Oath

a solemn appeal to God, permitted on fitting occasions ( Deuteronomy 6:13 ; Jeremiah 4:2 ), in various forms ( Genesis 16:5 ; 2 Sam 12:5 ; Ruth 1:17 ; Hosea 4:15 ; Romans 1:9 ), and taken in different ways ( Genesis 14:22 ; 24:2 ; 2 Chr 6:22 ). God is represented as taking an oath ( Hebrews 6:16-18 ), so also Christ ( Matthew 26:64 ), and Paul ( Romans 9:1 ; Galatians 1:20 ; Phil 1:8 ). The precept, "Swear not at all," refers probably to ordinary conversation between man and man ( Matthew 5:34 Matthew 5:37 ). But if the words are taken as referring to oaths, then their intention may have been to show "that the proper state of Christians is to require no oaths; that when evil is expelled from among them every yea and nay will be as decisive as an oath, every promise as binding as a vow."

The principle on which an oath is held to be binding is incidentally laid down in ( Hebrews 6:16 ) viz. as an ultimate appeal to divine authority to ratify an assertion. On the same principle, that oath has always been held most binding which appealed to the highest authority, as regards both individuals and communities. As a consequence of this principle, appeals to Gods name on the one hand, and to heathen deities on the other, are treated in scripture as tests of allegiance. ( Exodus 23:13 ; 34:6 ; 29:12 ) etc. So also the sovereigns name is sometimes used as a form of obligation. ( Genesis 42:15 ; 2 Samuel 11:11 ; 14:19 ) Other forms of oath, serious or frivolous, are mentioned, some of which are condemned by our Lord. ( Matthew 6:33 ; 23:16-22 ) and see ( James 5:12 ) (There is, however, a world-wide difference between a solemn appeal to God and profane swearing.) The forms of adjuration mentioned in Scripture are --

1. Lifting up the hand. Witnesses laid their hands on the head of the accused. ( Genesis 14:22 ; Leviticus 24:14 ; 17:7 ; Isaiah 3:7 )
2. Putting the hand under the thigh of the person to whom the Promise was made. ( Genesis 24:2 ; 47:29 )
3. Oaths were sometimes taken before the altar, or, as some understand the passage, if the persons were not in Jerusalem, in a position looking toward the temple. ( 1 Kings 8:31 ; 2 Chronicles 6:22 )
4. Dividing a victim and passing between or distributing the pieces. ( Genesis 15:10 Genesis 15:17 ; Jeremiah 34:18 ) As the sanctity of oaths was carefully inculcated by the law, so the crime of perjury was strongly condemned; and to a false witness the same punishment was assigned which was due for the crime to which he testified. ( Exodus 20:7 ; Leviticus 19:12 )

OATH

oth (shebhu`ah, probably from shebha`, "seven," the sacred number, which occurs frequently in the ritual of an oath; horkos; and the stronger word 'alah, by which a curse is actually invoked upon the oath-breaker Septuagint ara)):

In Matthew 26:70-74 Peter first denies his Lord simply, then with an oath (shebhu`ah), then invokes a curse ('alah), thus passing through every stage of asseveration.

1. Law Regarding Oaths:

The oath is the invoking of a curse upon one's self if one has not spoken the truth (Matthew 26:74), or if one fails to keep a promise (1 Samuel 19:6; 20:17; 2 Samuel 15:21; 19:23). It played a very important part, not only in lawsuits (Exodus 22:11; Leviticus 6:3,5) and state affairs (Ant., XV, x, 4), but also in the dealings of everyday life (Genesis 24:37; 50:5; Judges 21:5; 1 Kings 18:10; Ezra 10:5). The Mosaic laws concerning oaths were not meant to limit the widespread custom of making oaths, so much as to impress upon the people the sacredness of an oath, forbidding on the one hand swearing falsely (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Zechariah 8:17, etc.), and on the other swearing by false gods, which latter was considered to be a very dark sin (Jeremiah 12:16; Amos 8:14). In the Law only two kinds of false swearing are mentioned:

false swearing of a witness, and false asseveration upon oath regarding a thing found or received (Leviticus 5:1; 6:2; compare Proverbs 29:24). Both required a sin offering (Leviticus 5:1). The Talmud gives additional rules, and lays down certain punishments for false swearing; in the case of a thing found it states what the false swearer must pay (Makkoth 2 3; Shebhu`oth 8 3). The Jewish interpretation of the 3rd commandment is that it is not concerned with oaths, but rather forbids the use of the name of Yahweh in ordinary cases (so Dalman).

