Punishments
VIEW:35 DATA:01-04-2020
PUNISHMENTS.See Crimes and Punishments, §§ 811,
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
(See CROSS, etc.) Death was the punishment of striking or even reviling a parent (Exo_21:15; Exo_21:17); blasphemy (Lev_24:14; Lev_24:16; Lev_24:23); Sabbath-breaking (Num_15:32-36); witchcraft (Exo_22:18); adultery (Lev_20:10); rape (Deu_22:25); incestuous and unnatural connection (Lev_20:11; Lev_20:14; Lev_20:16); man stealing (Exo_21:16); idolatry (Lev_20:2). "Cutting off from the people" is ipso facto excommunication or outlawry, forfeiture of the privileges of the covenant people (Lev_18:29). The hand of God executed the sentence in some cases (Gen_17:14; Lev_23:30; Lev_20:3; Lev_20:6; Num_4:15; Num_4:18; Num_4:20). Capital punishments were stoning (Exo_17:4); burning (Lev_20:14); the sword (Exo_32:27); and strangulation, not in Scripture, but in rabbinical writings.
The command (Num_25:4-5) was that the Baal-peor sinners should be slain first, then impaled or nailed to crosses; the Hebrew there (hoqa) means dislocated, and is different from that in Deu_21:22 (thalitha toli), Deu_21:23. The hanged were accounted accursed; so were buried at evening, as the hanging body defiled the land; so Christ (Gal_3:13). The malefactor was to be removed by burial from off the face of the earth speedily, that the curse might be removed off the land (Lev_18:25; Lev_18:28; 2Sa_21:6; 2Sa_21:9). Punishments not ordained by law: sawing asunder, and cutting with iron harrows(Isaiah, Heb_11:37; Ammon, in retaliation for their cruelties, 2Sa_12:31; 1Sa_11:2); pounding in a mortar (Pro_27:22); precipitation (Luk_4:29; 2Ch_25:12); stripes, 40 only allowed (Deu_25:3), the Jews therefore gave only 39; the convict received the stripes from a three-thonged whip, stripped to the waist, in a bent position, tied to a pillar; if the executioner exceeded the number he was punished, a minute accuracy observed in 2Co_11:24.
The Abyssinians use the same number (Wolff, Travels, 2:276). Heaps of stones were flung upon the graves of executed criminals (Jos_15:25-26; 2Sa_18:17); to this day stones are flung on Absalom's supposed tomb. Outside the city gates (Jer_22:19; Heb_13:12). Punishment in kind (lex talionis) was a common principle (Exo_21:24-25). Also compensation, restitution of the thing or its equivalent (Exo_21:18-36). Slander of a wife's honour was punished by fine and stripes (Deu_22:18-19).
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Punishments. The earliest theory of punishment current among mankind is doubtless the one of simple retaliation, "blood for blood." Viewed historically, the first case of punishment for crime mentioned in Scripture, next to the Fall itself, is that of Cain, the first murderer. That death was regarded as the fitting punishment for murder appears plain from the remark of Lamech. Gen_4:24. In the post-diluvian code, if we may so call it, retribution by the hand of man, even in the case of an offending animal, for blood shed, is clearly laid dawn. Gen_9:5-6.
Passing onward to Mosaic times, we find the sentence of capital punishment, in the case of murder, plainly laid down in the law. The murderer was to be put to death, even if he should have taken refuge at God's altar or in a refuge city, and the same principle was to be carried out even in the case of an animal.
Offences punished with death. ? I. The following offences also are mentioned in the law as liable to the punishment of death:
Striking, or even reviling, a parent. Exo_21:15; Exo_21:17.
Blasphemy. Lev_24:14; Lev_24:16; Lev_24:23.
Sabbath-breaking. Exo_31:14; Exo_35:2; Num_15:32-36.
Witchcraft, and false pretension to prophecy. Exo_22:18; Lev_20:27; Deu_13:5; Deu_18:20.
Adultery. Lev_20:10; Deu_22:22.
Unchastity. Lev_21:9; Deu_22:21; Deu_22:23.
Rape. Deu_22:25.
Incestuous and unnatural connections. Exo_22:19; Lev_20:11; Lev_20:14; Lev_20:16.
Manstealing. Exo_21:16; Deu_24:7.
Idolatry, actual or virtual, in any shape. Lev_20:2; Deu_13:8; Deu_13:10; Deu_13:15; Deu_17:2-7. See Jos_7:1; Jos_22:20; Num_25:8.
False witness in certain cases. Deu_19:16; Deu_19:19.
II. But there is a large number of offences, some of them included in this list, which are named in the law as involving the penalty of "cutting off from the people." On the meaning of this expression, some controversy has arisen. There are altogether thirty six or thirty seven cases in the Pentateuch, in which this formula is used. We may perhaps conclude that the primary meaning of "cutting off" is a sentence of death to be executed in some cases without remission, but in others voidable ?
(1) by immediate atonement on the offender's part;
(2) by direct interposition of the Almighty, that is, a sentence of death always "regarded," but not always executed.
Kinds of punishments. ? Punishments are twofold, Capital and Secondary.
i. Capital.
(A) The following only are prescribed by the law: Stoning, which was the ordinary mode of execution. Exo_17:4; Luk_20:6; Joh_10:31; Act_14:5. In the case of idolatry, and it may be presumed, in other cases, also, the witnesses, of whom, there were to be at least two, were required to cast the first stone. Deu_13:9; Act_7:58.
Hanging is mentioned as a distinct punishment. Num_25:4; 2Sa_21:6; 2Sa_21:9.
Burning, in pre-Mosaic times, was the punishment for unchastity. Gen_38:24. Under the law, it was ordered in the case of a priest's daughter Lev_21:9.
Death by the sword or spear is named in the law, Exo_19:13; Exo_32:27; Num_25:7, and it occurs frequently, in regal and post-Babylonian times. 1Ki_2:25; 1Ki_2:34; 1Ki_19:1; 2Ch_21:4; etc.
Strangling is said by the rabbis to have been regarded as the most common, but least severe of the capital punishments, and to have been performed by immersing the convict in clay or mud, and then strangling him by a cloth twisted round the neck.
(B) Besides these ordinary capital punishments, we read of others, either of foreign introduction, or of an irregular kind. Among the former,
Crucifixion is treated elsewhere.
Drowning, though not ordered under the law, was practiced at Rome, and is said, by St. Jerome, to have been in use among the Jews.
Sawing asunder or crushing beneath iron instruments. 2Sa_12:31, and perhaps Pro_20:26; Heb_11:37.
Pounding in a mortar, or beating to death, is alluded to in Pro_27:22 but not as a legal punishment, and cases are described. 1Ma_6:28; 1Ma_6:30.
Precipitation, attempted in the case of our Lord at Nazareth, and carried out in that of captives from the Edomites, and of St. James, who is said to have been cast from "the pinnacle" of the Temple. Criminals executed by law were burned outside the city gates, and heaps of stones were flung upon their graves. Jos_7:25-26; 2Sa_18:17; Jer_22:19.
ii. Of secondary punishments among the Jews, the original Principles were,
Retaliation, "eye for eye," etc. Exo_21:24-25.
Compensation, Identical (restitution) or analogous payment for loss of time or of power. Exo_21:18-36; Lev_24:18-21; Deu_19:21. Slander against a wife's honor was to be compensated to her parents by a fine of one hundred shekels, and the traducer himself to be punished with stripes . Deu_22:18-19.
Stripes, whose number was not to exceed forty, Deu_25:3 whence, the Jews took care not to exceed thirty-nine. 2Co_11:24.
Scourging with thorns is mentioned Jdg_8:16.
