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Traditional wisdom, both in the Jewish and Christian communities, interpreted this verse in Numbers 35:31 to mean that out of the almost twenty cases calling for capital punishment in the Old Testament, every one of them could have the sanction commuted by an appropriate substitute of money or anything that showed the seriousness of the crime ...
Other forms of incest receive lesser punishment; sexual activity with a sister/stepsister is given excommunication for a punishment; [22] if it involves a brother's wife or an uncle's wife it is just cursed [23] and sexual activity with an aunt that is a blood relation is merely criticised. [24]
While the Bible very clearly condones and commands capital punishment, there are verses that can be interpreted as opposing the practice. For example, when Cain murdered Abel, God sentenced him to wandering as a fugitive rather than to death, and even issued a warning against killing Cain. A similar sentiment is suggested in Proverbs 28:17.
The issue is highly debated because of its relevance to the New Testament trial of Jesus. [49] [50] Ancient rabbis did not like the idea of capital punishment, and interpreted the texts in a way that made the death penalty virtually non-existent. Legal proceedings involving capital punishment were to be handled with extreme caution.
An example of a rare exception to this is a claim by Thomas Paine, who asserted in The Age of Reason (1795) that Numbers 31 portrayed Moses as ordering the Israelites to kill all Midianites except the virgin girls, whom they could keep for what Paine termed "debauchery": "Among the detestable villains that in any period of the world would have ...
An example of divine retribution is the story found in many cultures about a great flood destroying all of humanity, as described in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Hindu Vedas, or the Book of Genesis (6:9–8:22), leaving one principal 'chosen' survivor. In the first example, it is Utnapishtim, in the Hindu Vedas it is Manu and in the last example ...
Legal codes following the principle of lex talionis have one thing in common - prescribed 'fitting' counter punishment for a felony. The simplest example is the "eye for an eye" principle. In that case, the rule was that punishment must be exactly equal to the crime.
Judaism describes various means of receiving atonement for sin, that is, reconciliation with God and release from punishment. The main method of atonement is via repentance. Other means (e.g. Temple sacrifices, judicial punishments, and returning stolen property) may be involved in the atonement process, together with repentance.