Torah & Capital Punishment

How should we respond to difficult passages in the Torah? Many perceive the Law of Moses to be a strict authoritative and archaic penal code. However, the Torah itself says otherwise.

Conventional Understanding:

How should we respond to difficult passages in the Torah? Many perceive the Law of Moses as a strict authoritative and archaic penal code. It is often presumed impossible to keep on the grounds that it prescribes harsh and unreasonable death sentences for a broad range of offenses. Have disobedient son? Hand him over to be stoned? Have a promiscuous daughter? Order her burned at the stake. Thinking about violating the Sabbath? Don't even think about it unless you are willing to pay with your life! These are general assumptions; and of course it is assumed that if the Torah were applicable today, such barbaric methods of justice would be enforced. However, a closer examination of the Torah's penal code proves the assertion to be in error.

According to Torah

Why are such misconceptions about the Torah prevelant among believers and non-believers alike? First, many erroneously view Scripture through the lens of personal revelation. The common consideration goes as follows: "I have personal salvation, therefore, Scripture must be a personal message." This line of thinking is understandable, however, it runs contrary to Biblical context. The Torah was not given to individuals, it was given to a nation. Of the 613 instructions given, many pertain to the Kohens (descendants of Aaron), others to Levites, some are the sole obligation of the King, and others the obligation of the common Jew, as well as universal instructions for the resident foreigner (ger).

As part of the national institutions within Israel, Moses was instructed to establish a judiciary system with local and regional courts, as well as a Supreme Court that legislated in “the place that God chooses” i.e. Jerusalem. We read about the instructions for the courts beginning in Deuteronomy 16:18 where Moses instructs the people to establish judges and officials to settle conflicts between members of the community.

When we read difficult passages in the Torah pertaining to capital punishment, we have to understand that those commandments are penal measures entrusted to the Jewish courts, not to individuals. Furthermore, the Torah stipulates that in cases where capital punishment is in question, in order for a case to be considered by a tribunal, there must be testimony of multiple eye witness: “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses (Deut. 19:15).”

Due to the strict preconditions required for establishing cases, and because of the veracity of the retribution met for false witnesses (cf. Deut. 19:15-21), capital punishment rarely ever happened in ancient Israel. In fact, the Mishnah states: “A Sanhedrin that executes one in seventy years is murderous (Mishnah Makkot 1.10).” In the majority of cases that the Jewish courts were able to operate independently without foreign influence (such as the Romans in the time of Yeshua), the Sanhedrin ruled in favor of monetary restitution rather than capital punishment.

So how do we adapt the difficult passages of Torah for our times? First we have to discern what actually applies to us in the Torah. Cases that call for penal punishment were never the responsibility of individuals in the first place (cf. Rm 12:19). Furthermore, because the Jewish Courts stipulated by Torah are only valid when there is a Temple in Jerusalem, they have no application in its absence. Therefore, on an individual level, we recognize transgression for what it is – “sin” (1 Jn. 3;4); we do our best to avoid it and learn from its principles without taking matters of retribution into our own hands (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 32:35).