The stocks are mentioned in Jer_20:2,
passing through fire is mentioned in 2Sa_12:31,
mutilation is mentioned in Jdg_1:6; 2Ma_7:4; 2Sa_4:12,
plucking out hair is mentioned in Isa_50:6, and
in later times, imprisonment, and confiscation or exile. Ezr_7:26; Jer_37:15; Jer_38:6; Act_4:3; Act_5:18; Act_12:4.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
pun?ish-ments (עון, ‛āwōn, ?fault,? ?iniquity,? ?punishment for iniquity,? ?sin? (Gen_4:13; Lev_26:41; Job_19:29; Psa_149:7; Lam_4:22; Eze_14:10 margin; Amo_1:3, Amo_1:6, Amo_1:9, Amo_1:11, Amo_1:13; Amo_2:1, Amo_2:4, Amo_2:6), ענשׁ, ‛ōnesh, ?tribute,? ?fine,? ?punishment? (Lam_3:39), חטאה, ḥăṭā'āh, or חטּאת ro ,h, ḥaṭṭā'th, ?sin? and its retribution, ?penalty,? ?expiation? (Zec_14:19); κόλασις, kólasis, ?punishment,? ?torment? (Mat_25:46), ἐπιτιμία, epitimı́a, ?poll tax,? hence, ?penalty? (2Co_2:6), τιμωρία, timōrı́a, ?vindication,? hence, ?penalty? (Heb_10:29), ἐκδίκησις, ekdı́kēsis, ?vindication,? ?retribution? (1Pe_2:14 the King James Version)): A court could inflict for a crime against the person, a sentence of (1) death in the form of stoning, burning, beheading, or strangling, etc.; (2) exile to one of the cities of refuge in case of manslaughter (Nu 35); or (3) stripes, not to exceed 40, in practice 39 or less (Deu_25:3; 2Co_11:24). Offences against property (theft, fraudulent conversion of deposit, embezzlement, robbery) were punished by exacting more than the value of the things taken (Luk_19:8), the excess going to the injured party, thus differing from a fine, which goes into the treasury of the community. The housebreaker was liable to be slain with impunity (Exo_22:2). A fine in the modern sense is unknown in the Scriptures, unless Lev_5:6-19 be interpreted as referring to such.
1. History of the Hebrew Law Concerning Punishment:
The earliest theory of punishment seems to have been that of retaliation - ?blood for blood? - and to some extent this principle appears even in the Law of Moses (Lev_21:19, Lev_21:20; Mat_5:38). Early in the history of the race, punishment was administered for sin and crime. Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden, and Cain, the first murderer, though not executed in retaliation for his deed, had a mark set on him. The words of Lamech (Gen_4:24) indicate that death was regarded as the fitting punishment for murder, and the same thought apparently was in the minds of the brethren of Joseph (Gen_42:21). Judah, as head of his family, seems to have had power of life and death (Gen_38:24), and Abimelech threatens his people with the extreme punishment in case they injure or insult Isaac or his wife (Gen_26:11). Similar power is ascribed to Pharaoh (Gen_41:13).
2. The Mosaic Law Concerning Punishment:
Under the Law of Moses, the murderer was to be put to death without mercy. Even if he took refuge at the altar in a sanctuary or in an asylum city, he would not be immune from arrest and execution, and the same principle was applied in the case of an animal (Exo_21:12, Exo_21:14, Exo_21:23, Exo_21:28, Exo_21:36 parallel). But punishment under the Mosaic Law was not to be entailed or transmitted (Deu_24:16), as was the case among the Chaldeans (Dan_6:24) and the kings of Israel (1 Ki 21; 2Ki_9:26).
It has been noted that capital punishment is extensively prescribed by the Mosaic Law, and undoubtedly the Law was carried out. This circumstance has been explained by reference to the fact that the nation consisted of newly emancipated slaves, and therefore required harsh measures to keep them in check.
Under the Mosaic Law, the offenses that made one liable to the punishment of death were: (1) striking or reviling a parent (Exo_21:15, Exo_21:17); (2) blasphemy (Lev_24:14, Lev_24:16, Lev_24:23; 1Ki_21:10; Mat_26:65, Mat_26:66); (3) Sabbath-breaking (Exo_31:14; Exo_35:2; Num_15:32-36); (4) witchcraft and false pretension to prophecy (Exo_22:18; Lev_20:27; Deu_13:5; Deu_18:20; 1Sa_28:9); (5) adultery (Lev_20:10; Deu_22:22); (6) unchastity: (a) before marriage, but detected afterward (Deu_22:21), (b) in case of a woman with someone other than her betrothed (Deu_22:23), (c) in a priest's daughter (Lev_21:9); (7) rape (Deu_22:25); (8) incestuous and unnatural connections (Exo_22:19; Lev_20:11, Lev_20:14, Lev_20:16); (9) man-stealing (Exo_21:16); (10) idolatry, actual or virtual, in any form (Lev_20:2; Deu_13:6; Deu_17:2-7); (11) false witness in capital cases (Deu_19:16, Deu_19:19).
A large number of offenses come under the law of punishment by cutting off from the people, the meaning of which expression has led to some controversy. It may signify excommunication or death, and occurs in connection with the following offenses: (1) breach of morals, such as willful sin in general (Num_15:30, Num_15:31); incestuous or unclean connections (Lev_18:29; 29:9-21); (2) breach of covenant, brought about through uncircumcision (Gen_17:14; Exo_4:24), neglect of Passover (Num_9:13), Sabbath-breaking (Exo_31:14), neglect of Atonement Day (Lev_23:29), work done on the Atonement Day (Lev_23:30), children offered to Molech (Lev_20:3), witchcraft (Lev_20:6), anointing an alien with holy oil (Exo_30:33); (3) breach of ritual, committed by eating leavened bread during Passover (Exo_12:15, Exo_12:19), eating fat of sacrifices (Lev_7:25), eating blood (Lev_7:27; Lev_17:14), eating sacrifices while unclean (Lev_7:20, Lev_7:21; Lev_22:3, Lev_22:4, Lev_22:9), offering too late (Lev_19:8), making holy ointment for private use (Exo_30:32, Exo_30:33), making perfume for private use (Exo_30:38), general neglect of purification (Num_19:13, Num_19:20), not bringing offering after slaying a beast for food (Lev_17:9), slaying the animal at a place other than the tabernacle door (Lev_17:4), touching holy things illegally (Num_4:15, Num_4:18, Num_4:20).
Of capital punishments that are properly regarded as of Hebrew origin, we note:
(1) Stoning
Stoning, which was the ordinary mode of execution (Exo_19:13; Lev_20:27; Jos_7:25; Luk_20:6; Act_7:58; Act_14:5). The witnesses, of whom there were at least two, were required to cast the first stone (Deu_13:9 f; Joh_8:7). If these failed to cause death, the bystanders proceeded to complete the sentence, whereupon the body was to be suspended until sunset (Deu_21:23).
(2) Hanging
Hanging is mentioned (Num_25:4; Deu_21:22), probably not as a mode of execution, but rather of exposure after death. It may have been a Canaanitish punishment, since it was practiced by the Gibeonites on the sons of Saul (2Sa_21:6, 2Sa_21:9).
(3) Burning
Burning, before the age of Moses, was the punishment of unchastity (Gen_38:24). The Law prescribes it as a punishment in the case of a priest's daughter (Lev_21:9), and in case of incest (Lev_20:14), but it is also mentioned as following death by other means (Jos_7:25), and some believe it was never used except after death. That it was sometimes used as a punishment on living persons among the heathen is shown by Dan 3.
(4) The Sword or Spear
The sword or spear as an instrument of punishment is named in the Law (Exo_19:13; Exo_32:27; Num_25:7 ff). It occurs frequently in monarchic and post-Bab times (Jdg_9:5; 1Sa_15:33; 2Sa_20:22; 1Ki_19:1; Jer_26:23; Mat_14:8, Mat_14:10), but among these cases, there are some of assassination rather than of punishment.