2. Forms of Swearing:

Swearing in the name of the Lord (Genesis 14:22; Deuteronomy 6:13; Judges 21:7; Ruth 1:17, etc.) was a sign of loyalty to Him (Deuteronomy 10:20; Isaiah 48:11; Jeremiah 12:16). We know from Scripture (see above) that swearing by false gods was frequent, and we learn also from the newly discovered Elephantine papyrus that the people not only swore by Jahu (= Yahweh) or by the Lord of Heaven, but also among a certain class of other gods, e.g. by Herem-Bethel, and by Isum. In ordinary intercourse it was customary to swear by the life of the person addressed (1 Samuel 1:26; 20:3; 2 Kings 2:2); by the life of the king (1 Samuel 17:55; 25:26; 2 Samuel 11:11); by one's own head (Matthew 5:36); by the earth (Matthew 5:35); by the heaven (Matthew 5:34; 23:22); by the angels (BJ, II, xvi, 4); by the temple (Matthew 23:16), and by different parts of it (Matthew 23:16); by Jerusalem (Matthew 5:35; compare Kethubhoth 2:9). The oath "by heaven" (Matthew 5:34; 23:22) is counted by Jesus as the oath in which God's name is invoked. Jesus does not mean that God and heaven are identical, but He desires to rebuke those who paltered with an oath by avoiding a direct mention of a name of God. He teaches that such an oath is a real oath and must be considered as sacredly binding.

3. The Formula:

Not much is told us as to the ceremonies observed in taking an oath. In patriarchal times he who took the oath put his hand under the thigh of him to whom the oath was taken (Genesis 24:2; 47:29). The most usual form was to hold up the hand to heaven (Genesis 14:22; Exodus 6:8; Deuteronomy 32:40; Ezekiel 20:5). The wife suspected of unfaithfulness, when brought before the priest, had to answer "Amen, Amen" to his adjuration, and this was considered to be an oath on her part (Numbers 5:22). The usual formula of an oath was either:

"God is witness betwixt me and thee" (Genesis 31:50), or more commonly: "As Yahweh (or God) liveth" (Judges 8:19; Ruth 3:13; 2 Samuel 2:27; Jeremiah 38:16); or "Yahweh be a true and faithful witness amongst us" (Jeremiah 42:5). Usually the penalty invoked by the oath was only suggested: "Yahweh (or God) do so to me" (Ruth 1:17; 2 Samuel 3:9,35; 1 Kings 2:23; 2 Kings 6:31); in some cases the punishment was expressly mentioned (Jeremiah 29:22). Nowack suggests that in general the punishment was not expressly mentioned because of a superstitious fear that the person swearing, although speaking the truth, might draw upon himself some of the punishment by merely mentioning it.

Philo expresses the desire (ii.194) that the practice of swearing should be discontinued, and the Essenes used no oaths (BJ, II, viii, 6; Ant., XV, x, 4).

4. Oaths Permissible:

That oaths are permissible to Christians is shown by the example of our Lord (Matthew 26:63), and of Paul (2 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 1:20) and even of God Himself (Hebrews 6:13-18). Consequently when Christ said, "Swear not at all" (Matthew 5:34), He was laying down the principle that the Christian must not have two standards of truth, but that his ordinary speech must be as sacredly true as his oath. In the kingdom of God, where that principle holds sway, oaths become unnecessary.

Paul Levertoff