Vows and Oaths

During Jesus’ ministry on Earth, one thing which He taught was the clarification of many subjects in the Torah. Torah scholars and rabbis had a long history of interpreting the Scripture and making their own claims as to what the text said.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives a long commentary on many Torah instructions. Jesus states what the Torah instruction was followed by the current teaching of that instruction. Jesus then gives His interpretation of how the law should actually be fulfilled. Many believed Jesus did away with the Torah or made the Torah easier. If you read Jesus’ words, you will realize He actually made the Torah harder.

Let’s focus our study on oaths. In Matthew 5:33-37, Jesus gives the following commentary:

33 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But make sure your statement is, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil origin. (Matthew 5:33-37)


In Matthew chapter 5 verse 33, Jesus gives us a Torah instruction: “You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.” In Numbers chapter 30, we have a long list of instructions regarding vows and oaths. For this study, let’s focus in on Numbers 30, verses 1 and 2.

Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the word which the Lord has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to put himself under a binding obligation, he shall not break his word; he shall act in accordance with everything that comes out of his mouth. (Numbers 30:1-2)

Examining Numbers 30:1-2, we see the instructions about vows includes the following: if a man makes an oath, it is a binding obligation. He needs to complete his vow and shall do everything which comes out of his mouth.

We have many examples in Scripture of where this Torah principle was applied.

Jephthah. Judges Chapter 11
In Judges chapter 11, we are introduced to one of the Judges God raises up to save Israel from the hands of its enemies. A brief background, remember during the time of the Judges there was no centralized government in Israel. The time of the Judges is the period between Joshua and the era of the kings. Remember, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt from the oppressive rule of Pharaoh. They passed through the Red Sea, and due to a bad report given by 10 Israelites who toured the land of Israel, the Israelites were punished by wandering around the desert for 40 years until all the men who were age 20 or older perished in the wilderness.

Moses leads the Israelites to the banks of the Jordan River. Moses then dies and the leadership is passed to Joshua. Joshua crossed the Jordan and begins the conquest of the Promised Land. Joshua and the Israelites are quite successful; however, many of Israel’s enemies are not completely eradicated. Joshua dies and Israel becomes complacent with total elimination of its enemies. The various tribes allow their enemies to remain in the land.

After Joshua and the leadership who aligned itself with Joshua died, Israel is left without a leader. The priesthood is mostly abandoned, and Israel goes into idolatry. Israel learns the wicked ways of its enemies and forget God.

In the Book of Judges, God becomes angry with Israel for their apostasy, and He punishes them by sending enemies who oppress Israel. After a while, Israel remembers God and cries out to Him. God hears their pleas for help and sends a savior to rescue His people.

In Judges chapter 11, God sends the sons of Ammon to fight against Israel. The men of Gilead ask Jephthah to be their leader and save them from the hand of the Ammonites. Jephthah agrees. Jephthah is endowed with the Spirit of the LORD. Jephthah then makes a vow that whatever comes out of the doors of his home will be sacrificed to God in exchange for victory over the Ammonites.

29 Now the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed hand over to me the sons of Ammon, 31 then whatever comes out the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” (Judges 11:29-31)

Jephthah defeats the Ammonites. When he returns home, Jephthah’s daughter runs out to meet her father. Jephthah is devastated. His daughter is his only heir. He sacrifices his daughter to fulfill his vow.

34 But Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, and behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. And she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. 35 So when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Oh, my daughter! You have brought me disaster, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.” 36 So she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the Lord; do to me just as you have said, since the Lord has brought you vengeance on your enemies, the sons of Ammon.” 37 And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; allow me two months, so that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my friends.” 38 Then he said, “Go.” So he let her go for two months; and she left with her friends, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity. 39 And at the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her what he had vowed; and she had no relations with a man. And it became a custom in Israel, 40 that the [s]daughters of Israel went annually to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days in the year. (Judges 11:34-40)

In my previous Bible study on the Book of Judges, I went in to a long discussion about the various views on this passage. In summary, all commentaries from the ancient scholars through Christian scholars up to the 19th Century, all viewed Jephthah as doing exactly what the text says: Jephthah killed his daughter to fulfill his vow to God to offer her up as a burnt offering. Only recent commentaries have found this favor unpalatable and have changed it that Jephthah’s daughter was not scarified, but she worked the rest of her days as a servant in the tabernacle.

Whatever transpired is not the emphasis of this study. Instead, we need to look at Jephthah and his vow. Although Israel was far from God, and observed idol worship, they maintained many of God’s commandments, one of which was keeping vows. Jephthah made a rash vow with his mouth, but in the end, he kept his word. He was obedient to Numbers 30:2.