Stoning
“To stone, to cast stones”
Summary
The principal method of capital punishment in ancient Israel, used for offenses against God's holiness including blasphemy, idolatry, Sabbath-breaking, and certain sexual sins.
☩Offenses Punished by Stoning
Stoning was prescribed for crimes against God's honor: idolatry, enticement to idolatry, blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking, and false prophecy. Sexual sins warranting stoning included adultery by a betrothed woman and persistent filial rebellion. Anyone who had devoted themselves to accursed things, like Achan, was stoned and burned. Even an ox that gored a person to death was stoned—illustrating the sacredness of human life made in God's image.
☩Method of Execution
The condemned was taken outside the city or camp—the unclean must not contaminate the holy place. Witnesses who had testified against the person threw the first stones, followed by the congregation. This requirement that accusers participate ensured responsibility and discouraged false testimony. According to later Jewish practice, the condemned was pushed from a height, then heavy stones were dropped on them if they survived the fall.
☩Notable Instances
Achan was stoned for taking devoted items from Jericho's spoil. A man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath was stoned by divine command. Naboth was falsely accused of blasphemy and stoned so Ahab could seize his vineyard—a notorious miscarriage of justice. Stephen became the first Christian martyr when the Sanhedrin, enraged by his testimony, cast him out of the city and stoned him.
☩Jesus and Stoning
When scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, demanding Jesus approve her stoning, He responded: 'Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.' One by one, convicted by conscience, her accusers departed. Jesus Himself faced stoning attempts when His claims provoked accusations of blasphemy, but His hour had not yet come. Paul was stoned at Lystra and left for dead, yet rose and continued his mission.
Related Verses176 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Stoning," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. X (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Stoning," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Stoning," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).