by Trible, and on David by Gunn. Alter 1981 ranges more widely than these three). The initial hypothetical instance, famine, is only reinforced by an oracular phrase, “utterance of Adonai Yahweh.” In the following three instances—threats by wild beasts, sword, and pestilence—the oracular formula is preceded by a divine oath, “as I live.” (Divine oaths, common in the ancient Near East where polytheism reigned, seem entirely out of place in Yahweh’s mouth. Why would a deity who was thought to be trustworthy