THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
Cyril. It is essential for us to honor our commitments to God, and anyone who has made such promises should fulfill them without hesitation, as it is truly grave and perilous to delay this fulfillment. This sentiment is supported by Scripture. If we consider it profoundly inappropriate to be found guilty of falsehood, how could it not be disgraceful to make a promise before the Lord and later to fail to uphold that promise? Thus, the law indicts anyone who has vowed and has not acted promptly to fulfill it, including those who have neglected to fulfill their commitments entirely. However, those who possess nothing of their own and are under necessary obligations, living under another's authority, are not held accountable for such vows.
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In the book of Numbers it is stated: ‘And Moses spake unto the chiefs of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying, This is what the Lord hath commanded: if a man make a vow unto the Lord, or swear by an oath, having put a vow upon his soul, he shall not break his word, but shall fulfill all that came out of his mouth. If a woman shall make a vow unto the Lord, and put a vow upon herself in her father's house, in her youth, and her father shall hear her vow, and the vow which she hath put upon her soul, and her father shall be silent concerning it, then all her vows shall take place, and every vow which she hath put upon her soul shall take place; But if her father, when he hears, forbid her, all her vows and her vows which she hath put upon her soul shall not come to pass, and the Lord shall forgive her, because her father hath forbidden her’ (Num. 30:2-6). Furthermore, if it concerns a wife who is united to her husband under the law, the same principle applies (Num. 30:7-9).