Shall Stone with Stones יִרְגְּמֻ֥הוּ בָאָֽבֶן

We are in chapter twenty of Leviticus with our word for today which is a phrase used for the first time in the Bible in our chapter. יִרְגְּמֻ֥הוּ בָאָֽבֶן shall stone him with stones. It is used 6 times in the Old Testament, twice in our chapter. Let’s start with our chapter since it is the first time it is used in the Bible. Leviticus 20:1-2, 27 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land יִרְגְּמֻ֥הוּ בָאָֽבֶן shall stone him with stones … A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They בָּאֶ֛בֶן יִרְגְּמ֥וּ [this is our phrase just with the two words reversed so it is literally with stones shall be stoned] shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.” The method of how these capital offenses were to be punished are clearly spelled out with our phrase. Here are other capital crimes that utilize our phrase. Leviticus 24:23 So Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and they brought out of the camp the one who had cursed וַיִּרְגְּמ֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ אָ֑בֶן [this is our phrase with the pronoun inserted in the middle probably for emphasis him being the one who cursed God] and stoned him with stones. Thus the people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses. Here is an example of breaking the sabbath. Numbers 15:35-36 And the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation רָג֨וֹם אֹת֤וֹ בָֽאֲבָנִים֙ shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” And all the congregation brought him outside the camp וַיִּרְגְּמ֥וּ אֹת֛וֹ בָּאֲבָנִ֖ים and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses. Here is an example of a person influencing others to serve other gods. Deuteronomy 13:10 וּסְקַלְתּ֥וֹ בָאֲבָנִ֖ים [this is a different verb to stone than in our phrase with our same noun with stones] You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. We see this practice continuing on beyond Moses who God originally communicated this to. Here we see Joshua instructing this to be done to Achan because of his sin against God that affected the entire camp. Joshua 7:25 And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel וַיִּסְקְל֥וּ אֹתָ֖ם בָּאֲבָנִֽים[this again is a different verb to stone than in our phrase with our same noun with stones] stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. Our next example is how this capital punishment was corrupted to get rid of an innocent man who was in the way. 1 Kings 21:13-15 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city וַיִּסְקְלֻ֥הוּ בָאֲבָנִ֖ים[this again is a different verb to stone than in our phrase with our same noun with stones] and stoned him to death with stones. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.” As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” The next use is of the people who grumbled so much about being in the wilderness that they wanted to kill Moses and Aaron. Numbers 14:10 Then all the congregation said לִרְגּ֥וֹם אֹתָ֖ם בָּאֲבָנִ֑ים [again this is our phrase with the pronoun in the middle] to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. This reminds me of what happened in the New Testament when the people also were going against God in their attempts to kill God’s spokesman sharing truth. I’ll close with this example. Notice how Jesus welcomes him to himself. Acts 7:54-60 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.