Midrasch zu Hoschea 4:3

R. Akiba declared: A pact of excommunication and an oath are actually one and the same. You learn this from Joshua, who placed Jericho under a ban. Achan was burned to death when he violated the ban by taking things from Jericho and hiding them in his tents. These (things) were the cloaks and the golden tongues from inside the mouths of the idols at Jericho, upon which an unclean (i.e., idolatrous) name had been engraved. Because he violated the pact of excommunication, thirty-six Israelites perished,³The members of Achan’s family. See B. Sanhedrin 44a. and Joshua rent his clothes and prostrated himself upon the ground before the ark. And the Lord said unto Joshua: “Get thee up; wherefore, now, art thou fallen upon thy face? Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed My covenant which I commanded them; yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing; and have also stolen, etc. (Josh. 7:10). Why is the word gam (variously translated “yea” and “also” in the preceding passage) repeated five times in this verse? To teach us that whosoever violates a vow of excommunication is considered to be transgressing against the Five Books of Moses. For all other sins, the guilty one is punished, but for the violation of an oath of excommunication the transgressor and all mankind are punished, as it is said: Therefore doth the land mourn, and everyone that dwelleth therein doth languish (Hos. 4:3), and elsewhere it states: Therefore, hath a curse devoured the land, and they that dwell therein are found guilty (Isa. 24:6). Similarly, you find that it is said about Achan: Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass against the banned things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And that man perished not alone in his iniquity (Josh. 22:20).

(Fol. 38b) Our Rabbis were taught: Also an oath taken by one before the court must be uttered in a language he understands, and the court must say to him the following introduction to the oath: Be aware (Fol. 39) that the entire world trembled when the Holy One, praised be He! spake on the Mount Sinai: (Ex. 20, 7) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; likewise concerning all transgressions in the Torah it reads: Venakkei (He will forgive), and concerning a false oath, it reads further, Lo Yenakke (He will not forgive); again, for all other transgressions, only the sinner himself is punished, while here (in the case of an oath) the punishment extends also to his family, as it is said (Ecc. 5, 5) Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt; and by the expression flesh one's family is meant, as it is said (Is. 58, 7) From thy own flesh. Furthermore, for all other transgressions the sinner himself is alone punished, while in this case the whole world is punished, as it is written (Hos. 4, 2-3) There is false swearing, etc… . therefore shall the land mourn. But perhaps it means that only when the sinner committed all the transgressions mentioned here in Hosea? This cannot be meant, for it is written (Jer. 23, 10) For because of false swearing mourneth the land. Again, the punishment for all other transgressions is, through the merits of the sinner's forefathers, postponed for some two or three generations, but in this case he is punished immediately, as it is said (Zech. 5, 4) I cause it to go forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely in My name; and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. I bring it forth, means immediately; it shall enter into the house of the thief, refers to one who steals the mind of the people, e. g., he who has no money with his neighbor, maintains that he has and makes the latter swear; into the house of him who sweareth falsely, is to be taken literally; it shall remain in the midst of his house, etc., from this it may be learned that things indestructible by fire or water are destroyed by false swearing. If after having listened to all this introduction, he says: I will not take the oath, the court sends him away immediately [that he might not reconsider his last decision]; but if he says: I will nevertheless swear, the people present say (Num. 16, 16) Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked. Again, when he is ready to take the oath, the court once more says to him: "Be aware that the oath which you take is not according to your own mind, but to the mind of the Holy One, praised be He! and that of the court," as we find in the case of Moses, our teacher, who, when he made the Israelites swear, said: "You shall be aware that your oath is not of your own mind, but by that of the Holy One, is it is said (Deut. 29, 13-14) And not with you alone, etc… . but with him that is standing here, etc. [It is not meant, those who were only at the Mount Sinai, but all future generations]. Whence do we know that even all proselytes who will embrace Judaism in the future? It is said (Ib.) And also with him that is not here with us. From this we infer only regarding the commandments given in that Mount, but whence do we know regarding all commandments that will be established in the future, such as the reading of the Book of Esther? It is said (Est. 9, 27) The Jews confirmed it as a duty, etc. This means they confirmed a duty imposed upon them in the past. The master said: "The whole world trembled, when the Holy One … "But why? Was it because it was ordained on Sinai? Then, all the ten commandments were given there; and if because it is more rigorous, is it indeed so? Is there not a Mishna: The following are classified as lenient positives and negatives, except Thou shalt not bear the holy name, etc.; rigorous are those under the category of capital punishment and Karath, and the commandment Thou shalt not bear, etc., belongs to these [hence, there are many like swearing]. We must therefore say that concerning all other transgressions the Torah says Venakkei, while concerning thou shalt not bear, Lo Yenakke is applied. But do we not find the same Lo Yenakke in connection with all laws? Behold it is written (Ib. 34) Venakkei lo Yenakke? This is explained by R. Elazar, who said: "It is impossible to say Venakkei (he will forgive) since it is followed by Lo Yenakke (he will not forgive), nor is it possible to say he will not forgive after it reads he will forgive, therefore it must mean, he will forgive the repenters, but not those who do not repent."