(5) Strangling
Strangling as a form of punishment has no Scripture authority, but according to tradition was frequently employed, and is said to have been performed by immersing the convict in clay or mud, and then strangling him by a cloth tied around the neck.
3. Punishments of Foreign Origin:
Besides these, which are to be regarded as the ordinary capital punishments, we read of some that were either of foreign introduction or of an irregular kind, such as: (1) crucifixion (which see); (2) drowning (Mat_18:6 parallel); (3) sawing asunder or crushing (2Sa_12:31; Heb_11:37); (4) torturing (1Ch_20:3; Heb_11:35); (5) precipitation (2Ch_25:12; Luk_4:29); (6) suffocation (2 Macc 13:4-8). The Persians are said to have filled a high tower a great way up with ashes, and then to have thrown the criminal into it, and continually stirred up the ashes by means of a wheel till he was suffocated (Rawlinson, Ancient Monarchy, III, 246). See also HEROD, II, 100.
Secondary forms of punishment not heretofore mentioned are to be noted as follows:
(1) Blinding or Putting out of Eyes.
Blinding or putting out of eyes in the case of captives (Jdg_16:21; 1Sa_11:2; 2Ki_25:7).
(2) Chaining.
Chaining by means of manacles or fetters of copper or iron, similar to our handcuffs fastened on the wrists and ankles and attached to each other by a chain (Jdg_16:21; 2Sa_3:34; 2Ki_25:7); also alluded to in the life of Paul (Act_28:20; Eph_6:20; 2Ti_1:16); and in the case of Peter (Act_12:6).
(3) Confiscation of Property.
Confiscation of property that had fallen under the ban, i.e. had been singled out for destruction by the special decree of Yahweh, as in Num_21:2; Jos_6:17; or had been reserved for the use of the army (Deu_2:35; Deu_20:14; Jos_22:8); or given over to the priesthood (Jos_6:19). The term may be extended to include all things vowed or sanctified and those irrevocably devoted or consecrated to God (Lev_27:21, Lev_27:28). The idea is applied with special emphasis to those things which, because of their uncleanness, must not be used by the Israelites, though, through their warfare with the heathen, they might have come into possession of them (Deu_7:26; 1Sa_15:16-23).
(4) Dashing in Pieces.
See Psa_2:9; Isa_13:18.
(5) Divine Visitation.
See VISITATION.
(6) Exposure to Wild Beasts.
See Lev_26:22; 1Sa_17:46; Daniel 6.
(7) Flaying.
Rawlinson, Ancient Monarchy, I, 478; Nineveh and Babylon; mentioned figuratively in Mic_3:3.
(8) Forfeiture
See Ezr_10:8.
(9) Gallows.
Gallows in the modern sense probably were unknown to the ancients. Where the word occurs in Est_5:14; Est_6:4; Est_7:9, Est_7:10; Est_9:13, Est_9:15, it probably refers to a beam or pole on which the body was impaled and then elevated to a height of 50 cubits as an object of warning to the people (see ?Hanging?).
(10) Imprisonment.
Imprisonment is frequently referred to in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, indicating that this was a common mode of punishment among both the Israelites and other nations (Gen_40:3; Gen_42:17; Lev_24:12; Num_15:34; 1Ki_22:27; Jer_37:15, Jer_37:21; Luk_3:20; Act_4:3, Act_4:10; Act_23:10; and the Epistles of Paul). See PRISON.
(11) Indignities.
In this term may be included all those outbursts of vengeance or other evil dispositions that were practiced in times or under circumstances when liberties with the prisoner were permitted on the part of bystanders or those who had charge beyond the execution of the judicial decree. Instances are found in the life of Christ (Mat_26:59, Mat_26:67; Luk_22:63 ff; Joh_18:22); also in the life of Paul (Act_23:2).
(12) Mutilation
See Jdg_1:6, Jdg_1:7; Eze_23:25; 2 Maccabees 7.
The Law was opposed to thus treating any Israelite, and Samuel, when referring to the arbitrary power of the future king (1Sa_8:10 ff), does not say that he would thus treat ?their sons.? It was a barbarous custom of the East (see EUNUCHS; POLYGAMY), evidently regarded, among the Hebrews, as a heinous practice (Deu_23:1). The only act authorizing mutilation (except in retaliation) is mentioned in Deu_25:11.
(13) Plucking off the Hair
Plucking off the hair is alluded to as a mode of punishment in Neh_13:25; Isa_50:6.
(14) Prison Garments
Prison garments were in vogue to mark the convicts (Jer_52:33).
(15) Restitution
Restitution has been alluded to in the general introduction to this topic.
(16) Retaliation
Retaliation was recognized by Moses as a principle, but the application of it was left to the judge (Lev_24:19-22). A fine example of it is found in the law of Deu_19:19.
(17) Scorpions, Chastising With.
Probably the use of thongs armed with pointed pieces of lead or other metal (1Ki_12:11; 2Ch_10:14). See SCORPIONS.
(18) Scourging.
See separate article.
(19) Slavery.
See separate article.
(20) Stocks.
See PRISON.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
This subject is properly restricted to the penalty imposed on the commission of some crime or offence against law. It is thus distinguished from private retaliation or revenge, cruelty, torture, popular violence, certain customs of war, etc. Human punishments are such as are indicted immediately on the person of the offender, or indirectly upon his goods, etc. For the leading points in the literature of the question concerning future and divine punishment see Soul. Capital punishment is usually supposed to have been instituted at the deluge (Gen_9:5-6). Arnheim, however, thus explains the precept: if one stranger slay another, the kinsmen of the murdered man are the avengers of blood; but if he be slain by one of his own kindred, the other kinsmen must not spare the murderer, for if they do, then divine providence will require the blood?that is, will avenge it. This interpretation would account for the custom of blood-revenge among all the ancient and Asiatic nations. The extensive prescription of capital punishment by the Mosaic law, which we cannot consider as a dead letter, may be accounted for by the peculiar circumstances of the people. They were a nation of newly-emancipated slaves, and were by nature perhaps more than commonly intractable; and if we may judge by the laws enjoined on them, which Mr. Hume well remarks are a safe index to the manners and disposition of any people, we must infer that they had imbibed all the degenerating influences of slavery among heathens.
