Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

STONING

Execution by stoning in the OT (Heb. sāqal or rāgam) often meant pelting the criminal to death with stones (1 Sam. 30:6; 1 Kgs. 12:18), an action conveying a corporate obligation for removing sin from the community. The location of the stoning was outside the camp or city (Lev. 24:14; Num. 15:35; Deut. 17:5; 22:24; 1 Kgs. 21:13). The victim was stripped and then struck with stones (Ezek. 16:39-40), first by the witnesses and then by all the people (Deut. 17:7). NT examples of this form of stoning (litházō or lithoboléō) included the punishment for the woman caught in adultery (John 8:7) and the reaction to Jesus’ and the apostles’ controversial claims (John 10:31; Acts 14:5). The mob threw stones at Stephen until he died (Acts 7:58).

Later Jewish literature (m. Sanh. 6:1-4) describes a very deliberate process for stoning criminals, which allowed for last-minute testimony that might interrupt the execution. The victim was pushed from a 3 m. (10 ft.) height by a witness, sometimes causing death. If not, a large stone was rolled over the edge and onto his chest. If this still did not cause death, participants threw stones until he died.

Offenses punishable by stoning included idolatry (Deut. 17:2-7; 13:6-10[MT 7-11]), sacrificing children to Molech (Lev. 20:2-5), prophesying in the name of a foreign god (Deut. 13:1-5[2-6]), divination (Lev. 20:27), blasphemy (24:15-16), sabbath-breaking (Num. 15:32-36), death caused by an ox (Exod. 21:28-32), adultery (Deut. 22:22-24), and rebellion by children (21:18-21).

Dennis Gaertner

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

STONING

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)