This week, you might guess I want to take up the subject of stoning. Surprisingly, there was a lot to learn.
First, the mechanics of the punishment. No, not how to do it, but why. If you read Leviticus and Deuteronomy, you will note that some crimes were by word prescribed for stoning the offender- but many others just say death, without picking the method. That lead the Jews to use what was said in other spots to identify 4 legal ways to perform Capital Punishment.
Of course there was stoning, as we've established. There was also striking down by the sword, which seems to have been mainly for political or military matters. A third was burning to death- they deduced this because that's what Judah was going to do to his daughter in law Tamar, before she exposed him as the father of her twins. Presumably since this was involving one of the Patriarchs, the Jews decided that this would involve crimes against priests.
Now as the Jews studied the Law, they used a couple of principles to work out what form of punishment went with crimes calling for death but not naming the method. They used words studies and "if this, then that" procedures to clear up most of the unknown cases. But for the ones that they still couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation, they invented one. Reasoning that there were rough ways to die, and easier ones, they figured that the still-blank cases needed the easiest way of killing they could think of. So they would put "a hard napkin inside a softer napkin" and strangle the offender.
I don't know of any examples of the strangulation or burning actually being used, but we can guess that they were used in the wrong way...
Heb 11:36 And others (of the prophets) had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings; yes, more, of bonds and imprisonments.
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented.
Anyhow, stoning was the main way- the Targum lists 18 crimes approved for stoning- most of them variations to the ones listed in the Bible. Those were:
-Dedicating children to Molech, aka sacrificing them to the fire
-being a wizard, soothsayer, or medium
-blasphemy
-breaking the Sabbath
-Being a rebellious and sinful adult child
-adultery/rape
- defying a direct order from God
- serving other gods or enticing others to
To those the Jewish list added incest and bestiality. Now there is a common theme to these, which I'll explain in this next section.
And that would be, who actually got stoned? Well, here you have two columns- those that got stoned for God's reasons, and those who got stoned for human reasons. To the best of my research, I found three that were stoned for the reasons prescribed.
-Achan, who disobeyed the command of God to not take loot from Jericho- he hid away some items, which caused God to remove His favor and got Israel defeated the first time they tried to take the city of Ai.
-The second case comes from Numbers 15:13. One guy decided purposefully to break the Sabbath and gather sticks. See, there is blasphemy of the mouth and blasphemy of action. God shouldn't have to say, "I JUST TOLD YOU..." to us.
- The final case came from Leviticus 24:
Lev 24:10 Now an Israelite woman's son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. And the Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel fought in the camp,
Lev 24:11 and the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the Name, and cursed. Then they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
Interesting here is everyone is named but the offender. More so, mom's name means "peaceable"; Grampa's name can be boiled down to "mouthy". Guess which one the blasphemer took after? Also, there is a right and wrong way to do things: the Jews of the Targum used human logic to deduce which punishment God desired. Not so Moses:
Lev 24:12 And they put him in custody, till the will of the LORD should be clear to them.
But because this was a case they had to come to God about, God laid down some rules about these punishments, that would have helped the Jews immensely had they been able to figure them out.
First, anything against God Himself- idolatry, blasphemy, disobedience, merited stoning. Basically the first six Commandments were stoning-required, thus the rebellious child for not obeying or honoring his parents was considered the same as having blasphemed God.
Second, with mitigating circumstances, premeditated murder. Human life was a stoning offense.
Third, if it was something that could be restored- an animal, a possession, an injury that did not cause death. If it was something that could not be restored- like a woman's honor in the case of rape- then stoning was required.
Finally, how about cases that did NOT merit stoning? That would include Adoram, who had been the financial guru for Solomon, when Rehoboam sent him out to collect his new, higher taxes. Zechariah, the priest and son of the priest Jehoiada, whom Joash ordered killed when he spoke up about Joash's evil change after Jehoiada died; and Naboth, who was killed by Ahab when he wouldn't sell his vineyard to him. Add from the New Testament Stephan, who witnessed to the Sanhedrin, calling them stubborn and stiff-necked; and Paul, who some say died and was brought back at Lystra in Acts 14. So what do we have for reasons here?
Politics. Greed. Pride. Hate.
Just one last topper, and sorry for running long: The greatest blasphemer of all- Goliath of Gath, who daily blasphemed against the Living God and His army, until an untried youth came and took him down, by God's power, with JUST ONE STONE.
