Capital punishment in the Bible

The Sabbath-Breaker Stoned (Numbers 15). James Tissot c.1900

Capital punishment in the Bible refers to instances in the Bible where death is called for as a punishment and also instances where it is proscribed or prohibited. A case against capital punishment can be made from John 8, where Jesus speaks words that can be construed as condemning the practice.[1] There are however many more Bible verses that command and condone capital punishment, and examples of it being carried out. Sins that were punishable by death include homicide, striking one's parents, kidnapping, cursing one's parents, witchcraft and divination, bestiality, worshiping other gods, violating the Sabbath, child sacrifice, adultery, incest, and male homosexual intercourse (there is no biblical legal punishment for lesbians mentioned).[2]

  1. ^ Philip Wesley Comfort, Early Manuscripts and Modern Translations of the New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1990), 116
  2. ^ Alpert, Rebecca (2007). "Lesbianism". In Skolnik, Fred (ed.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 12. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA in association with the Keter Pub. House. pp. 660–661. ISBN 978-0-02-865940-4. OCLC 70174939.

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