The mode of capital punishment, which constitutes a material element in the character of any law, was probably as humane as the circumstances of Moses admitted. It was probably restricted to lapidation or stoning, which, by skillful management, might produce instantaneous death. It was an Egyptian custom (Exo_8:26). The public effusion of blood by decapitation cannot be proved to have been a Mosaic punishment. The appearance of decapitation, 'slaying by the sword,' in later times (2Sa_4:8; 2Sa_20:21-22; 2Ki_10:6-8), has no more relation to the Mosaic law than the decapitation of John the Baptist by Herod (Mat_14:8-12); or than the hewing to pieces of Agag before the Lord by Samuel, as a punishment in kind (1Sa_15:33). Execution was ordered by Moses, probably adopting an ancient custom, to be begun first by the witnesses, a regulation which constituted a tremendous appeal to their moral feelings, and afterwards to be completed by the people (Deu_13:10; Deu_17:7; Jos_7:25; Joh_8:7). It was a later innovation that immediate execution should be done by some personal attendant, by whom the office was probably considered as an honor (2Sa_1:15; 2Sa_4:12). Stoning therefore was, probably, the only capital punishment ordered by Moses. It is observable that neither this nor any other punishment was, according to his law, attended with insult or torture (comp. 2 Maccabees 7). Nor did his laws admit of those horrible mutilations practiced by other nations. Mutilation of such a nature amounts to a perpetual condemnation to infamy and crime. It will shortly be seen that the lex talionis, 'an eye for an eye,' etc., was adopted by Moses as the principle, but not the mode of punishment. He seems also to have understood the true end of punishment, which is not to gratify the antipathy of society against crime, nor moral vengeance, which belongs to God alone, but prevention. 'All the people shall hear and fear, and do no more so presumptuously' (Deu_17:13; Deu_29:20). His laws are equally free from the characteristic of savage legislation, that of involving the family of the offender in his punishment. He did not allow parents to be put to death for their children, nor children for their parents (Deu_24:16), as did the Chaldeans (Dan_6:24), and the kings of Israel (comp. 1 Kings 21; 2Ki_9:26). Various punishments were introduced among the Jews, or became known to them by their intercourse with other nations?viz., precipitation, or throwing, or causing to leap, from the top of a rock: to which ten thousand Idumeans were condemned by Amaziah, king of Judah (2Ch_25:12). The inhabitants of Nazareth intended a similar fate for our Lord (Luk_4:29). This punishment resembles that of the Tarpeian rock among the Romans. Cutting asunder appears to have been a Babylonian custom (Dan_2:5; Dan_3:29; Luk_12:46; Mat_24:51); but the passages in the Gospels admit of the milder interpretation of scourging with severity, discarding from office, etc. Beating to death was a Greek punishment for slaves. It was inflicted on a wooden frame, on which the criminal was bound and beaten to death (2Ma_6:19; 2Ma_6:28; comp. 6:30). Fighting with wild beasts was a Roman punishment, to which criminals and captives in war were sometimes condemned (Adam, Roman Antiq., p. 344; 2Ti_4:17; comp. 1Co_15:32). Drowning with a heavy weight around the neck, was a Syrian, Greek, and Roman punishment. For Crucifixion, see the Article.
Posthumous insults offered to the dead bodies of criminals, though common in other nations, were very sparingly allowed by Moses. He permitted only hanging on a tree or gibbet; but the exposure was limited to a day, and burial of the body at night was commanded (Deu_21:22). Such persons were esteemed 'cursed of God' (comp. Jos_8:29; Jos_10:26; 2Sa_4:12)?a law which the later Jews extended to crucifixion (Joh_19:31, etc.; Gal_3:13). Hanging alive may have been a Canaanitish punishment, since it was practiced by the Gibeonites on the sons of Saul (2Sa_21:9). Another posthumous insult in later times consisted in heaping stones on the body or grave of the executed criminal (Jos_7:25-26). To 'make heaps' of houses or cities is a phrase denoting complete and ignominious destruction (Isa_25:2; Jer_9:11). Burning the dead body seems to have been a very ancient posthumous insult: it was denounced by Judah against his daughter-in-law, Tamar, when informed that she was with child (Gen_38:24). Selden thinks that this means merely branding on the forehead. Moses retained this ancient ignominy for two offences only, which from the nature of things must have been comparatively rare, viz., for bigamy with a mother and her daughter (Lev_20:4), and for the case of a priest's daughter who committed whoredom (Lev_21:9). Though 'burning' only be specified in these cases, it may be safely inferred that the previous death of the criminals, probably by lapidation, is to be understood (comp. Jos_7:25). Among the heathens this merciful preliminary was not always observed, as for instance in the case of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3).
Among the minor corporal punishments ordered by Moses, was scourging; or the infliction of blows on the back of an offender with a rod. It was limited by him to forty stripes, a number which the Jews in later times were so careful not to exceed, that they inflicted but thirty-nine (2Co_11:24). It was to be inflicted on the offender lying on the ground, in the presence of a judge (Lev_19:20; Deu_22:18; Deu_25:2-3). We have abundant evidence that it was an ancient Egyptian punishment. Corporal punishment of this kind was allowed by Moses, by masters to servants or slaves of both sexes (Exo_21:20). Scourging was common in after times among the Jews, who associated with it no disgrace or inconvenience beyond the physical pain it occasioned, and from which no station was exempt (Pro_17:26; comp. 10:13; Jer_37:15-20). Hence it became the symbol for correction in general (Psa_89:32). Solomon is a zealous advocate for its use in education (Pro_13:24; Pro_23:13-14; comp. Ecc_11:10). It was inflicted for ecclesiastical offences in the synagogue (Mat_10:17; Act_26:11). The Mosaic law, however, respecting it, affords a pleasing contrast to the extreme and unlimited scourging known among the Romans, but which, according to the Porcian law, could not be inflicted upon a Roman citizen (Act_16:22-37; Act_22:25). Reference to the scourge with scorpions, i.e. a whip or scourge armed with knots or thorns, occurs in 1Ki_12:11.
Retaliation is doubtless the most natural of all kinds of punishment, and would be the most just of all, if it could be instantaneously and universally inflicted. But when delayed it is apt to degenerate into revenge. Hence the desirableness that it should be regulated and modified by law. Moses accordingly adopted the principle, but lodged the application of it in the judge. 'If a man blemish his neighbor, as he hath done, so shall it be done to him. Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, wound for wound, stripe for stripe, breach for breach' (Exo_21:23-25; Lev_24:19-22). His system of compensations, etc., occurs in Exodus 21. He, however, makes willful murder, even of a slave, always capital, as did the Egyptians. The Egyptians doomed the false accuser to the same punishment which he endeavored to bring on his victim, as did Moses (Deu_19:19). Imprisonment, not as a punishment, but custody, till the royal pleasure was known, appears among the Egyptians (Gen_39:20-21). Moses adopted it for like purposes (Lev_26:12). In later times, it appears as a punishment inflicted by the kings of Judah and Israel (2Ch_16:10; 1Ki_22:27; Jer_37:21); and during the Christian era, as in the instance of John (Mat_4:12), and Peter (Act_12:4). Murderers and debtors were also committed to prison; and the latter 'tormented' till they paid (Mat_18:30; Luk_23:19). A common prison is mentioned (Act_5:18); and also an inner prison or dungeon, which was sometimes a pit (Jer_38:6), in which were 'stocks' (Jer_20:2; Jer_29:26; Act_16:24). Prisoners are alluded to (Job_3:18), and stocks (Job_13:27). Banishment was impracticable among the Jews. It was inflicted by the Romans on John (Rev_1:9). Cutting or plucking off the hair is alluded to (Isa_50:6; Neh_13:25). Excision, or 'cutting off from his people,' is denounced against the uncircumcised as early as the covenant with Abraham (Gen_17:14). This punishment is expressed in the Mosaic law by the formula?'that soul shall be destroyed from its people' (Lev_7:20-21); 'from Israel' (Exo_12:15); 'from the midst of the congregation' (Num_19:20); 'it shall be destroyed' (Lev_17:14; Lev_20:17); which terms sometimes denote capital punishment (Exo_31:14; comp. 35:2; Num_15:32, etc.) [ANATHEMA].
Ecclesiastical punishments are prescribed, as might be expected under a theocracy, but these were moderate. Involuntary transgressions of the Levitical law, whether of omission or commission, were atoned for by a sin-offering (Lev_4:2, etc.; Lev_5:1; Lev_5:4-7). This head embraced a rash or neglected oath, keeping back evidence in court (Lev_4:2, etc.; Lev_5:1; Lev_4:7), breach of trust, concealment of property when found, or theft, even when the offender had already cleared himself by oath, but was now moved by conscience to make restitution. By these means, and by the payment of twenty percent beyond the amount of his trespass, the offender might cancel the crime as far as the church was concerned (Lev_6:1-7; Num_5:6-10). Adultery with a slave was commuted from death to stripes and a trespass-offering (Lev_19:20-22). All these cases involved public confession, and the expenses of the offering.
