Deuteronomy 17:5

5 Then you are to take the man or woman who has done the evil to the public place of your town, and they are to be stoned with stones till they are dead.

Deuteronomy 17:5 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 17:5

Thou shall bring forth that man or that woman which have
committed the wicked thing
Idolatry in any of the above instances: this must be supposed to be done after he or she have been had before a court of judicature, and have been tried and found guilty, and sentence passed on them, then they were to be brought forth to execution:

unto thy gates;
the Targum of Jonathan says, unto the gates of your sanhedrim, or court of judicature; but Jarchi observes, that this is a mistake of the paraphrase, for he says, we are taught by tradition that "thy gate" is the gate in which he has served or committed idolatry; and so says Maimonides F4, they do not stone a man but at the gate where he served or worshipped; but if the greatest part of the city are Heathens, they stone him at the door of the sanhedrim; and this is received from tradition, that "to thy gates" is the gate at which he served, and not where his judgment is finished:

[even] that man or that woman;
this is repeated, and the woman as well as the man is expressed, to show that no compassion is to be had on her as is usual, nor to be spared on account of the weakness and tenderness of her sex, but she as well as the man must be brought forth and executed according to her sentence, without any mercy shown; and this is observed to show the resentment of the divine Majesty, and his indignation at this sin:

and shalt stone them with stones until they die;
of the manner of stoning men and women, (See Gill on Acts 7:58).


FOOTNOTES:

F4 Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 15. sect. 2.

Deuteronomy 17:5 In-Context

3 By becoming a servant of other gods and worshipping them or the sun or the moon or all the stars of heaven, against my orders;
4 If word of this comes to your ears, then let this thing be looked into with care, and if there is no doubt that it is true, and such evil has been done in Israel;
5 Then you are to take the man or woman who has done the evil to the public place of your town, and they are to be stoned with stones till they are dead.
6 On the word of two or three witnesses, a man may be given the punishment of death; but he is not to be put to death on the word of one witness.
7 The hands of the witnesses will be the first to put him to death, and after them the hands of all the people. So you are to put away the evil from among you.
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