589. Punishment of Criminals
Narrator:
Chris Genthree
Duration:
1min
• 1 min. read • grade level: 10
See also chapter 3:29.
Cutting into pieces was a punishment common to many ancient nations. It was known to the Hebrews, and was inflicted by Samuel upon Agag. See 1 Samuel 15:3333And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. (1 Samuel 15:33). Some think that dichotomy, or sawing asunder, is the punishment here referred to. See note on Hebrews 11:3737They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Hebrews 11:37) (#883).
According to Babylonian customs the house in which the criminal lived was sometimes destroyed, and the very land on which his dwelling stood considered cursed forever. The custom was also known among the Persians. See the decree of Darius in Ezra 6:1111Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. (Ezra 6:11). It was likewise practiced at Athens. There were many spots in the midst of that populous city which were kept perpetually vacant by reason of a decree similar to that referred to in the text.