If he swears, “I will not drink from this river or this well,” then scoops the water with a vessel1 and drinks2, he is perjured; not so if3 he had sworn, “I will not drink from this vessel,” and then ladled from it and drank.

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Whoever swears, “I will not enter So-and-so’s house,” or “I will not ride his mount,” is perjured if he enters a house that So-and-so has put at his slave’s disposal, or one he has leased out, or rides an animal he has hired, but not if the property was only borrowed by So-and-so.

If he swears, “I will not speak to any person,” he is perjured by speaking to any human being, even if all he says is4 “Be quiet.” If he swears, “I will not speak to So-and-so,” and then writes to him or sends him a message, he is perjured. If he swears, “I will not begin speaking to So-and-so,” and the two of them start speaking simultaneously, he is not perjured.

If he swears, “He owns nothing,” he is not perjured on account of a debt; but if he says, “He has no wealth” or “He owns no wealth,” he is perjured even by the existence of a debt.

If he swears, “I will strike So-and-so with a hundred,” then gathers a hundred twigs together and strikes him one blow with the bundle, he has fulfilled his oath; not so if he had sworn, “I will strike him a hundred [times].”

Whoever swears, “I will not reside in this5 house,” or “I will leave it,” or “I will move out of it,” must depart himself together with his family and the belongings normally taken along. If he stays beyond the time customarily required to leave and has not gone, he is perjured. If he cannot find another dwelling, or his wife refuses to accompany him and he has no lawful means to compel her, and he leaves alone, he is not perjured. The same ruling applies to a town, except that when he swears, “I will depart from it,” he satisfies the oath by leaving alone. In all these cases, returning does not break the oath unless he intended that it would, or there is a specific reason to the contrary.