◄ Deuteronomy 17:5 ►
you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.
Study Bible
you must bring out
The phrase "you must bring out" indicates a deliberate and public action. In the Hebrew context, the verb used here is "yatsa," which means to go out or bring forth. This implies a community responsibility to address sin openly, not in secret. The act of bringing someone out to the gates signifies a transition from private wrongdoing to public accountability, emphasizing the importance of communal integrity and justice.

to your gates
The "gates" in ancient Israelite society were more than just entry points to a city; they were central places of judgment and decision-making. The Hebrew word "sha'ar" refers to these gates, which were often where elders and leaders gathered to discuss legal matters. This setting underscores the seriousness of the proceedings and the communal nature of justice, as decisions made at the gates were binding and witnessed by the community.

that man or woman
The inclusion of both "man or woman" highlights the impartiality of God's law. In the Hebrew text, the terms "ish" (man) and "ishah" (woman) are used, emphasizing that both genders are equally accountable under the law. This reflects the biblical principle that all individuals, regardless of gender, are responsible for their actions and subject to the same standards of justice.

who has done this evil thing
The phrase "who has done this evil thing" refers to a specific act of wrongdoing that violates God's commandments. The Hebrew word for "evil" is "ra," which denotes something morally reprehensible or harmful. This underscores the gravity of sin in the eyes of God and the community, as well as the need for a just response to maintain holiness and order.

and you must stone
The command "you must stone" is a directive for capital punishment, which was a common form of execution in ancient Israel for certain offenses. The Hebrew verb "ragam" means to stone, and this method was intended to serve as a deterrent to others. It also involved the community in the execution of justice, reinforcing the collective responsibility to uphold God's laws.

that person to death
The phrase "that person to death" indicates the finality and seriousness of the punishment. The Hebrew word "muth" means to die, and its use here underscores the ultimate consequence of sin. This serves as a sobering reminder of the holiness of God and the severity of violating His commandments. It also points to the need for atonement and the hope of redemption, themes that are fulfilled in the New Testament through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Israelites
The chosen people of God, receiving the laws and commandments through Moses.

2. Moses
The leader and prophet who delivered God's laws to the Israelites.

3. The Gates
The public place of judgment in ancient Israelite society, where legal matters were addressed.

4. The Man or Woman
Refers to any individual within the Israelite community who commits an act of idolatry or other serious sin.

5. Stoning
A form of capital punishment prescribed in the Mosaic Law for certain transgressions, symbolizing the community's role in upholding God's holiness.
Teaching Points
The Seriousness of Sin
The passage underscores the gravity of sin, particularly idolatry, and its impact on the community's relationship with God.

Community Responsibility
The requirement for the community to carry out the punishment highlights the collective responsibility to uphold God's standards.

Holiness and Justice
God's holiness demands justice, and the prescribed punishment serves as a deterrent to sin and a means to purify the community.

The Role of Mercy
While the law is strict, the New Testament reveals the balance of justice and mercy through Christ, encouraging believers to seek restoration and forgiveness.

The Importance of Obedience
Obedience to God's commands is crucial for maintaining a covenant relationship with Him, and this passage serves as a reminder of the consequences of disobedience.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the concept of community responsibility in Deuteronomy 17:5 apply to the modern church's role in addressing sin within its congregation?

2. In what ways does the New Testament teaching on grace and mercy influence our understanding of justice as seen in Deuteronomy 17:5?

3. How can believers today balance the call to uphold God's holiness with the command to love and forgive others?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to ensure that we are obedient to God's commands in our daily lives?

5. How does the severity of the punishment in Deuteronomy 17:5 reflect the seriousness with which God views sin, and how should this impact our personal walk with Christ?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Leviticus 24:14-16
This passage also discusses the punishment of stoning for blasphemy, emphasizing the seriousness of maintaining holiness within the community.

John 8:3-11
The account of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery provides a New Testament perspective on judgment and mercy, contrasting the strictness of the law with the grace offered through Christ.

