H0422 H0422
To swear an oath or adjure (Qal/Hiphil); also to curse or pronounce an imprecation.
A verb covering the solemn speech-acts of oath-taking and cursing. In its primary sense, it describes binding oneself or another by a sworn oath before God — whether in covenant-making (Hos 4:2; 10:4), legal proceedings (1 Kgs 8:31 = 2 Chr 6:22), or military command (1 Sam 14:24, Hiphil). Hosea's prophetic critique exposes Israel's false oaths as covenant betrayal. In Judg 17:2, the verb shifts to hostile cursing: Micah's mother 'cursed' the stolen silver, a distinct imprecatory act. Spanish distinguishes the senses well: 'jurar/juramentos' for oath-swearing versus 'maldecir/maldijiste' for cursing.
Senses
1. swear an oath, bind by oath (Qal/Hiphil) — To swear a solemn oath, take an oath before God, or (in the Hiphil) to adjure, to put another under oath. Saul adjured the army with a fast-oath (1 Sam 14:24), Solomon's temple dedication envisions oath-taking before the altar (1 Kgs 8:31 = 2 Chr 6:22), and Hosea denounces Israel's false swearing in covenant contexts (Hos 4:2; 10:4). The Qal expresses the voluntary act, while the Hiphil causative indicates imposing an oath on another. Spanish 'juramentos' and English 'oath/swearing' consistently mark this covenant-legal register. 5×
AR["بِأَيمانٍ","قَسَمٌ","لَعنٌ","لِـ-يُلْعِنَهُ","وَ-أَحْلَفَ"]·ben["অভিশাপ","আর-শপথ-করাল","শপথ-করাতে","শপথগুলি-"]·DE["[אלות]","diese","und-er-bound-bei-oath","zu-mache-ihn-schwoere"]·EN["Swearing","an-oath","and-he-bound-by-oath","oaths","to-make-him-swear"]·FR["ces","ceux-ci","et-il-lié-par-serment","serment","à-fais-lui-jure"]·heb["אלה","אלות","ו-השביע","ל-האלותו"]·HI["और-शपथ-दिलाई","शपथ","शपथ-दिलाने-को-उसे","शपथें","शाप"]·ID["Bersumpah-palsu","dan-bersumpah","kutuk","untuk-mengutuknya"]·IT["[אלות]","a-fa-lui-giura","e-egli-legò-da-giuramento","questi"]·jav["kanggé-nyumpahi","lan-sumpah","ngipat","sami-sumpah","sumpah"]·KO["그리고-맹세하게-했다","맹세들을","맹세하게-하려고","저주하고","저주한다"]·PT["Amaldiçoar","e-adjurou","juram","juramento","para-fazê-lo-jurar"]·RU["и-заклял","клятва","клятву","клятвы","чтобы-заклясть-его"]·ES["Maldecir","juramentos","para-hacerle-jurar","un-juramento","y-conjuró"]·SW["Kulaani","kiapo","mbele-ya","na-akalazimisha","viapo-vya"]·TR["lanet","lanetleme","lanetler","lanetletmek-için","ve-and-içirdi"]·urd["اور-قسم-دلائی","قسم","قسم-کھلانے-کو","قسمیں","لعنت"]
2. curse, utter an imprecation — To curse, to utter an imprecation against someone. In Judg 17:2, Micah's mother pronounced a curse on whoever stole her silver (אָלִית, 'you cursed'), and the narrative turns on the power of that spoken malediction. Unlike sense 1, the speech-act is hostile and directed against a person rather than invoking God as witness to truthfulness. The multilingual evidence uniformly selects curse-vocabulary — English 'cursed,' Spanish 'maldijiste,' French 'maudit' — distinguishing this clearly from oath-swearing. 1×
AR["لَعَنْتِ"]·ben["অভিশাপ-দিয়েছিলে"]·DE["verfluchte"]·EN["cursed"]·FR["maudit"]·heb["אלית"]·HI["शाप-दिया"]·ID["mengutuk"]·IT["maledì"]·jav["ngipat-ipati"]·KO["저주했다"]·PT["amaldiçoaste"]·RU["прокляла"]·ES["maldijiste"]·SW["ulilaani"]·TR["lanetledin"]·urd["لعنت-کی-تھی"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. אָלָה vb. swear, curse (cf. I. אלה? so Thes LagOr ii. 3)— Qal Pf. 1 K 8:31 (= 2 Ch 6:22 all Vrss Th Bö Bä Kp reading וְאָלָה); אָלִית Ju 17:2; Inf. abs. אָלֹה Ho 4:2; אָלוֹת Ho 10:4. 1. swear, take oath before God 1 K 8:31 (= 2 Ch 6:22); in covenants Ho 4:2; 10:4 (falsely). 2. curse Ju 17:2. Hiph. Impf. וַיֹּ֫אֶ֗ל 1 S 14:24; Inf. לְהַאֲלֹתוֹ 1 K 8:31 = 2 Ch 6:22 adjure, put under oath.