The Hebrew verb alah means to swear an oath, to bind oneself with a curse, or to call down divine judgment. It implies invoking God as witness and enforcer of a solemn vow. The related noun alah (H423) refers to the oath or curse itself, especially the conditional curse attached to covenant violation.
Alah is theologically significant because it ties human speech to divine accountability. Oaths in the ancient Near East were not casual promises — they invoked God as the guarantor, calling His judgment upon the swearer if the vow was broken. The 'covenant curses' of Deuteronomy 27–28 use this concept to frame the Mosaic covenant: obedience brings blessing, and violation brings alah. The prophet Hosea used oath-breaking as a metaphor for Israel's unfaithfulness to God (Hosea 4:2; 10:4). This word connects human integrity to the character of a God who cannot lie (Numbers 23:19).