Hebrews 10:28-29
This passage reflects on the severity of disregarding the law of Moses and contrasts it with the greater accountability under the new covenant in Christ.
Sermons
Idolatry a Capital CrimeR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 17:1-7
Idolatry a Crime Against SocietyD. Davies Deuteronomy 17:2-7
Criminal ProcedureJ. Orr Deuteronomy 17:4-8
People
Levites, Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor, Egypt
Topics
Bring, Committed, Dead, Death, Deed, Die, Died, Evil, Forth, Gate, Gates, Hast, Public, Stone, Stoned, Stones, Till, Town, Wicked
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 17:5

     5323   gate
     5485   punishment, legal aspects

Deuteronomy 17:2-5

     1461   truth, nature of

Deuteronomy 17:2-7

     5201   accusation

Library
Bethphage
There is very frequent mention of this place in the Talmudists: and, certainly, a more careful comparison of the maps with those things which are said by them of the situation of this place is worthy to be made; when they place it in mount Olivet, these make it contiguous to the buildings of Jerusalem. I. In the place cited in the margin, the case "of a stubborn judge" (or elder) is handling. For when, by the prescript of the law, difficult matters, and such things as concerning which the lower councils …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Reign of Saul.
I Sam. 8-31; I Chron. 10 The Demand for a King. The last period saw one tribe after another come to the front and assert itself through some leading man as an emergency arose, but now the tribes are to be united into a monarchy and this, too, at their own request made in the form of a desire for a king. Several things no doubt influenced them to make this request. (1) From the days of Joshua there had been no strong national bond. They were only held together by the law of Moses and the annual assemblages …
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

'Make us a King'
'Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel, onto Ramah, 5. And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 7. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Adonijah
BY REV. ALFRED ROWLAND, D.D., LL.B. It is notorious that the sons of devout men sometimes prove a curse to their parents, and bring dishonour on the cause of God. When Eve rejoiced over her first-born, she little suspected that passions were sleeping within him which would impel him to slay his own brother; and the experience of the first mother has been repeated, though in different forms, in all lands and in all ages. Isaac's heart was rent by the deceit of Jacob, and by the self-will of Esau. …
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

Jehoiada and Joash
'And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 2. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. 3. And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. 4. And the seventh year Jehoiada …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Bible in the Days of Jesus Christ
[Illustration: (drop cap S) Reading from a Roll--old Roman Painting] Slowly but surely, as time went on, God was adding to His Book, until about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ the Old Testament Scriptures, in their present shape, were completed. Many questions have been asked as to how the canon of the Old Testament was formed--that is, how and when did the Jews first begin to understand that the Books of the Old Testament were inspired by God. About the first five Books--the …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Story of the Adulteress.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John VII. 53-VIII. 11. [This section is wanting in nearly all older manuscripts, but Jerome (a.d. 346-420) says that in his time it was contained in "many Greek and Latin manuscripts," and these must have been as good or better than the best manuscripts we now possess. But whether we regard it as part of John's narrative or not, scholars very generally accept it as a genuine piece of history.] ^d 53 And they went every man unto his own house [confused by the question of Nicodemus, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Golden Eagle is Cut to Pieces. Herod's Barbarity when He was Ready to Die. He Attempts to Kill Himself. He Commands Antipater to be Slain.
1. Now Herod's distemper became more and more severe to him, and this because these his disorders fell upon him in his old age, and when he was in a melancholy condition; for he was already seventy years of age, and had been brought by the calamities that happened to him about his children, whereby he had no pleasure in life, even when he was in health; the grief also that Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, whom he resolved to put to death now not at random, but as soon as he should …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem

A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Second Stage of Jewish Trial. Jesus Condemned by Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.
(Palace of Caiaphas. Friday.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 57, 59-68; ^B Mark XIV. 53, 55-65; ^C Luke XXII. 54, 63-65; ^D John XVIII. 24. ^d 24 Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. [Foiled in his attempted examination of Jesus, Annas sends him to trial.] ^b and there come together with him all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. ^a 57 And they that had taken Jesus led him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, ^c and brought him into the high priest's house. ^a where …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Easter Tuesday
Second Sermon. Same Text. Acts 13, 26-39. THE WORD AND THE RESURRECTION.[1] [Footnote 1: This sermon appeared first in the Church Postil, the Explanation of the Epistle and Gospel Texts from Easter to Advent. Printed by Hans Lufft, Wittenberg, 1559.] 1. This sermon was preached by Paul in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia, where were gathered with the Jews some Greek converts. Wherever in a city Jews were to be found, there also were their synagogues in which they taught and preached; and many …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
THE FALL OF NINEVEH AND THE RISE OF THE CHALDAEAN AND MEDIAN EMPIRES--THE XXVIth EGYPTIAN DYNASTY: CYAXARES, ALYATTES, AND NEBUCHADREZZAR. The legendary history of the kings of Media and the first contact of the Medes with the Assyrians: the alleged Iranian migrations of the Avesta--Media-proper, its fauna and flora; Phraortes and the beginning of the Median empire--Persia proper and the Persians; conquest of Persia by the Medes--The last monuments of Assur-bani-pal: the library of Kouyunjik--Phraortes …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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