Future punishment.?Though the doctrine of a future state was known to the ancient Hebrews, yet temporal punishment and reward were the immediate motives held out to obedience. Hence the references in the Old Testament to punishment in a future state are obscure and scanty. See Hades; Heaven; Hell.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
(See CROSS, etc.) Death was the punishment of striking or even reviling a parent (Exo_21:15; Exo_21:17); blasphemy (Lev_24:14; Lev_24:16; Lev_24:23); Sabbath-breaking (Num_15:32-36); witchcraft (Exo_22:18); adultery (Lev_20:10); rape (Deu_22:25); incestuous and unnatural connection (Lev_20:11; Lev_20:14; Lev_20:16); man stealing (Exo_21:16); idolatry (Lev_20:2). "Cutting off from the people" is ipso facto excommunication or outlawry, forfeiture of the privileges of the covenant people (Lev_18:29). The hand of God executed the sentence in some cases (Gen_17:14; Lev_23:30; Lev_20:3; Lev_20:6; Num_4:15; Num_4:18; Num_4:20). Capital punishments were stoning (Exo_17:4); burning (Lev_20:14); the sword (Exo_32:27); and strangulation, not in Scripture, but in rabbinical writings.
The command (Num_25:4-5) was that the Baal-peor sinners should be slain first, then impaled or nailed to crosses; the Hebrew there (hoqa) means dislocated, and is different from that in Deu_21:22 (thalitha toli), Deu_21:23. The hanged were accounted accursed; so were buried at evening, as the hanging body defiled the land; so Christ (Gal_3:13). The malefactor was to be removed by burial from off the face of the earth speedily, that the curse might be removed off the land (Lev_18:25; Lev_18:28; 2Sa_21:6; 2Sa_21:9). Punishments not ordained by law: sawing asunder, and cutting with iron harrows(Isaiah, Heb_11:37; Ammon, in retaliation for their cruelties, 2Sa_12:31; 1Sa_11:2); pounding in a mortar (Pro_27:22); precipitation (Luk_4:29; 2Ch_25:12); stripes, 40 only allowed (Deu_25:3), the Jews therefore gave only 39; the convict received the stripes from a three-thonged whip, stripped to the waist, in a bent position, tied to a pillar; if the executioner exceeded the number he was punished, a minute accuracy observed in 2Co_11:24.
The Abyssinians use the same number (Wolff, Travels, 2:276). Heaps of stones were flung upon the graves of executed criminals (Jos_15:25-26; 2Sa_18:17); to this day stones are flung on Absalom's supposed tomb. Outside the city gates (Jer_22:19; Heb_13:12). Punishment in kind (lex talionis) was a common principle (Exo_21:24-25). Also compensation, restitution of the thing or its equivalent (Exo_21:18-36). Slander of a wife's honour was punished by fine and stripes (Deu_22:18-19).
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Punishments. The earliest theory of punishment current among mankind is doubtless the one of simple retaliation, "blood for blood." Viewed historically, the first case of punishment for crime mentioned in Scripture, next to the Fall itself, is that of Cain, the first murderer. That death was regarded as the fitting punishment for murder appears plain from the remark of Lamech. Gen_4:24. In the post-diluvian code, if we may so call it, retribution by the hand of man, even in the case of an offending animal, for blood shed, is clearly laid dawn. Gen_9:5-6.
Passing onward to Mosaic times, we find the sentence of capital punishment, in the case of murder, plainly laid down in the law. The murderer was to be put to death, even if he should have taken refuge at God's altar or in a refuge city, and the same principle was to be carried out even in the case of an animal.
Offences punished with death. ? I. The following offences also are mentioned in the law as liable to the punishment of death:
Striking, or even reviling, a parent. Exo_21:15; Exo_21:17.
Blasphemy. Lev_24:14; Lev_24:16; Lev_24:23.
Sabbath-breaking. Exo_31:14; Exo_35:2; Num_15:32-36.
Witchcraft, and false pretension to prophecy. Exo_22:18; Lev_20:27; Deu_13:5; Deu_18:20.
Adultery. Lev_20:10; Deu_22:22.
Unchastity. Lev_21:9; Deu_22:21; Deu_22:23.
Rape. Deu_22:25.
Incestuous and unnatural connections. Exo_22:19; Lev_20:11; Lev_20:14; Lev_20:16.
Manstealing. Exo_21:16; Deu_24:7.
Idolatry, actual or virtual, in any shape. Lev_20:2; Deu_13:8; Deu_13:10; Deu_13:15; Deu_17:2-7. See Jos_7:1; Jos_22:20; Num_25:8.
False witness in certain cases. Deu_19:16; Deu_19:19.
II. But there is a large number of offences, some of them included in this list, which are named in the law as involving the penalty of "cutting off from the people." On the meaning of this expression, some controversy has arisen. There are altogether thirty six or thirty seven cases in the Pentateuch, in which this formula is used. We may perhaps conclude that the primary meaning of "cutting off" is a sentence of death to be executed in some cases without remission, but in others voidable ?
(1) by immediate atonement on the offender's part;
(2) by direct interposition of the Almighty, that is, a sentence of death always "regarded," but not always executed.
Kinds of punishments. ? Punishments are twofold, Capital and Secondary.
i. Capital.
(A) The following only are prescribed by the law: Stoning, which was the ordinary mode of execution. Exo_17:4; Luk_20:6; Joh_10:31; Act_14:5. In the case of idolatry, and it may be presumed, in other cases, also, the witnesses, of whom, there were to be at least two, were required to cast the first stone. Deu_13:9; Act_7:58.
Hanging is mentioned as a distinct punishment. Num_25:4; 2Sa_21:6; 2Sa_21:9.
Burning, in pre-Mosaic times, was the punishment for unchastity. Gen_38:24. Under the law, it was ordered in the case of a priest's daughter Lev_21:9.
Death by the sword or spear is named in the law, Exo_19:13; Exo_32:27; Num_25:7, and it occurs frequently, in regal and post-Babylonian times. 1Ki_2:25; 1Ki_2:34; 1Ki_19:1; 2Ch_21:4; etc.
Strangling is said by the rabbis to have been regarded as the most common, but least severe of the capital punishments, and to have been performed by immersing the convict in clay or mud, and then strangling him by a cloth twisted round the neck.
(B) Besides these ordinary capital punishments, we read of others, either of foreign introduction, or of an irregular kind. Among the former,
Crucifixion is treated elsewhere.
Drowning, though not ordered under the law, was practiced at Rome, and is said, by St. Jerome, to have been in use among the Jews.
Sawing asunder or crushing beneath iron instruments. 2Sa_12:31, and perhaps Pro_20:26; Heb_11:37.
Pounding in a mortar, or beating to death, is alluded to in Pro_27:22 but not as a legal punishment, and cases are described. 1Ma_6:28; 1Ma_6:30.
Precipitation, attempted in the case of our Lord at Nazareth, and carried out in that of captives from the Edomites, and of St. James, who is said to have been cast from "the pinnacle" of the Temple. Criminals executed by law were burned outside the city gates, and heaps of stones were flung upon their graves. Jos_7:25-26; 2Sa_18:17; Jer_22:19.
ii. Of secondary punishments among the Jews, the original Principles were,
Retaliation, "eye for eye," etc. Exo_21:24-25.
Compensation, Identical (restitution) or analogous payment for loss of time or of power. Exo_21:18-36; Lev_24:18-21; Deu_19:21. Slander against a wife's honor was to be compensated to her parents by a fine of one hundred shekels, and the traducer himself to be punished with stripes . Deu_22:18-19.
Stripes, whose number was not to exceed forty, Deu_25:3 whence, the Jews took care not to exceed thirty-nine. 2Co_11:24.
Scourging with thorns is mentioned Jdg_8:16.
