Hebrews 11:37. They were sawn asunder.
This terrible mode of punishment is said to have originated either with the Persians or the Chaldeans, and was occasionally practiced by other ancient nations. It is supposed by some to be mentioned in 2 Samuel 12:31 and 1 Chronicles 20:3, though commentators are by no means agreed on this point. There is a very old tradition that Isaiah suffered death by this means. The Saviour is thought to refer to it in Matthew 24:51 and Luke 12:46. Dr. Shaw says that the Western Moors practiced this barbarous punishment during his travels among them. “They prepare two boards of a proper length and breadth, and having tied the criminal betwixt them, they proceed to the execution by beginning at the head” (Travels, p. 254).