OATHS

OATHS. — How the need of oaths must first have arisen can be seen in such a passage as Ex 22"'- ": ' If a man deliver unto hia neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or a beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: the oath of the Lord shall be between them both, whether he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner thereof shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution.' As there is no witness to substantiate the innocence or prove the guilt of the suspected person — no man seeing it — God is called to witness. An oath is really a con-ditional curse, which a man calls down upon himself from God, in the case of his not speaking the truth or not keeping a promise. The use of oaths was not restricted to judicial procedure, but was also connected with a variety of everyday matters; to swear by the name of Jahweh was regarded as a sign of loyalty to Him (cf. Is 48', Jer 12", Dt 6'*).

There are two words in Hebrew for an oath: (1) sAebu'ah, which comes from the same root as the word for 'seven' {sheba')\ the Heb. word for 'to swear' comes likewise from the same root, and means literally 'to come under the influence of seven things.' Seven was the most sacred number among the Hebrews (cf. shabua' , 'week' of seven days), and among the Semites generally. Among the Babylonians the seven planets each represented a god. Originally, therefore, there must have been a direct con-nexion between^ this sacred number and the oath. (2) *alah, which, strictly speaking, means a 'curse,' and was a stronger form of oath. The combination of both words was used on especially solemn occasions, e.g. Nu 5^ (cf. Mt 26'2 of Peter's denial).

There were various forms used in taking an oath, e.g, 'God do so to me and more also if . . .' (1 K 2"); the punishment called down in the case of the oath not being observed is left indeterminate in this form; this is to be explained from the fact that there was a fear lest the mention of the curse should ipso facto bring it to pass; it is a remnant of animistic conceptions (i.e. there was the fear that a demon might think his services were required). In later times, however, the nature of the curse is sometimes mentioned, e.g. ' . . . saying. The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like'Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire' . . . (Jer 29^; cf. Is 65", Zee 8"). Another form was: 'God is witness betwixt me and thee' (Gn SI'"), or, 'The Lord be a true and faithful witness amotLgst us, if . . .' (Jer 425); a more common form is: 'As the Lord llveth' (Jg 8"), which is sometimes varied by the addition of a reference to the person to whom the oath was made: ' As the Lord llveth, and as thy soul liveth ' (1 S 20», cf. 2 S 15»). Another form was: 'God . . . judge between us ' (Gn 31"). God Himself is conceived of as taking oaths: 'By myself have I sworn . . .' (Gn 22"). The usual gesture In taking an oath was to raise the arm towards heaven (Dt 32'", Dn 12'), the motive being to point to the dwelling-place of God; to 'raise the hand' became an expression for 'to swear' (Ex 6', Nu 14™). Another gesture is referred to in Gn 242 47S9_ viz. putting the hand under the thigh; the organ of generation was regarded as peculiarly holy by the Hebrews.

With regard to the breaking of an oath see Lv 6'-'; and for the use of oaths in ratifying a covenant see Gn 21"-»i 26" 31», Jos 9", 2 K 11*.

W. O. E. Oesterley.

OBADIAH is a name of a type common among the Semitic peoples; it occurs frequently in the OT, for the most part as the name of persons of whom little or nothing is known. It has also been found on an ancient Hebrew seal. For the meaning of the name, ' servant of Jahweh,' see art. Sekvant of the Lord, § 2, The different persons thus named are — 1. The author of the Vision of Obadiah: see following article. 2. Ahab's steward, the protector of Jahweh's prophets against Jezebel (1 K 18'-"). This person lived in the 9th cent. B.C. 3. A descendant of Saul (1 Ch 8"), who lived, to

OBADIAH, BOOK OP

judge from his position in the genealogy, about e.g. 700. On the probable genuineness of the genealogy see G. B. Gray, Studies in Heb. Proper Names, p. 241 f. 4. An Issacharite (1 Oh 7"). 5. A descendant of David in the 5th cent, e.g., it the Hebrew text (1 Ch S^') correctly makes him a grandson of Zerubbabel, but in the 4th if the LXX is right and he belonged to the sixth generation after Zerubbabel. 6. The head of a family who returned with Ezra (Ezra 8» =Abadias of 1 Es 8»s).

7. A priestly contemporary of Nehemiah (Neh 10').

8. A door-keeper (Neh 122'). 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Various persons in the genealogies or stories of the Chronicler (1 Ch 9" [=Abda, Neh 11"] 12» 27", 2 Ch 17' 34i2). On the Chronicler's use of such names, see G. B. Gray, op. dt, pp. 170-190. G. B. Gray.

OBADIAH, BOOK OP.— The questions as to the origin and interpretation of this, the shortest book of the OT, are numerous and difficult. The title describes the book as 'a vision' (cf. Is 1', Nah 1') and ascribes it to Obadiah. Obadiah is one of the commonest of Hebrew names, and occurs both before and after the Exile: see preceding article. Some fruitless attempts have been made to identify the author of the book with one or other of the persons of the same name mentioned in the OT.

The book of Obadiah stands fourth in order (in the Greek version, fifth) of the prophets whose works were collected and edited in (probably) the 3rd cent, e.g.; the collection since the beginning of the 2nd cent. e.g. has been known as 'The Twelve' (see Canon of OT; cf. MicAH [Bk. of], adinit.). By the place which he gave this small book in his collection the editor perhaps in-tended to indicate his belief that it was of early, i.e. pre-exillc, origin. But the belief of an editor of the 3rd cent. E.G. is not good evidence that a book was written earlier than the 6th century. The relative probabilities of the different theories of its origin must be judged by internal evidence; this, unfortunately, is itself un-certain on account of ambiguities of expression.

It will be convenient to state first what appears on the whole the most probable theory, and then to mention more briefly one or two others.

The book contains two themes: (1) a prophetic interpretation of an overwhelming disaster which has already befallen Edom (vv.'-'- '»-"■ ">>) ; (2) a prediction of a universal judgment and specifically of judgment on Edom which is now imminent (vv.*' »• "»• "-2').

1. The prophetic interpretation of Edom' s fall. — The prophet describes the complete conquest of the Edomites and their expulsion from their land (v.') by a number of nations (v.') once their friends and allies (v.'). In this calamity the writer sees Jahweh's judgment on Edom for gloating over the fall of the Jews — described as Edom's brother (v.'^) — and participating with foreign and alien enemies (v.") in the infliction of injuries on them. This interpretation is stated in simple and direct terms in vv.io. 11, and dramatically in vv.'^-", where the writer, throvring himself back to the time of the Edomites' ill-treatment of the Jews, adjures them not to do the things they actually did. The section closes with the effective assertion of the retributive character of the disasters that had befallen Edom and still affect it — 'As thou hast done, is it done unto thee; thy dealing returns upon thine own head' (v.""").

The verses thus summarized have these points in common: (a) the tenses are historical except in v.'" ('shame doth cover thee, and thou art cut off for ever') and v."'>, which may be rendered as presents, and inter-preted as at the end of the preceding paragraph; and (6) after v.', where Edom, in the present text, is spoken of in the 3rd person, Edom is throughout addressed in the 2nd pers. sing. Among these verses are now interspersed others, — v.", which speaks of Esau (=Edom) in the 3rd person (pi. in clausea, sing, in 6) and which may be an aside in the midst of the address, but is more probably

663