The stocks are mentioned in Jer_20:2,
passing through fire is mentioned in 2Sa_12:31,
mutilation is mentioned in Jdg_1:6; 2Ma_7:4; 2Sa_4:12,
plucking out hair is mentioned in Isa_50:6, and
in later times, imprisonment, and confiscation or exile. Ezr_7:26; Jer_37:15; Jer_38:6; Act_4:3; Act_5:18; Act_12:4.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
pun?ish-ments (עון, ‛āwōn, ?fault,? ?iniquity,? ?punishment for iniquity,? ?sin? (Gen_4:13; Lev_26:41; Job_19:29; Psa_149:7; Lam_4:22; Eze_14:10 margin; Amo_1:3, Amo_1:6, Amo_1:9, Amo_1:11, Amo_1:13; Amo_2:1, Amo_2:4, Amo_2:6), ענשׁ, ‛ōnesh, ?tribute,? ?fine,? ?punishment? (Lam_3:39), חטאה, ḥăṭā'āh, or חטּאת ro ,h, ḥaṭṭā'th, ?sin? and its retribution, ?penalty,? ?expiation? (Zec_14:19); κόλασις, kólasis, ?punishment,? ?torment? (Mat_25:46), ἐπιτιμία, epitimı́a, ?poll tax,? hence, ?penalty? (2Co_2:6), τιμωρία, timōrı́a, ?vindication,? hence, ?penalty? (Heb_10:29), ἐκδίκησις, ekdı́kēsis, ?vindication,? ?retribution? (1Pe_2:14 the King James Version)): A court could inflict for a crime against the person, a sentence of (1) death in the form of stoning, burning, beheading, or strangling, etc.; (2) exile to one of the cities of refuge in case of manslaughter (Nu 35); or (3) stripes, not to exceed 40, in practice 39 or less (Deu_25:3; 2Co_11:24). Offences against property (theft, fraudulent conversion of deposit, embezzlement, robbery) were punished by exacting more than the value of the things taken (Luk_19:8), the excess going to the injured party, thus differing from a fine, which goes into the treasury of the community. The housebreaker was liable to be slain with impunity (Exo_22:2). A fine in the modern sense is unknown in the Scriptures, unless Lev_5:6-19 be interpreted as referring to such.
1. History of the Hebrew Law Concerning Punishment:
The earliest theory of punishment seems to have been that of retaliation - ?blood for blood? - and to some extent this principle appears even in the Law of Moses (Lev_21:19, Lev_21:20; Mat_5:38). Early in the history of the race, punishment was administered for sin and crime. Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden, and Cain, the first murderer, though not executed in retaliation for his deed, had a mark set on him. The words of Lamech (Gen_4:24) indicate that death was regarded as the fitting punishment for murder, and the same thought apparently was in the minds of the brethren of Joseph (Gen_42:21). Judah, as head of his family, seems to have had power of life and death (Gen_38:24), and Abimelech threatens his people with the extreme punishment in case they injure or insult Isaac or his wife (Gen_26:11). Similar power is ascribed to Pharaoh (Gen_41:13).
2. The Mosaic Law Concerning Punishment:
Under the Law of Moses, the murderer was to be put to death without mercy. Even if he took refuge at the altar in a sanctuary or in an asylum city, he would not be immune from arrest and execution, and the same principle was applied in the case of an animal (Exo_21:12, Exo_21:14, Exo_21:23, Exo_21:28, Exo_21:36 parallel). But punishment under the Mosaic Law was not to be entailed or transmitted (Deu_24:16), as was the case among the Chaldeans (Dan_6:24) and the kings of Israel (1 Ki 21; 2Ki_9:26).
It has been noted that capital punishment is extensively prescribed by the Mosaic Law, and undoubtedly the Law was carried out. This circumstance has been explained by reference to the fact that the nation consisted of newly emancipated slaves, and therefore required harsh measures to keep them in check.
Under the Mosaic Law, the offenses that made one liable to the punishment of death were: (1) striking or reviling a parent (Exo_21:15, Exo_21:17); (2) blasphemy (Lev_24:14, Lev_24:16, Lev_24:23; 1Ki_21:10; Mat_26:65, Mat_26:66); (3) Sabbath-breaking (Exo_31:14; Exo_35:2; Num_15:32-36); (4) witchcraft and false pretension to prophecy (Exo_22:18; Lev_20:27; Deu_13:5; Deu_18:20; 1Sa_28:9); (5) adultery (Lev_20:10; Deu_22:22); (6) unchastity: (a) before marriage, but detected afterward (Deu_22:21), (b) in case of a woman with someone other than her betrothed (Deu_22:23), (c) in a priest's daughter (Lev_21:9); (7) rape (Deu_22:25); (8) incestuous and unnatural connections (Exo_22:19; Lev_20:11, Lev_20:14, Lev_20:16); (9) man-stealing (Exo_21:16); (10) idolatry, actual or virtual, in any form (Lev_20:2; Deu_13:6; Deu_17:2-7); (11) false witness in capital cases (Deu_19:16, Deu_19:19).
A large number of offenses come under the law of punishment by cutting off from the people, the meaning of which expression has led to some controversy. It may signify excommunication or death, and occurs in connection with the following offenses: (1) breach of morals, such as willful sin in general (Num_15:30, Num_15:31); incestuous or unclean connections (Lev_18:29; 29:9-21); (2) breach of covenant, brought about through uncircumcision (Gen_17:14; Exo_4:24), neglect of Passover (Num_9:13), Sabbath-breaking (Exo_31:14), neglect of Atonement Day (Lev_23:29), work done on the Atonement Day (Lev_23:30), children offered to Molech (Lev_20:3), witchcraft (Lev_20:6), anointing an alien with holy oil (Exo_30:33); (3) breach of ritual, committed by eating leavened bread during Passover (Exo_12:15, Exo_12:19), eating fat of sacrifices (Lev_7:25), eating blood (Lev_7:27; Lev_17:14), eating sacrifices while unclean (Lev_7:20, Lev_7:21; Lev_22:3, Lev_22:4, Lev_22:9), offering too late (Lev_19:8), making holy ointment for private use (Exo_30:32, Exo_30:33), making perfume for private use (Exo_30:38), general neglect of purification (Num_19:13, Num_19:20), not bringing offering after slaying a beast for food (Lev_17:9), slaying the animal at a place other than the tabernacle door (Lev_17:4), touching holy things illegally (Num_4:15, Num_4:18, Num_4:20).
Of capital punishments that are properly regarded as of Hebrew origin, we note:
(1) Stoning
Stoning, which was the ordinary mode of execution (Exo_19:13; Lev_20:27; Jos_7:25; Luk_20:6; Act_7:58; Act_14:5). The witnesses, of whom there were at least two, were required to cast the first stone (Deu_13:9 f; Joh_8:7). If these failed to cause death, the bystanders proceeded to complete the sentence, whereupon the body was to be suspended until sunset (Deu_21:23).
(2) Hanging
Hanging is mentioned (Num_25:4; Deu_21:22), probably not as a mode of execution, but rather of exposure after death. It may have been a Canaanitish punishment, since it was practiced by the Gibeonites on the sons of Saul (2Sa_21:6, 2Sa_21:9).
(3) Burning
Burning, before the age of Moses, was the punishment of unchastity (Gen_38:24). The Law prescribes it as a punishment in the case of a priest's daughter (Lev_21:9), and in case of incest (Lev_20:14), but it is also mentioned as following death by other means (Jos_7:25), and some believe it was never used except after death. That it was sometimes used as a punishment on living persons among the heathen is shown by Dan 3.
(4) The Sword or Spear
The sword or spear as an instrument of punishment is named in the Law (Exo_19:13; Exo_32:27; Num_25:7 ff). It occurs frequently in monarchic and post-Bab times (Jdg_9:5; 1Sa_15:33; 2Sa_20:22; 1Ki_19:1; Jer_26:23; Mat_14:8, Mat_14:10), but among these cases, there are some of assassination rather than of punishment.
