Word study
Oath
4 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: oath, oaths. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “oath” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- שָׁבַע shâbasweartranslated this way 41 times of its 185 uses · Strong’s H7650Verb · Translated: swore 43, sworn 32, swear 28, swore an oath 12Full study and all 175 verses →
Genesis 21:31 So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
Exodus 13:19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear a solemn oath when he said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones with you from this place.”
- שְׁבוּעָה shebûâhoath, cursetranslated this way 21 times of its 29 uses · Strong’s H7621Noun · Translated: oath 19, curse 3, sworn 2, oath he swore 2Full study and all 28 verses →
Genesis 24:8 And if the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”
Exodus 22:11 an oath before the LORD shall be made between the parties to determine whether or not the man has taken his neighbor’s property. The owner must accept the oath and require no restitution.
- אָלָה âlâhoathtranslated this way 16 times of its 34 uses · Strong’s H423Noun · Translated: oath 13, curse 7, curses 5, take an oath 3Full study and all 32 verses →
Genesis 24:41 And when you go to my kindred, if they refuse to give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’
Deuteronomy 29:12 so that you may enter into the covenant of the LORD your God, which He is making with you today, and into His oath,
- אָלָה âlâhswear, cursetranslated this way 3 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H422Verb · Translated: curse 1, oath 1, take an oath 1, Cursing 1Full study and all 5 verses →
1 Samuel 14:24 Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
1 Kings 8:31 When a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before Your altar in this temple,
Greek words (New Testament)
- ὅρκος hórkosan oathtranslated this way 9 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G3727Noun · Translated: oath 7, oaths 2, vows 1Full study and all 10 verses →
Matthew 14:7 so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked.
Mark 6:26 The king was consumed with sorrow, but because of his oaths and his guests, he did not want to refuse her.
- ὁρκωμοσία horkōmosíathe taking of an oath, an oathtranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G3728Noun · Translated: oath 4Full study and all 3 verses →
Hebrews 7:20 And none of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath,
Hebrews 7:21 but Jesus became a priest with an oath by the One who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’”
- ὀφείλω opheílōI owe, oughttranslated this way 2 times of its 35 uses · Strong’s G3784Verb · Translated: ought 9, should 4, owed 3, owe 3Full study and all 34 verses →
Matthew 23:16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
Matthew 23:18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’
- ἀναθεματίζω anathematízōI curse, invoke cursestranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G332Verb · Translated: bound themselves with an oath 2, curse 1, bound 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Acts 23:12 When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
Acts 23:21 Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are ready now, awaiting your consent.”
- ὀμνύω omnýōI swear, take an oathtranslated this way 2 times of its 26 uses · Strong’s G3660Verb · Translated: swears 10, swear 8, swore 4, swore on oath 2Full study and all 20 verses →
Hebrews 3:11 So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’”
Hebrews 4:3 Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said: “So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’” And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
What the Bible says about oath: passages by topic →
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.