenty cities, and unto the meadow of the vineyards -- a very great smiting; and the Bene-Ammon are humbled at the presence of the sons of Israel. And Jephthah cometh into Mizpeh, unto his house, and lo, his daughter is coming out to meet him with timbrels, and with choruses, and save her alone, he hath none, son or daughter. And it cometh to pass, when he seeth her, that he rendeth his garments, and saith, 'Alas, my daughter, thou hast caused me greatly to bend, and thou hast been among those troubling me; and I -- I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I am not able to turn back.' And she saith unto him, 'My father -- thou hast opened thy mouth unto Jehovah, do to me as it hath gone out from thy mouth, after that Jehovah hath done for thee vengeance on thine enemies, on the Bene-Ammon.' And she saith unto her father, 'Let this thing be done to me; desist from me two months, and I go on, and have gone down on the hills, and I weep for my virginity -- I and my friends.' And he saith, 'Go;' and he sendeth her away two months, and she goeth, she and her friends, and she weepeth for her virginity on the hills; and it cometh to pass at the end of two months that she turneth back unto her father, and he doth to her his vow which he hath vowed, and she knew not a man; and it is a statute in Israel: from time to time the daughters of Israel go to talk to the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year.
and voweth a vow, and saith, 'Jehovah of Hosts, if Thou dost certainly look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and hast remembered me, and dost not forget Thy handmaid, and hast given to Thy handmaid seed of men -- then I have given him to Jehovah all days of his life, and a razor doth not go up upon his head.'
for this youth I prayed, and Jehovah doth give to me my petition which I asked of Him; and also I have caused him to be asked for Jehovah, all the days that he hath lived -- he is asked for Jehovah;' and he boweth himself there before Jehovah.
Despised in his eyes is a rejected one, And those fearing Jehovah he doth honour. He hath sworn to suffer evil, and changeth not;
When thou vowest a vow to God, delay not to complete it, for there is no pleasure in fools; that which thou vowest -- complete. Better that thou do not vow, than that thou dost vow and dost not complete.
And cursed is a deceiver, who hath in his drove a male, And is vowing, and is sacrificing a marred thing to the Lord, For a great king am I, said Jehovah of Hosts, And My name is revered among 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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And Jacob voweth a vow, saying, 'Seeing God is with me, and hath kept me in this way which I am going, and hath given to me bread to eat, and a garment to put on -- when I have turned back in peace unto the house of my father, and Jehovah hath become my God, read more. then this stone which I have made a standing pillar is a house of God, and all that Thou dost give to me -- tithing I tithe to Thee.'
I am the God of Bethel where thou hast anointed a standing pillar, where thou hast vowed a vow to me; now, arise, go out from this land, and turn back unto the land of thy birth.'
And God saith unto Jacob, 'Rise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared unto thee in thy fleeing from the face of Esau thy brother.' And Jacob saith unto his household, and unto all who are with him, 'Turn aside the gods of the stranger which are in your midst, and cleanse yourselves, and change your garments; read more. and we rise, and go up to Bethel, and I make there an altar to God, who is answering me in the day of my distress, and is with me in the way that I have gone.' And they give unto Jacob all the gods of the stranger that are in their hand, and the rings that are in their ears, and Jacob hideth them under the oak which is by Shechem;
'Thou dost not pollute thy daughter to cause her to go a-whoring, that the land go not a-whoring, and the land hath been full of wickedness.
then he hath reckoned the years of its sale, and hath given back that which is over to the man to whom he sold it, and he hath returned to his possession.
And if it is a beast of which they bring near an offering to Jehovah, all that one giveth of it to Jehovah is holy; he doth not change it nor exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; and if he really change beast for beast, -- then it hath been -- it and its exchange is holy.
and the priest hath valued it; whether good or bad, according to thy valuation, O priest, so it is; and if he really redeem it, then he hath added its fifth to thy valuation.
and if he who is sanctifying doth redeem his house, then he hath added a fifth of the money of thy valuation to it, and it hath become his.
in the year of the jubilee the field returneth to him from whom he bought it, to him whose is the possession of the land.
Only, a firstling which is Jehovah's firstling among beasts -- no man doth sanctify it, whether ox or sheep; it is Jehovah's.
he enquireth not between good and bad, nor doth he change it; and if he really change it -- then it hath been -- it and its exchange is holy; it is not redeemed.'
'And when a woman voweth a vow to Jehovah, and hath bound a bond in the house of her father in her youth, and her father hath heard her vow, and her bond which she hath bound on her soul, and her father hath kept silent at her, then have all her vows been established, and every bond which she hath bound on her soul is established. read more. 'And if her father hath disallowed her in the day of his hearing, none of her vows and her bonds which she hath bound on her soul is established, and Jehovah is propitious to her, for her father hath disallowed her. And if she be at all to a husband, and her vows are on her, or a wrongful utterance on her lips, which she hath bound on her soul, and her husband hath heard, and in the day of his hearing, he hath kept silent at her, then have her vows been established, and her bonds which she hath bound on her soul are established. And if in the day of her husband's hearing he disalloweth her, then he hath broken her vow which is on her, and the wrongful utterance of her lips which she hath bound on her soul, and Jehovah is propitious to her. 'As to the vow of a widow or cast-out woman, all that she hath bound on her soul is established on her. And if in the house of her husband she hath vowed, or hath bound a bond on her soul with an oath, and her husband hath heard, and hath kept silent at her -- he hath not disallowed her -- then have all her vows been established, and every bond which she hath bound on her soul is established. And if her husband doth certainly break them in the day of his hearing, none of the outgoing of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, is established -- her husband hath broken them -- and Jehovah is propitious to her. Every vow and every oath -- a bond to humble a soul -- her husband doth establish it, or her husband doth break it; and if her husband certainly keep silent at her, from day unto day, then he hath established all her vows, or all her bonds which are upon her; he hath established them, for he hath kept silent at her in the day of his hearing; and if he doth at all break them after his hearing, then he hath borne her iniquity.' These are the statutes which Jehovah hath commanded Moses between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter, in her youth, in the house of her father.