(5) Strangling
Strangling as a form of punishment has no Scripture authority, but according to tradition was frequently employed, and is said to have been performed by immersing the convict in clay or mud, and then strangling him by a cloth tied around the neck.
3. Punishments of Foreign Origin:
Besides these, which are to be regarded as the ordinary capital punishments, we read of some that were either of foreign introduction or of an irregular kind, such as: (1) crucifixion (which see); (2) drowning (Mat_18:6 parallel); (3) sawing asunder or crushing (2Sa_12:31; Heb_11:37); (4) torturing (1Ch_20:3; Heb_11:35); (5) precipitation (2Ch_25:12; Luk_4:29); (6) suffocation (2 Macc 13:4-8). The Persians are said to have filled a high tower a great way up with ashes, and then to have thrown the criminal into it, and continually stirred up the ashes by means of a wheel till he was suffocated (Rawlinson, Ancient Monarchy, III, 246). See also HEROD, II, 100.
Secondary forms of punishment not heretofore mentioned are to be noted as follows:
(1) Blinding or Putting out of Eyes.
Blinding or putting out of eyes in the case of captives (Jdg_16:21; 1Sa_11:2; 2Ki_25:7).
(2) Chaining.
Chaining by means of manacles or fetters of copper or iron, similar to our handcuffs fastened on the wrists and ankles and attached to each other by a chain (Jdg_16:21; 2Sa_3:34; 2Ki_25:7); also alluded to in the life of Paul (Act_28:20; Eph_6:20; 2Ti_1:16); and in the case of Peter (Act_12:6).
(3) Confiscation of Property.
Confiscation of property that had fallen under the ban, i.e. had been singled out for destruction by the special decree of Yahweh, as in Num_21:2; Jos_6:17; or had been reserved for the use of the army (Deu_2:35; Deu_20:14; Jos_22:8); or given over to the priesthood (Jos_6:19). The term may be extended to include all things vowed or sanctified and those irrevocably devoted or consecrated to God (Lev_27:21, Lev_27:28). The idea is applied with special emphasis to those things which, because of their uncleanness, must not be used by the Israelites, though, through their warfare with the heathen, they might have come into possession of them (Deu_7:26; 1Sa_15:16-23).
(4) Dashing in Pieces.
See Psa_2:9; Isa_13:18.
(5) Divine Visitation.
See VISITATION.
(6) Exposure to Wild Beasts.
See Lev_26:22; 1Sa_17:46; Daniel 6.
(7) Flaying.
Rawlinson, Ancient Monarchy, I, 478; Nineveh and Babylon; mentioned figuratively in Mic_3:3.
(8) Forfeiture
See Ezr_10:8.
(9) Gallows.
Gallows in the modern sense probably were unknown to the ancients. Where the word occurs in Est_5:14; Est_6:4; Est_7:9, Est_7:10; Est_9:13, Est_9:15, it probably refers to a beam or pole on which the body was impaled and then elevated to a height of 50 cubits as an object of warning to the people (see ?Hanging?).
(10) Imprisonment.
Imprisonment is frequently referred to in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, indicating that this was a common mode of punishment among both the Israelites and other nations (Gen_40:3; Gen_42:17; Lev_24:12; Num_15:34; 1Ki_22:27; Jer_37:15, Jer_37:21; Luk_3:20; Act_4:3, Act_4:10; Act_23:10; and the Epistles of Paul). See PRISON.
(11) Indignities.
In this term may be included all those outbursts of vengeance or other evil dispositions that were practiced in times or under circumstances when liberties with the prisoner were permitted on the part of bystanders or those who had charge beyond the execution of the judicial decree. Instances are found in the life of Christ (Mat_26:59, Mat_26:67; Luk_22:63 ff; Joh_18:22); also in the life of Paul (Act_23:2).
(12) Mutilation
See Jdg_1:6, Jdg_1:7; Eze_23:25; 2 Maccabees 7.
The Law was opposed to thus treating any Israelite, and Samuel, when referring to the arbitrary power of the future king (1Sa_8:10 ff), does not say that he would thus treat ?their sons.? It was a barbarous custom of the East (see EUNUCHS; POLYGAMY), evidently regarded, among the Hebrews, as a heinous practice (Deu_23:1). The only act authorizing mutilation (except in retaliation) is mentioned in Deu_25:11.
(13) Plucking off the Hair
Plucking off the hair is alluded to as a mode of punishment in Neh_13:25; Isa_50:6.
(14) Prison Garments
Prison garments were in vogue to mark the convicts (Jer_52:33).
(15) Restitution
Restitution has been alluded to in the general introduction to this topic.
(16) Retaliation
Retaliation was recognized by Moses as a principle, but the application of it was left to the judge (Lev_24:19-22). A fine example of it is found in the law of Deu_19:19.
(17) Scorpions, Chastising With.
Probably the use of thongs armed with pointed pieces of lead or other metal (1Ki_12:11; 2Ch_10:14). See SCORPIONS.
(18) Scourging.
See separate article.
(19) Slavery.
See separate article.
(20) Stocks.
See PRISON.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
This subject is properly restricted to the penalty imposed on the commission of some crime or offence against law. It is thus distinguished from private retaliation or revenge, cruelty, torture, popular violence, certain customs of war, etc. Human punishments are such as are indicted immediately on the person of the offender, or indirectly upon his goods, etc. For the leading points in the literature of the question concerning future and divine punishment see Soul. Capital punishment is usually supposed to have been instituted at the deluge (Gen_9:5-6). Arnheim, however, thus explains the precept: if one stranger slay another, the kinsmen of the murdered man are the avengers of blood; but if he be slain by one of his own kindred, the other kinsmen must not spare the murderer, for if they do, then divine providence will require the blood?that is, will avenge it. This interpretation would account for the custom of blood-revenge among all the ancient and Asiatic nations. The extensive prescription of capital punishment by the Mosaic law, which we cannot consider as a dead letter, may be accounted for by the peculiar circumstances of the people. They were a nation of newly-emancipated slaves, and were by nature perhaps more than commonly intractable; and if we may judge by the laws enjoined on them, which Mr. Hume well remarks are a safe index to the manners and disposition of any people, we must infer that they had imbibed all the degenerating influences of slavery among heathens.
