Texts in Conversation
Philo teaches that truthful people should not need oaths, since honest speech should be enough. If an oath is used, it must be taken with care. Matthew presents the same idea, with Jesus calling for simple, reliable speech instead of taking oaths.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Philo, The Decalogue 84
Classical
83 So, having first spoken of the existence of God and of the honor due to the everlasting God, he follows the natural sequence by giving commands about the proper use of his name; for people's errors on this point are many and various, and take many different forms. 84 The finest person, whose life most benefits humanity and accords with rational nature, does not swear. Truth is so deeply rooted in him in every matter that his word alone counts as an oath. Next to not swearing at all, the second best thing is to keep one's oath; for the mere act of swearing shows that the swearer is under some suspicion of being untrustworthy. 85 So a person should hesitate and delay if that might allow him to avoid taking an oath; but if he must swear, then he must give careful, not superficial, attention to every aspect of the matter before him; for this is a serious matter, though because it happens so often it is not taken as seriously as it should be.
Date: 1–50 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Matthew 5:34
New Testament
30 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell. 31 “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all—not by heaven, because it is the throne of God, 35 not by earth because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not take an oath by your head because you are not able to make one hair white or black.
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Hellenistic Jewish writers condemn the making of many oaths (Sirach 23:9-11) and the taking of false oaths (Pseudo-Phocylides 16), but stop short of an absolute prohibition of swearing, such as was attributed to Pythagoras (Diogenes Laertius 8.22; Iamblichus Life of Pythagoras 47), According to Josephus (Jewish War 2.135), the Essenes generally avoided swearing, but were required to take a solemn oath upon initiation into the sect (Jewish War 2.139, 142). Philo urges the avoidance of oaths (Decalogue 84) and warns against use of the divine name (On the Special Laws 2.2ff), while not prohibiting swearing as such ..."
L. L. Welborn, Politics and Rhetoric in the Corinthian Epistles (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1997), 161–163.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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