Abstract
ABSTRACT Different modes of death appear in the Hebrew Bible, among which we find stoning as a form of execution. Since the person is dead, why does the Bible go to such lengths to describe this manner of death? In order to proffer an answer, we shall examine the cases which describe death by stoning. The intention behind stoning seems to have been to remove the criminal from the camp and the city. This was not merely a physical removal; it also bore significance for the dead man's spirit. The punishment of stoning prevented the burial of the corpse. Non-burial was worse than death because the spirit of the dead would not find rest and would therefore never reach the underworld. In a later period, the procedure for stoning was modified. Forms of judicial execution mentioned in the Bible, compared with those in the Talmud, indicate the latter made an effort to preserve the body of an executed man. This difference stems from the fact that in the Talmudic period the idea of resurrection was well developed. Keywords: Stoning, Idolatry, Blaspheme, Divination, Adultery, Defiant Son, Adulterous Woman, Betrothed Virgin, Non-burial.
Highlights
Different modes of death appear in the Hebrew Bible, among which we find stoning as a form of execution
The transgressions punishable by stoning are in the domain of human relations with God. Persons liable to this penalty includes those who seduce their fellows to idolatry (Deut 13:11), those who engage in idolatry (Deut 17:5), those who employ the Divine name in a curse (Lev 24:16), those who offer their children to Molech (Lev 20:2), the medium and necromancer (Lev 20:27) and— a specific case with which we begin—the man who gathered wood on the Sabbath (Num 15:32–36)
In the wake of this man’s action was stoning prescribed as the punishment for public desecration of the Sabbath (Num15:35). Some believe that this penalty was applied to all Sabbath desecrators—a view reinforced by the Talmud: “It once happened that a man rode a horse on the Sabbath in the Greek period and he was brought before the Court and stoned.”[7]. The rabbis believed that the wood gatherer merited capital punishment
Summary
Of the various forms of death that appear in the Hebrew Bible, natural death is the most common. “Our master Moses knew that the wood gatherer [had incurred the penalty of ] death as it said, ‘He who desecrates it shall be put to death’ (Exod 31:14) but he did not specify by what mode of execution he should be killed.”[9] he consulted the divine oracle and the answer was “death by stoning.”[10] It is not clear if the wood gatherer’s action is a violation of the commandment about resting on the Sabbath.[11]. When the text specifies that “whoever curses his God shall bear his sin,” the meaning is that he will be stoned to death, as stated inverse 14 and can be derived a fortiori from verse 16: if a person who utters the Divine name is to be put to death, a fortiori someone who utters the Divine name and curses God merits the same punishment. Another possible explanation for the presence of two separate laws is that the original chapter comprised only verses 7–26 while verses 1–6 and 26 were added later, and verse 27, lastly
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