INTRODUCTION to the BIBLICAL OATH Oath Usage in the Bible

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLICAL OATH

Oath Usage in the Bible: An Overview

The Bible makes extensive use of the practice of oath-taking.1 Oath- taking is not limited by literary genre, appearing in every genre of biblical literature: narrative, poetry, law, and, infrequently, wisdom literature.2 Occasions for oath-taking range from private interactions3 to public, formal events.4 Oaths may be spoken by an ordinary person,5 a leader,6 a collective entity such as the entire nation,7 or even by God.8 The oath can relate to one’s own behavior9 or that of another.10 Biblical oaths govern relations between fellow Israelites,11 between Israelites and non- Israelites,12 and between Israel and its God.13 Acceptance of God by non-Israelites can also be expressed through an oath of allegiance.14 A person can be compelled to take an oath, both in legal15 and non-legal

אלה meaning to swear, appears 216 times in the Bible. The root ,שבע The root 1 is used in the context of oath-taking approximately 40 times. Oaths using the formula appear חלילה appear twelve times, oaths beginning with the word כה יעשה . . . וכה יוסיף appears approximately forty חי ה' approximately twenty times, while the oath formula times in biblical narratives. I can only offer an estimate number because, as we shall see, there is reasonable doubt as to which of these formulae actually constitute an oath. with the meaning oath never occurs in Proverbs and only three שבע The root 2 times in Ecclesiastes. On all three occasions, Ecclesiastes seems to be discouraging the practice of oath-taking. For a similar attitude see Ben Sira 23:10. 3 E.g. Gen. 25:33; I Sam. 3:17; Ruth 1:17. 4 E.g. Josh. 6:26; Judges 21:1; I Kings 17:1; Neh. 13:25. 5 E.g. I Sam. 25:26; II Sam. 14:19; I Kings 17:12. 6 E.g. Judges 8:19; I Sam. 14:24; I Kings 2:23. 7 E.g. Josh. 9:18; Judges 21:1, 18; I Sam. 14:45. 8 E.g. Gen. 22:16; Num. 14:21. 9 E.g. Gen. 47:30–31; I Sam. 20:13; II Kings 5:16. 10 E.g. Josh. 6:26; I Sam. 14:24, 45. 11 E.g. I Sam. 20:42; II Kings 2:2, 4, 6. 12 E.g. Gen. 21:23; 26:31; I Sam. 29:6. 13 E.g. Neh. 10:30; II Chron. 15:14. 14 E.g. Isaiah 19:18. 15 Exculpatory oaths may be used in a compulsory manner to establish one’s innocence or guilt. See Num. 5:19. 2 chapter one situations.16 Oaths can even be made binding on future generations who are not present or alive at the time that the oath is taken.17 Israelites employ oaths in the Bible in a wide variety of contexts: legal situations, personal interactions, and the religious sphere. One may use an oath to protect his property18 or to guarantee fidelity to a treaty.19 Alliances and friendships are concretized by oaths.20 In a legal proceeding, a person may be forced to take an oath to establish his innocence or the truth of his assertions.21 Occasionally an oath is used by an authority to compel his subjects to obey his command.22 Oaths are sometimes taken during battle,23 and sometimes as an expression of peaceful intentions.24 There are many instances in the Bible in which an oath involves an interaction between an Israelite and a non-Israelite. In fact, the first explicit oath in the Bible is between Abraham and Abimelech, the king of Gerar.25 Oaths between Israelites and non-Israelites generally refer to the status and parameters of their relationship.26 The relationship between God and His people is also governed by an oath. Both God and His nation take oaths that they intend to fulfill their part of the covenant between them.27 In the ceremony which Nehemiah convenes to renew the covenant, he explicitly refers to the which they shall take to follow the instructions of God שבועה and אלה given by Moses.28 It is striking that despite the fact that oaths were likely taken to guarantee the credibility of the oath-taker, God does take oaths in the

16 E.g. Gen. 24:3; I Kings 22:16; Song of Songs 2:7; 3:5; 5:8; 8:4; Ezra 10:5. 17 E.g. Gen. 50:25; Josh. 6:26. 18 An oath of this kind is implied in Judges 17:2. 19 E.g. Gen. 31:51–53; II Chron. 36:13. 20 E.g. Gen. 21:23; I Sam. 20:42; Ruth 1:17. 21 E.g. Ex. 22:10; I Kings 8:31–32. 22 E.g. I Sam. 14:24; I Kings 2:42. 23 E.g. Judges 21:5; I Sam. 14:24; 26:10. 24 E.g. Gen. 26:31; 31:51–53; I Sam. 19:6. 25 Gen. 21:23. 26 E.g. Gen. 21:23; 26:28–29; 31:51–53; Josh. 9:20; II Chron. 36:13. 27 For God’s oath in relation to the covenant, see for example, Ezra 16:8. For Israel’s שבועה oath in this regard, see Ezra 10:3–5 and II Chron. 15:12–14. Note that the words .covenant) appear in parallel in II Chron. 15:15 and Psalms 105:9) ברית oath) and) 28 Neh. 10:30. For a similar context, see Dan. 9:11.