Paul Sanders, «So May God Do To Me!», Vol. 85 (2004) 91-98
In the Hebrew Bible we find the self-imprecation "So may God
do to me and more also!" (2 Sam 3,35, 1 Kgs 2,23, etc.). In many cases, the
phrase is immediately conditioned: "So may God do to me and more also, if
you will not be the commander of the army" (2 Sam 19,14). God may punish the
speaker, if the latter fails his promise. Ancient Mesopotamian sources suggest
that the word "So" in the Hebrew expression originally referred to a gesture in
use when taking an oath: the touching of the throat. The biblical passages where
the expression occurs do not display any resistance to the use of the formula as
such, even though it was often pronounced inconsiderately. However, the textual
alteration in 1 Sam 25,22 shows that there was opposition to the idea that the
pious king David failed a promise that he had reinforced using the
self-imprecatory phrase.
So May God Do To Me!
The Hebrew Bible contains an enigmatic phrase: πyswy hkw µyhla yl hç[y hk.
These words can be translated as follows: “So may God do to me and more
also.” The expression is found in the books of Samuel, Kings and Ruth, and
is invariably followed by a solemn pledge (1). It is not clear to what exactly the
expression refers, though it is evident that a severe punishment is implied (2).
The combination of the verb hc[ “to do” and the preposition l “to” may also
have the more positive meaning of “to do on behalf of” (3). This expression,
however, has no such positive meaning, but is rather an imprecation of
oneself. The negative meaning becomes particularly evident from 1 Sam 3,17,
where Eli the priest does not imprecate himself, but imprecates his junior
assistant Samuel: rbd rça rbdh lkm rbd ynmm djkt µa πyswy hkw µyhla ˚l hç[y hk
˚yla “So may God do to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of
all that he told you”. Eli’s threat impresses Samuel so much that he tells his
master everything instantly.
Below, I will address the origins and the usage of the Hebrew self-
imprecatory formula. Also, I will endeavour to discover to what extent those
who pronounced the formula appear to have been aware of the self-
imprecatory nature of the phrase. And finally, I will try to shed some light on
the degree to which its use met with disapproval in early Judaism and early
Christianity.
1. A conditional self-imprecation
In many cases, the phrase πyswy hkw µyhla yl hç[y hk is immediately
conditioned: “So may God do to me and more also, if ...” The condition
always relates to future actions either by the speaker himself or for which the
speaker will take responsibility at least partly. God may punish the speaker,
if the latter fails his promise (4). If, on the other hand, the promise is kept, the
self-imprecation is revoked automatically (5).
(1) The phrase occurs in 2 Sam 3,35; 19,14 (transl. 19,13); 1 Kgs 2,23; 2 Kgs 6,31. The
phrase also occurs in 1 Sam 14,44; 20,13; 25,22; 2 Sam 3,9; 1 Kgs 19,2; 20,10; Ruth 1,17,
though in somewhat altered forms.
(2) The Good News Bible renders the phrase as follows: “May God strike me dead” or,
in the case of Ruth 1,17, as: “May the Lord’s most severe punishment come upon me”.
(3) See 1 Sam 14,6; Isa 5,4, etc.
(4) For biblical self-imprecations in which the deity is not the subject of the curse, see
Ps 7,4-6; 137,5-6; Job 31,7-10.19-22.38-40. In Ps 7 and Job 31, the self-imprecatory
phrases are a way of stressing claims of innocence.
(5) The conditional self-imprecation differs from the biblical “vow” (Hebrew: rd
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