H0422 H0422
swear an oath, bind by oath (Qal/Hiphil); curse, utter an imprecation
2. curse, utter an imprecation — To curse, to pronounce an imprecation or malediction against someone. This sense is distinct from oath-swearing in that the speech-act is directed against a person with hostile intent rather than invoking God as witness to a promise. In Judg 17:2, Micah's mother says 'you cursed' (alit, Qal perfect 2fs) regarding the stolen silver, referring to her having uttered a curse against the thief -- a curse she now seeks to neutralize by dedicating the silver to YHWH. The Arabic gloss la'anti 'you cursed,' German verfluchte 'cursed,' Korean jeojuhaetda 'cursed,' Spanish maldijiste 'you cursed,' Hindi shap diya 'gave a curse,' and French maudit 'cursed' all confirm the imprecatory rather than oath-taking sense. BDB and classical lexica recognize this as a separate meaning of alah II. 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"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. swear an oath, bind by oath (Qal/Hiphil) — To swear a solemn oath or to cause someone to swear an oath. In the Qal stem, the verb expresses the act of taking or pronouncing an oath: 'an oath is laid upon him' (2 Chr 6:22 alah, Qal perfect 3ms, describing the oath ceremony at the temple); 'swearing oaths' (Hos 10:4 alot, Qal infinitive absolute, describing false oath-taking in Israel); 'swearing' as one of the sins catalogued (Hos 4:2 aloh, Qal infinitive absolute, listed alongside lying, murder, stealing, and adultery). In the Hiphil (causative) stem: Saul 'bound the people by oath' (1 Sam 14:24 wayyoel, Hiphil consecutive imperfect 3ms, imposing a curse-oath on the army); 'to make him swear' (1 Kgs 8:31 leha'aloto, Hiphil infinitive with 3ms suffix, the oath procedure at the altar). Arabic qasam/ahlafa 'to swear,' Hebrew hishbia 'to cause to swear,' Korean maengse 'oath,' Spanish jurar/conjurar, Hindi shapath dilana 'to administer an oath.' 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"]
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.