Identification

• The crimes that were punished by stoning were the most serious according to the Bible. Israelites who practiced child sacrifice were to be stoned according to Leviticus 20:2. People who blasphemed God were to be taken outside the city to be stoned according to Leviticus 24:14, 23. Anyone who caused another person to worship gods other than the Jewish God were to be stoned according to Deuteronomy 3:9, as well as any who were caught worshiping the sun or the stars according to Deuteronomy 17:7. Parents were allowed to stone their own children if they were stubborn and refused to obey according to Deuteronomy 21:23.
  
  

Considerations

• The Bible even required that bulls that gore people to death be stoned. If a bull killed someone after having a history of goring people, both the bull and its owner could be stoned unless the victim happened to be a slave (see Exodus 21:28-29, 32). Had any animal ventured close enough to touch Mt. Sinai when it was covered with the presence of God at the time that the Ten Commandments were issued, it would have been stoned according to Hebrews 12:20.
  
  

History

• The first mention of stoning in the Bible is a man whose crime was gathering wood on the Sabbath day. It happened soon after the Ten Commandments had been issued, when God and Moses met together on top of Mt. Sinai. This was only a few months after the people of Israel fled Pharaoh's army through the path in the Red Sea. The story is recorded in Numbers 15:36. It falls in the category of blasphemy because the man did not respect the Lord sufficiently to obey Him. The next recorded stoning happened after Israel entered Canaan and they fought the famous battle of Jericho. One man, Achan, coveted and stole a prohibited Babylonian garment and some other treasure from Jericho and hid it beneath his tent. Even though no one had seen his deed, God exposed it after the army was defeated by a much smaller city, Ai. To eradicate the guilt that Achan's sin brought on the whole community, everyone joined in stoning him and his entire family.
  
  

Function

• Casting stones was also used illegitimately a few times in the Old Testament. Solomon's son, King Rehoboam, was oppressive at the beginning of his reign. His official in charge of forced labor was Adonijah. The community was so upset about the duresses that Rehoboam was setting up that they stoned Adonijah (see 1 Kings 12:18). Years later, Jezebel, King Ahab's wicked queen, arranged for Naboth to be stoned after a false charge of blasphemy so that the king could gain ownership of a vineyard he coveted according to 1 Kings 21:10, 13.
  
  

Significance

• Twice Jesus was accused of blasphemy and the people attempted to stone him. The first time was when Jesus retorted that "Before Abraham was, I am," in John 8:59. The second time was when he was in Jerusalem to celebrate Hanukkah when he said "I and the Father are one," according to John 10:31. He escaped both times. His early disciple, Stephen, was not so lucky. The Pharisees led his very public stoning, which is recorded in Acts 7. The first time that the apostle, Paul, is introduced is in this passage. He held the coats of the people who were casting the stones to kill Stephen. Later, even he was stoned. It was in Lystra right after he had healed a crippled man. The mob was incited to stone and leave him for dead by men who came from Antioch and Iconium (see Acts 14:19).
  
  

Warning

• Jesus often previewed what was going to happen to him by means of parables. One such parable told the story of a man who rented out a vineyard in exchange for a percent of the yield but the renters refused to pay. He sent various servants to collect the rent, but they were unsuccessful. Finally, he decided to send his son. The renters saw this as an opportunity to rid the owner of any prospect of regaining the property, so they stoned the son. It was a story that foreshadowed the crucifixion and echoed a theme that was commonly repeated among the Jews. The fate of God's true prophets was to be stoned.
  
  

Expert Insight

• Perhaps the most famous Bible story about stoning is that of the woman who was caught in adultery and then brought to Jesus for him to judge whether or not it was correct to stone her. His wise answer took everyone by surprise. He did not dispute the legality of stoning the woman, but he demanded that the first stone be cast by a person who had never sinned. Chagrined, the crowd wandered off.