Jam 5:12 | TNotes | STEP | 5:12 never take an oath: Because the churches were having such severe verbal conflicts (4:1-3 , 11-12 ), James calls upon them to avoid the pitfalls of deceitful oaths by not using any oaths at all (Matt 5:33-37 ). To swear an oath in the name of the Lord was to call upon him to enforce the oath (Gen 31:53 ; 1 Kgs 8:31-32 ). When people swore by heaven or earth they were either feigning reverence while avoiding the use of the divine name, or they were being deceitful with clever verbiage (see Matt 23:16-22 ). Peter used an oath deceitfully (Matt 26:71-73 ), but Paul used an oath to confirm his assertions (Rom 1:9 ; 2 Cor 1:23 ), which suggests that the prohibition of oaths is not absolute.

a5:12►

b4:1-3►

c11-12►

dMatt 5:33-37►

eGen 31:53►

f1 Kgs 8:31-32►

gMatt 23:16-22►

hMatt 26:71-73►

iRom 1:9►

j2 Cor 1:23►

‏ James 5:12

5:12 ^a never take an oath: Because the churches were having such severe verbal conflicts (4:1-3 ^b, 11-12 ^c), James calls upon them to avoid the pitfalls of deceitful oaths by not using any oaths at all (Matt 5:33-37 ^d). To swear an oath in the name of the Lord was to call upon him to enforce the oath (Gen 31:53 ^e; 1 Kgs 8:31-32 ^f). When people swore by heaven or earth they were either feigning reverence while avoiding the use of the divine name, or they were being deceitful with clever verbiage (see Matt 23:16-22 ^g). Peter used an oath deceitfully (Matt 26:71-73 ^h), but Paul used an oath to confirm his assertions (Rom 1:9 ⁱ; 2 Cor 1:23 ^j), which suggests that the prohibition of oaths is not absolute.