Swearing (some form of fl^X or "3'^", o/"''7'0) is an appeal to God in attestation of the truth of what one says, or in conlirmation of what one promises or un- dertakes. The Latin term is jusjuntndum or juramen- tiitn. Cicero (De Officiis, iii. 29) correctly terms an oath a religious affirmation ; that is, an affirmation with a re- ligious sanction. This ap()ears from the words which he proceeds to employ : '• t^uod autem affirmate, quasi Deo teste, promiseris, id tenendum est. Jam enim non ad iram deorum, quaj nulla est,,sed ad justitiam et ad lidem pertinet;" which in effect means that an oath is an a]i[)eal to (Jod, as the source and the vindicator of justice and fidelity. Hence it apjtears that there are two essential elements in an oath— tirst, the human, a declared intention of speaking the truth or performing the action in a given case; secondly, the divine, an ap- peal to God, as a being who knows all things and will punish guilt. According to usage, however, there is a third clement in the idea which "oath" commonly con- veys, namely, that the oath is taken only on solemn, or, more specifically, on juridical occasions. The canon law gives all three elements wlien it represents_;«(//«Mw, Ve- ritas, justitid as entering into the constitution of an oath —^WiaM»», judgment or trial on the part of society; Veritas, truth on the part of the oath-taker; justitiu, justice on the part of God.
The practice of taking oaths existed before the time of Moses. It is foinid as early as the days of Abra- ham, who made the oldest servant of his family swear he would select for Isaac a wife of his own kindred (Gen. xxiv, 2, 3, 37). It is here observable that the oath is a private, not a judicial one; only that the authority of Abraham, as patriarch, must be taken into account. " An oath was sometimes a public and general bond, obliging the iiarties who took it to a certain course— a case in which it appears to have been spontaneous and volun- tary; as when, in Judges xxi. the men of Israel swore, saying, "There shall not any of us give his daughter unto IJenjamin to wife" (comp. ver. 5). From 1 Kings xviii, 10, it ai)pcars to have been customary to require, on oc- casions of great concern, a pidilic oath, embracing even an entire " kingdom and nati.m ;" but whether taken in- dividually or by some representative we have no means of ascertaining. Such a custom, however, implying as it does a doubt of the public faith of a people, would hardly be submitted to, unless on the part of an inferior.
Oaths did not take their origin in an}' divine com- mand. They were a part of that consuetudinary law which Moses found prevalent, and was bouml to respect, since no small portion of the force of law lies in custom,
and a legislator can neither abrogate nor institute a biniiing law of his own mere will. Accordingly, Moses made use of the sanction which an oath gave, but in that general manner, and apart from minute directions and express W(jrds of a|)proval, wliich shows that he merely used, without intending to sanction, an instru- ment that he found in existence and could not safely dispense with. Examples are found in Exod. xxii, 11, where an oath is ordered to be applied in the case of lost property; and liere we first meet with what may strict- ly be called a juilicial oath (Lev. vi, 3-5).
An oath, making an appeal to the divine justice and power, is a recognition of the divinity of the being to whom the apjieal is made. Hence to swear by an idol is to be convicted of idolatry. Such an act is according- ly given in Scripture as a proof of idolatry and a reason for condign punishment. " How shall I i)ardon thee for this'? Tliy cliildren have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods" (Jer. v, 7; xii, 10; Amos viii, 14; Zeph. i, 5).
This appeal to God was in frequent use among the Hebrews, as a confirmation of both statements (Matt, xxvi, 74) and promises (1 Sam. xix, C; xx, 17; 2 Sam. xix, 23; XV, 21 ; 1 Mace, vii, 35. For covenant oaths, see Gen. xxxi, 53 sq. ; Josh, ix, 15; 2 Kings xi, 4; 1 Mace, vii, 15; Josephus, .4WA xiv, 1, 2. For oaths of al- legiance see 2 Sam. xv, 21 ; Josephus, Ant. xv, 10, 4) in both public and private life (e. g. Judg. xxi, 5 ; 1 Kings xviii, 10; Ezra x, 5 ; and Gen. xxiv, 37; 1,5; Matt, xiv, 7), as also before the Judges (Exod. xxii, 1 1 ; Lev. vi, 3, 5) ; but the ilosaic law does not attempt to regulate its use. Perjury is forbidden (xix, 12), but on religious grounds, as a profanation of God's name. The usual oath was by Jehovah (Dent, vi, 13 ; comp. Gen. xiv, 22 ; Jutlg. xxi, 7 ; Ruth i, 17 ; 1 Sam. xiv, 44 ; 2 Sam. xix, 7; 1 Kings i, 29; ii, 23; Isa. xix, 18; Ixv, 16; Jer. iv, 2 ; xxxviii, 16), while the apostates swore by strange gods (v, 7; xii, 16; Amos viii, 14; Zeph. i, 5). Some- times an oath was made by the life of the person ad- dressed (2 Kings ii, 2 ; 1 Sam. i, 26 ; xx, 3 ; comp. Eurip- ides, lid. 835), by the life of the king (1 Sam. xvii, 55; XXV, 26; 2 Sam. xi, 11), or bj' his head, even when not in his presence (a common oath in Egypt, Gen. xlii, 15, and still used in Persia, Rosenmliller, Mor;/enl. i, 200 sq. ; Morier, Second Journey ; comp. Strabo, xii, 557 ; Herod- otus, iv, 68; Curtius, vi, 11, 18 ; Lucian, Catapl. 11 ; Sue- tonius, Calif/. 27 ; Vegetius, De Re Mil. ii, 5 ; Tertullian, A pal. 52; Zorn, Biblioth. Antiq. i, 812 sq. In the Gos- pel according to Xicodemus, Pilate swears by the safety of Ccesar ; comp. Rein, Rom. Cnniinalrecht, p. 534). More rarely, the oath was by the head of the swearer (Matt, v, 36; comp. Virgil, .4'«. ix, 300; Ovid, Trixt.'w, 4, 45; Juvenal, vi. 17), by some important member of the body, as the eyes (Ovid, Amor, iii, 3, 13; Tibullus, iii, 6, 47 ; Plautus, Mencec. v, 9, 1) ; by the earth (Matt. V, 35; Sil. Ital. viii, 105; Euripides, /Jippolylus, 1029); by heaven and the sun (Matt, v, 34; Talmud liabyl. Berach. 55; comp. Kor. xci, 5; liii, 1; Ivi, 77; Virgil, ^'«. .xii, 176, 197; ix, 429; Aristophanes, A'5'. 705 ; Plu- tarch, 129; Euripides, Medea, 746; Pausanias, viii, 18, 1; Philostratus, Her. ii, 11; and Wettstein, i, 305); by the angels (Josephus, War, ii, 16, 4). It was a part of the punctiliousness of the later Jew-s to prefer rather to swear by the sun, the earth, or heaven than by (Jod himself (Philostratus, ii, 271). Some swore by the Temple (Matt, xxiii, 16 ; comp. Lightfoot, p. 280), or parts of it (Matt, xxiii. 16; comp. Wettstein ad loc), or by Jerusalem, the holy city (Matt, v, 35 ; IMishna, Kethu- both, ii, 9 ; Lightfoot, p. 280). So among other ancient nations, the altar was touched in swearing (comp. Dough- t»us, Aiiiihct. ii, 26; Lakemacher, Obserr. ix, 112 sq. on Sil. Ital. iii, 82. On the oath CoiiBAN [q. v.], see Jose- phus, Apion, i, 22, 453).