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Leviticus 13:46
All the days wherein the plagueshall be in him he shall be defiled; heis unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the campshall his habitationbe.

Numbers 5:2-4
Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: …

Numbers 15:35
And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.

all that

Deuteronomy 13:9
But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

Deuteronomy 17:7
The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.

let all the

Leviticus 20:2,27
Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoeverhe be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that givethany of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones…

Numbers 15:35,36
And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp…

Deuteronomy 13:10
And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head
The laying on of hands in this context signifies the transfer of guilt and responsibility. Those who witnessed the blasphemy were required to affirm the truth of the accusation, ensuring that the punishment was just. This act also served as a communal acknowledgment of the sin, reinforcing the seriousness of blasphemy against God. The laying on of hands is seen in other contexts, such as in the ordination of priests (Leviticus 8:14) and the transfer of sins to the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:21).

then have the whole assembly stone him
Stoning was a communal act of judgment, reflecting the collective responsibility of the community to uphold God's laws. It served as a deterrent against sin and maintained the sanctity of God's name. The severity of the punishment underscores the gravity of blasphemy, which was considered a direct affront to God's holiness. This method of execution is seen in other instances of capital punishment in the Old Testament, such as in the case of Achan (Joshua 7:25) and the man who violated the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32-36). The communal nature of the act also prefigures the collective rejection of Christ, who was condemned by the assembly of His people.

When God commands Israel to move the offender “outside the camp” (Leviticus 24:14), He is emphasizing separation and holiness.

• The camp is where His presence dwells (Leviticus 26:11–12), so deliberate blasphemy cannot remain there.

• Similar removals occur with lepers and other defiling issues (Numbers 5:2–3), showing that sin pollutes community life.

•Exodus 33:7 pictures Moses pitching the tent of meeting “outside the camp,” highlighting that holy encounters require consecrated space.

•Hebrews 13:12–13 reminds believers that Jesus “suffered outside the gate,” taking the place of the defiled, foreshadowed here.

By literally escorting the sinner beyond Israel’s borders, the people acknowledge God’s unchanging requirement that His dwelling be undefiled.

The witnesses are not passive observers; they must place hands on the offender.

•Deuteronomy 17:6-7 says faithful witnesses initiate capital cases, preventing false accusations and underscoring personal responsibility.

• Laying on of hands often identifies with or transfers something (Leviticus 1:4 sacrifices;Numbers 27:18 commissioning). Here it publicly confirms the charge and places guilt squarely on the blasphemer, not on the community.

• This step also safeguards justice: only those who “heard him” act, echoingProverbs 18:13 about hearing a matter fully.

• The act foreshadows Christ, upon whom “the LORD has laid the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Those who condemned Him inadvertently acknowledged His substitutionary role.

Corporate execution reflects both the gravity of blasphemy and communal accountability.

• Stoning is a public, collective judgment, leaving no single executioner (Deuteronomy 13:10;Joshua 7:25). The entire nation agrees with God’s verdict.

• The community’s involvement teaches that God’s honor concerns every covenant member, not just leaders (Psalm 115:1).

•Acts 7:58 shows this same method used against Stephen, illustrating how accusations of blasphemy persisted; yet the righteous sometimes bear the penalty meant for the guilty.

•John 8:59 records would-be stoners of Jesus; however, He, the true Son, ultimately yielded to Roman crucifixion, fulfilling the law’s curse (Galatians 3:13).

• The sentence serves as a deterrent (Deuteronomy 19:20) and a reminder that sin’s wages are death (Romans 6:23); only divine atonement can rescue.

Leviticus 24:14 literally orders Israel to remove, identify, and execute the blasphemer, underscoring God’s holiness and the community’s duty to uphold His name. “Outside the camp” signals separation from God’s presence; witnesses’ hands affirm guilt; communal stoning enforces covenant justice. The passage reveals the seriousness of dishonoring God and foreshadows Christ, who bore reproach outside the gate so that, through faith in Him, sinners may be brought near rather than cast away.

Let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head.--That is, the witnesses who heard him blaspheme, and upon whose evidence he was convicted, and the judges who found him guilty, are to lay their hands upon the criminal's head. Hence the Chaldee version translates it, "Let the witnesses who heard his blasphemy and the judges lay their hands upon his head." This imposition of hands upon a criminal was peculiar to the blasphemer who was sentenced to death, and according to the Jewish canonists, the witnesses and the judges thereby declared that the testimony and the sentence were faithful and righteous, and at the same time uttered the solemn words, "Let thy blood be upon thine own head; thou hast brought this upon thyself."

Let all the congregation stone him.--The witnesses, who are the representatives of the people, cast the first stone, and then all the people who stood by covered the convict with stones. (SeeLeviticus 20:2.)

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