The mode of capital punishment, which constitutes a material element in the character of any law, was probably as humane as the circumstances of Moses admitted. It was probably restricted to lapidation or stoning, which, by skillful management, might produce instantaneous death. It was an Egyptian custom (Exo_8:26). The public effusion of blood by decapitation cannot be proved to have been a Mosaic punishment. The appearance of decapitation, 'slaying by the sword,' in later times (2Sa_4:8; 2Sa_20:21-22; 2Ki_10:6-8), has no more relation to the Mosaic law than the decapitation of John the Baptist by Herod (Mat_14:8-12); or than the hewing to pieces of Agag before the Lord by Samuel, as a punishment in kind (1Sa_15:33). Execution was ordered by Moses, probably adopting an ancient custom, to be begun first by the witnesses, a regulation which constituted a tremendous appeal to their moral feelings, and afterwards to be completed by the people (Deu_13:10; Deu_17:7; Jos_7:25; Joh_8:7). It was a later innovation that immediate execution should be done by some personal attendant, by whom the office was probably considered as an honor (2Sa_1:15; 2Sa_4:12). Stoning therefore was, probably, the only capital punishment ordered by Moses. It is observable that neither this nor any other punishment was, according to his law, attended with insult or torture (comp. 2 Maccabees 7). Nor did his laws admit of those horrible mutilations practiced by other nations. Mutilation of such a nature amounts to a perpetual condemnation to infamy and crime. It will shortly be seen that the lex talionis, 'an eye for an eye,' etc., was adopted by Moses as the principle, but not the mode of punishment. He seems also to have understood the true end of punishment, which is not to gratify the antipathy of society against crime, nor moral vengeance, which belongs to God alone, but prevention. 'All the people shall hear and fear, and do no more so presumptuously' (Deu_17:13; Deu_29:20). His laws are equally free from the characteristic of savage legislation, that of involving the family of the offender in his punishment. He did not allow parents to be put to death for their children, nor children for their parents (Deu_24:16), as did the Chaldeans (Dan_6:24), and the kings of Israel (comp. 1 Kings 21; 2Ki_9:26). Various punishments were introduced among the Jews, or became known to them by their intercourse with other nations?viz., precipitation, or throwing, or causing to leap, from the top of a rock: to which ten thousand Idumeans were condemned by Amaziah, king of Judah (2Ch_25:12). The inhabitants of Nazareth intended a similar fate for our Lord (Luk_4:29). This punishment resembles that of the Tarpeian rock among the Romans. Cutting asunder appears to have been a Babylonian custom (Dan_2:5; Dan_3:29; Luk_12:46; Mat_24:51); but the passages in the Gospels admit of the milder interpretation of scourging with severity, discarding from office, etc. Beating to death was a Greek punishment for slaves. It was inflicted on a wooden frame, on which the criminal was bound and beaten to death (2Ma_6:19; 2Ma_6:28; comp. 6:30). Fighting with wild beasts was a Roman punishment, to which criminals and captives in war were sometimes condemned (Adam, Roman Antiq., p. 344; 2Ti_4:17; comp. 1Co_15:32). Drowning with a heavy weight around the neck, was a Syrian, Greek, and Roman punishment. For Crucifixion, see the Article.
Posthumous insults offered to the dead bodies of criminals, though common in other nations, were very sparingly allowed by Moses. He permitted only hanging on a tree or gibbet; but the exposure was limited to a day, and burial of the body at night was commanded (Deu_21:22). Such persons were esteemed 'cursed of God' (comp. Jos_8:29; Jos_10:26; 2Sa_4:12)?a law which the later Jews extended to crucifixion (Joh_19:31, etc.; Gal_3:13). Hanging alive may have been a Canaanitish punishment, since it was practiced by the Gibeonites on the sons of Saul (2Sa_21:9). Another posthumous insult in later times consisted in heaping stones on the body or grave of the executed criminal (Jos_7:25-26). To 'make heaps' of houses or cities is a phrase denoting complete and ignominious destruction (Isa_25:2; Jer_9:11). Burning the dead body seems to have been a very ancient posthumous insult: it was denounced by Judah against his daughter-in-law, Tamar, when informed that she was with child (Gen_38:24). Selden thinks that this means merely branding on the forehead. Moses retained this ancient ignominy for two offences only, which from the nature of things must have been comparatively rare, viz., for bigamy with a mother and her daughter (Lev_20:4), and for the case of a priest's daughter who committed whoredom (Lev_21:9). Though 'burning' only be specified in these cases, it may be safely inferred that the previous death of the criminals, probably by lapidation, is to be understood (comp. Jos_7:25). Among the heathens this merciful preliminary was not always observed, as for instance in the case of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3).
Among the minor corporal punishments ordered by Moses, was scourging; or the infliction of blows on the back of an offender with a rod. It was limited by him to forty stripes, a number which the Jews in later times were so careful not to exceed, that they inflicted but thirty-nine (2Co_11:24). It was to be inflicted on the offender lying on the ground, in the presence of a judge (Lev_19:20; Deu_22:18; Deu_25:2-3). We have abundant evidence that it was an ancient Egyptian punishment. Corporal punishment of this kind was allowed by Moses, by masters to servants or slaves of both sexes (Exo_21:20). Scourging was common in after times among the Jews, who associated with it no disgrace or inconvenience beyond the physical pain it occasioned, and from which no station was exempt (Pro_17:26; comp. 10:13; Jer_37:15-20). Hence it became the symbol for correction in general (Psa_89:32). Solomon is a zealous advocate for its use in education (Pro_13:24; Pro_23:13-14; comp. Ecc_11:10). It was inflicted for ecclesiastical offences in the synagogue (Mat_10:17; Act_26:11). The Mosaic law, however, respecting it, affords a pleasing contrast to the extreme and unlimited scourging known among the Romans, but which, according to the Porcian law, could not be inflicted upon a Roman citizen (Act_16:22-37; Act_22:25). Reference to the scourge with scorpions, i.e. a whip or scourge armed with knots or thorns, occurs in 1Ki_12:11.
Retaliation is doubtless the most natural of all kinds of punishment, and would be the most just of all, if it could be instantaneously and universally inflicted. But when delayed it is apt to degenerate into revenge. Hence the desirableness that it should be regulated and modified by law. Moses accordingly adopted the principle, but lodged the application of it in the judge. 'If a man blemish his neighbor, as he hath done, so shall it be done to him. Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, wound for wound, stripe for stripe, breach for breach' (Exo_21:23-25; Lev_24:19-22). His system of compensations, etc., occurs in Exodus 21. He, however, makes willful murder, even of a slave, always capital, as did the Egyptians. The Egyptians doomed the false accuser to the same punishment which he endeavored to bring on his victim, as did Moses (Deu_19:19). Imprisonment, not as a punishment, but custody, till the royal pleasure was known, appears among the Egyptians (Gen_39:20-21). Moses adopted it for like purposes (Lev_26:12). In later times, it appears as a punishment inflicted by the kings of Judah and Israel (2Ch_16:10; 1Ki_22:27; Jer_37:21); and during the Christian era, as in the instance of John (Mat_4:12), and Peter (Act_12:4). Murderers and debtors were also committed to prison; and the latter 'tormented' till they paid (Mat_18:30; Luk_23:19). A common prison is mentioned (Act_5:18); and also an inner prison or dungeon, which was sometimes a pit (Jer_38:6), in which were 'stocks' (Jer_20:2; Jer_29:26; Act_16:24). Prisoners are alluded to (Job_3:18), and stocks (Job_13:27). Banishment was impracticable among the Jews. It was inflicted by the Romans on John (Rev_1:9). Cutting or plucking off the hair is alluded to (Isa_50:6; Neh_13:25). Excision, or 'cutting off from his people,' is denounced against the uncircumcised as early as the covenant with Abraham (Gen_17:14). This punishment is expressed in the Mosaic law by the formula?'that soul shall be destroyed from its people' (Lev_7:20-21); 'from Israel' (Exo_12:15); 'from the midst of the congregation' (Num_19:20); 'it shall be destroyed' (Lev_17:14; Lev_20:17); which terms sometimes denote capital punishment (Exo_31:14; comp. 35:2; Num_15:32, etc.) [ANATHEMA].
Ecclesiastical punishments are prescribed, as might be expected under a theocracy, but these were moderate. Involuntary transgressions of the Levitical law, whether of omission or commission, were atoned for by a sin-offering (Lev_4:2, etc.; Lev_5:1; Lev_5:4-7). This head embraced a rash or neglected oath, keeping back evidence in court (Lev_4:2, etc.; Lev_5:1; Lev_4:7), breach of trust, concealment of property when found, or theft, even when the offender had already cleared himself by oath, but was now moved by conscience to make restitution. By these means, and by the payment of twenty percent beyond the amount of his trespass, the offender might cancel the crime as far as the church was concerned (Lev_6:1-7; Num_5:6-10). Adultery with a slave was commuted from death to stripes and a trespass-offering (Lev_19:20-22). All these cases involved public confession, and the expenses of the offering.
Future punishment.?Though the doctrine of a future state was known to the ancient Hebrews, yet temporal punishment and reward were the immediate motives held out to obedience. Hence the references in the Old Testament to punishment in a future state are obscure and scanty. See Hades; Heaven; Hell.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
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