[13] When God made the promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, "he swore by himself," [14] and said, "I will indeed bless you and multiply" you. [15] And so, after patient waiting, he obtained the promise. [16] Human beings swear by someone greater than themselves; for them an oath serves as a guarantee and puts an end to all argument. [17] So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose, he intervened with an oath, [18] so that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.
(CCC 63) Israel is the priestly people of God, "called by the name of the LORD", and "the first to hear the word of God" (Deut 28: 10; Roman Missal, Good Friday, General Intercession VI; see also Ex 19:6), The people of "elder brethren" in the faith of Abraham. (CCC 2810) In the promise to Abraham and the oath that accompanied it (Cf. Heb 6:13), God commits himself but without disclosing his name. He begins to reveal it to Moses and makes it known clearly before the eyes of the whole people when he saves them from the Egyptians: "he has triumphed gloriously" (Ex 15:1; cf. 3:14). From the covenant of Sinai onwards, this people is "his own" and it is to be a "holy (or "consecrated": the same word is used for both in Hebrew) nation" (Cf. Ex 19:5-6) because the name of God dwells in it. (CCC 2150) The second commandment forbids false oaths. Taking an oath or swearing is to take God as witness to what one affirms. It is to invoke the divine truthfulness as a pledge of one's own truthfulness. An oath engages the Lord's name. "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve him, and swear by his name" (Deut 6:13). (CCC 2151) Rejection of false oaths is a duty toward God. As Creator and Lord, God is the norm of all truth. Human speech is either in accord with or in opposition to God who is Truth itself. When it is truthful and legitimate, an oath highlights the relationship of human speech with God's truth. A false oath calls on God to be witness to a lie.
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