'There is not a whore among the daughters of Israel, nor is there a whoremonger among the sons of Israel; thou dost not bring a gift of a whore, or a price of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God, for any vow; for the abomination of Jehovah thy God are even both of them.
When thou vowest a vow to Jehovah thy God, thou dost not delay to complete it; for Jehovah thy God doth certainly require it from thee, and it hath been in thee -- sin. 'And when thou forbearest to vow, it is not in thee a sin. read more. The produce of thy lips thou dost keep, and hast done it, as thou hast vowed to Jehovah thy God; a free-will-offering, which thou hast spoken with thy mouth.
for a vow hath thy servant vowed in my dwelling in Geshur, in Aram, saying, If Jehovah doth certainly bring me back to Jerusalem, then I have served Jehovah.'
and every one who cometh not in by the third day, according to the counsel of the heads and of the elders, all his substance is devoted, and himself separated from the assembly of the removal.
'I beseech Thee, O Lord, let, I pray Thee, Thine ear be attentive unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto the prayer of Thy servants, those delighting to fear Thy Name; and give prosperity, I pray Thee, to Thy servant to-day, and give him for mercies before this man;' and I have been butler to the king.
A snare to a man is he hath swallowed a holy thing, And after vows to make inquiry.
Better that thou do not vow, than that thou dost vow and dost not complete.
And all her graven images are beaten down, And all her gifts are burnt with fire, And all her idols I make a desolation, For, from the hire of a harlot she gathered, and unto the hire of a harlot they return.
Arise, and thresh, O daughter of Zion, For thy horn I make iron, And thy hoofs I make brass, And thou hast beaten small many peoples, And I have devoted to Jehovah their gain, And their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth!
And Paul having remained yet a good many days, having taken leave of the brethren, was sailing to Syria -- and with him are Priscilla and Aquilas -- having shorn his head in Cenchera, for he had a vow;
these having taken, be purified with them, and be at expence with them, that they may shave the head, and all may know that the things of which they have been instructed concerning thee are nothing, but thou dost walk -- thyself also -- the law keeping.
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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and Abram saith unto the king of Sodom, 'I have lifted up my hand unto Jehovah, God Most High, possessing heaven and earth --
And the messenger of Jehovah calleth unto Abraham a second time from the heavens,
then this stone which I have made a standing pillar is a house of God, and all that Thou dost give to me -- tithing I tithe to Thee.'
When thy valuation hath been of the male from a son of twenty years even unto a son of sixty years, then hath been thy valuation fifty shekels of silver by the shekel of the sanctuary.
'Only, no devoted thing which a man devoteth to Jehovah, of all that he hath, of man, and beast, and of the field of his possession, is sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to Jehovah. 'No devoted thing, which is devoted of man, is ransomed, it is surely put to death.
Jehovah thy God thou dost fear, and Him thou dost serve, and by His name thou dost swear;
If thou dost not observe to do all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honoured and fearful name -- Jehovah thy God --
The God of gods -- Jehovah, the God of gods -- Jehovah, He is knowing, and Israel, he doth know, if in rebellion, and if in trespass against Jehovah (Thou dost not save us this day!)
And Jephthah voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, 'If Thou dost at all give the Bene-Ammon into my hand -- then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon -- it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it -- a burnt-offering.'
And the man Elkanah goeth up, and all his house, to sacrifice to Jehovah the sacrifice of the days, and his vow.
And they swear to Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets, and rejoice do all Judah concerning the oath, for with all their heart they have sworn, and with all their good-will they have sought Him, and He is found of them, and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about.
And Ezra riseth, and causeth the heads of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear to do according to this word -- and they swear.
are laying hold on their brethren, their honourable ones, and coming in to an execration, and in to an oath, to walk in the law of God, that was given by the hand of Moses, servant of God, and to observe and to do all the commands of Jehovah our Lord, and His judgments, and His statutes;
Woe to you, blind guides, who are saying, Whoever may swear by the sanctuary, it is nothing, but whoever may swear by the gold of the sanctuary -- is debtor! Fools and blind! for which is greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that is sanctifying the gold? read more. And, whoever may swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever may swear by the gift that is upon it -- is debtor! Fools and blind! for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that is sanctifying the gift? 'He therefore who did swear by the altar, doth swear by it, and by all things on it; and he who did swear by the sanctuary, doth swear by it, and by Him who is dwelling in it; and he who did swear by the heaven, doth swear by the throne of God, and by Him who is sitting upon it.
And Paul having remained yet a good many days, having taken leave of the brethren, was sailing to Syria -- and with him are Priscilla and Aquilas -- having shorn his head in Cenchera, for he had a vow;
'This, therefore, do that we say to thee: We have four men having a vow on themselves,
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ -- who is blessed to the ages -- hath known that I do not lie! --
for men indeed do swear by the greater, and an end of all controversy to them for confirmation is the oath, in which God, more abundantly willing to shew to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, did interpose by an oath, read more. that through two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, a strong comfort we may have who did flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us,