Leviticus 20 Footnotes

20:2 Crimes punishable by stoning in the OT include blasphemy (24:16; see 1Kg 21:9-14), Sabbath violation (Nm 15:32-36), idolatry (Dt 13:10; 17:5), adultery with a betrothed virgin (Dt 22:24), and failure to restrain a dangerous ox (Ex 21:29). Stoning was also the penalty for incorrigible children (Dt 21:18-21) and a bride who was found not to be a virgin (Dt 22:21).

20:26 An exceptional feature of biblical law is the prominent focus on human values. In Israel, religious offenses and offenses against life tended to be punished more severely than in other ancient Near Eastern law, which regarded financial loss as more serious than loss of life. Punishment in Israelite law stands in marked contrast to the degrading brutality of many penalties under Assyrian law. Mutilation is demanded only once in the Pentateuch in an extreme case (Dt 25:11-12), and there the penalty is mild compared with those in Assyrian laws. The OT demand for at least two witnesses (Dt 19:15) limited the application of penalties to flagrant violations.