217. Stone Heaps

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It was customary to heap up stones as rude monuments of important events. See Genesis 31:4646And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap. (Genesis 31:46); Joshua 4:3, 63And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. (Joshua 4:3)
6That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? (Joshua 4:6). In the case of noted criminals this was done, not merely to mark the spot of their burial, but as a monument of the popular abhorrence of their crimes. This case of Achan is an illustration. Another instance may be found in the case of Absalom (2 Sam. 18:1717And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent. (2 Samuel 18:17)). When Joshua captured and hanged the king of Ai, he commanded a heap of stones to be raised over his grave. Travelers tell us that it is still customary in Palestine to cast stones upon the graves of criminals, the passers-by adding to the heap for a long time afterward. In the valley of Jehoshaphat is a monument popularly known by the name of “Absalom’s Tomb,” and supposed to mark the site of the “pillar” which Absalom set up for himself “in the king’s dale” (2 Sam. 18:1818Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place. (2 Samuel 18:18)). Mohammedans and Jews have for very many years been in the habit of casting stones at it as they pass, in token of their detestation of the crime of the rebellious son.