Oath
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G3727 is the Greek noun for an oath, a solemn commitment that calls truth and obligation into public view. Matthew 5:33 recalls teaching against false oaths before Jesus directs disciples toward reliable speech that does not depend on elaborate guarantees.
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Full entry for ὅρκος (G3727) · Open the biblical lexicon
G3727 is the Greek noun for an oath, a solemn commitment that calls truth and obligation into public view. Matthew 5:33 recalls teaching against false oaths before Jesus directs disciples toward reliable speech that does not depend on elaborate guarantees.
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include an oath (2), oath (2), oaths (2), [the] oath (1), on oath (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:33. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (4), Hebrews (2), Acts (1), James (1).
G3727 is the Greek noun for an oath, a solemn commitment that calls truth and obligation into public view. Matthew 5:33 recalls teaching against false oaths before Jesus directs disciples toward reliable speech that does not depend on elaborate guarantees. Mark 6:26 shows Herod trapped by his oaths and public pride, yet the narrative does not make fulfillment of his murderous promise righteous.
Hebrews 6:16-17 uses the familiar finality of an oath to explain God's gracious confirmation of his unchanging purpose. James 5:12 again presses believers toward an honest yes or no. G3727 therefore exposes both the seriousness of pledged words and the danger of using solemn language to protect status, rashness, or violence. It helps pastors teach truthfulness without sanctifying coerced promises, retaliatory honor systems, institutional loyalty demands, or vows whose performance would itself be sinful.
G3727 appears in warnings about oath making, narratives of destructive honor, testimony concerning God's promises, and exhortations to plain truthfulness. The contexts judge oaths by truth, purpose, and obedience to God.
Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
Jesus begins from inherited teaching on oaths and false swearing before calling disciples beyond manipulative distinctions toward dependable speech.
The king was consumed with sorrow, but because of his oaths and his guests, he did not want to refuse her.
Herod's grief and concern for guests do not excuse the execution produced by his oaths, pride, and misuse of authority.
So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.
God confirms his unchanging purpose with an oath for the heirs of promise, grounding assurance in divine faithfulness rather than human technique.
Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.
James places oath restraint within patient endurance and truthful community life, directing speech toward a reliable yes or no.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. A binding verbal commitment invoking divine witness; solemn pledge calling God as guarantor of truth.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
an oath
Read versean oath
Read versean oath
Read versean oath
Read versean oath
Read versean oath
Read versean oath
Read versean oath
Read versean oath
Read versean oath
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
ὅρκος is built from this root:
Reveals pride-driven commitment that leads to sin.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
G3727 shows that solemn language does not make an action holy. Jesus confronts systems that use oath formulas to grade truthfulness while leaving ordinary speech unreliable. Herod's banquet displays the deadly opposite of integrity: he preserves public face by carrying out a wrongful promise against an innocent man. His oath is real, but the narrative condemns the pride, fear, and violence surrounding it.
Hebrews uses oath language differently. God stoops to confirm his promise for weak heirs, and assurance rests in his unchanging purpose and inability to lie. Human leaders must not borrow that divine certainty for their own plans. James therefore returns the community to plain truth. Churches should be places where testimony does not require theatrical guarantees and where no loyalty vow overrides safeguarding, lawful reporting, conscience under Scripture, or protection of the vulnerable.
When someone has made a rash or sinful pledge, faithfulness may require refusing the promised harm, naming the wrong, accepting consequences, seeking forgiveness, and making appropriate repair. G3727 forms truthful people; it does not preserve harmful honor at any cost.
Mark.6.26
G3727 is a masculine Greek noun for an oath or sworn commitment. Genitive, dative, and plural constructions identify the oath, the relation to it, or the setting in which it binds, while narrative context supplies its moral evaluation.
Hebrew Scripture regulates truthful oaths and repeatedly presents the Lord's sworn promise as dependable. The New Testament carries those themes forward while Jesus and James expose formula-based evasions, Mark displays a murderous oath, and Hebrews locates final assurance in God's own unchanging purpose.