Bible Strands
Hebrews 6:16
Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author writes to Jewish Christians struggling with faithfulness, using a familiar legal custom to transition from Abraham’s patience to God’s guarantee of the promise.
The words — ὀμνύουσιν (omnuousin) means “swear” and μεῖζονος (meizonos) means “greater,” denoting the practice of invoking a superior authority to finalize a binding agreement.
The thread — This convention appears in Genesis 14:22 where Abram swears to the LORD, Exodus 22:11 regarding disputes settled by an oath before God, and Hebrews 6:13 where God swears by Himself since no greater authority exists.
Why it lands — The text states that human oaths derive their force from a higher authority to end argument, which sets the premise for why God’s direct oath to Abraham carries unassailable finality.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Cross-references
- Exodus 22:11 an oath before the LORD shall be made between the parties to determine whether or not the man has taken his neighbor’s property. The owner must accept the oath and require no restitution.
- Hebrews 6:13 When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,
- Genesis 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
- Genesis 21:23 Now, therefore, swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or descendants. Show to me and to the country in which you reside the same kindness that I have shown to you.”
- Genesis 21:30 He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand as my witness that I dug this well.”
- Genesis 31:53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
- Joshua 9:15 And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
- Ezekiel 17:16 ‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who enthroned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke.
- 2 Samuel 21:2 At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)
- Matthew 23:20 So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.