SUBJECT · Complete Bible Study

Punishment

The New Testament lays down the general principles of good government, but contains no code of laws for the punishment of offenders. Punishment proceeds on the principle that there is an eternal distinction between right and wrong, and that this distinction must be maintained for its own sake. This unified study connects 7 installed resource categories without replacing their source records.

View overview sources
  • Historical Reference: Nave’s Topical Bible — Public domain
  • Historical Reference: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)
  • Historical Reference: topics
  • Historical Reference: concordance
  • Historical Reference: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible lexical data / BDB-Strong mapping
  • Historical Reference: STEPBible TBESG (based primarily on Abbott-Smith)
  • Historical Reference: A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament
  • Historical Reference: Installed reference work

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Study overview

Study at a glance

Subject type
Subject
Strong’s
H1244, G2009, G2851, G5098, H6066, G1557
Hebrew
בִּקֹּ֫רֶת · biqqôreth
Greek
ἐπιτιμία · epitimia

Strong’s and original-language information

Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon

ἐπιτιμία

G2009
Transliteration
epitimia
Language
Greek
Part of speech
G:N-F
Indexed occurrences
1

Glosses

punishment

Lexicon definition

ἐπιτιμία, -ας, ἡ (ἐπιτιμάω), [in LXX: Wis_3:10 * ;] __1. citizenship, franchise. __2. As in Inscr. (LS, see word), LXX, l.with (= cl. τὸ ἐπιτίμιον), punishment, penalty: 2Co.2:6.† (AS)

Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon

κόλασις

G2851
Transliteration
kolasis
Language
Greek
Part of speech
G:N-F
Indexed occurrences
2

Glosses

punishment, punishment, torment

Lexicon definition

κόλασις, -εως, ἡ (κολάζω), [in LXX: Eze.14:3-7 18:30 44:12, (מִכְשׁוֹל) Eze.43:11, λαμβάνειν τὴν κ. (כָּלַם ni.); Wis.11:13 16:2, 24 19:4, Jer.18:20, 2-4 Mac.5 * ;] correction, penalty, punishment: Mat.25:46, 1Jn.4:18.† SYN.: τιμωρία, requital. Arist. distinguishes between κ . as that which, being disciplinary, has reference to the sufferer, and τ. as that which, being penal, has reference to the satisfaction of him who inflicts (see Thayer, see word κ., and cf. Tr., Syn., § vii). But in late Gk. especially, the distinction is not always maintained (see reff. in Thayer) (AS)

Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon

τιμωρία

G5098
Transliteration
timōria
Language
Greek
Part of speech
G:N-F
Indexed occurrences
1

Glosses

punishment

Lexicon definition

τιμωρία, -ας, ἡ (τιμωρέω), [in LXX: Pro.24:22 (פִּיד), etc. ;] __1. help, assistance. __2. vengeance, punishment: Heb.10:29.† SYN.: κόλασις, which see, and cf. MM, xxiv (AS)

A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament

Κόλᾰσις

G2851
Transliteration
kólasis
Language
Greek
Indexed occurrences
2

Glosses

punishment, torment

Lexicon definition

chastisement, punishment, Mat. 25.46; painful disquietude, torment, 1 Jno. 4.18.

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

ἐκδίκησις

G1557
Transliteration
ekdíkēsis
Language
Greek
Indexed occurrences
9

Glosses

(a-, re-)venge(-ance), punishment

Lexicon definition

vindication, retribution

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

ἐπιτιμία

G2009
Transliteration
epitimía
Language
Greek
Indexed occurrences
1

Glosses

punishment

Lexicon definition

properly, esteem, i.e. citizenship

used (in the sense of G2008 (ἐπιτιμάω)) of a penalty

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

τιμωρία

G5098
Transliteration
timōría
Language
Greek
Indexed occurrences
1

Glosses

punishment

Lexicon definition

vindication, i.e. (by implication) a penalty

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

מִכְשׁוֹל

H4383
Transliteration
mikshôwl
Pronunciation
mik-shole'
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
14

Glosses

caused to fall, offence, [idiom] (no-) thing offered, ruin, stumbling-block.

Lexicon definition

a stumbling-block, literally or figuratively (obstacle, enticement (specifically an idol), scruple)

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

כָּלַם

H3637
Transliteration
kâlam
Pronunciation
kaw-lawm'
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
38

Glosses

be (make) ashamed, blush, be confounded, be put to confusion, hurt, reproach, (do, put to) shame.

Lexicon definition

properly, to wound

but only figuratively, to taunt or insult

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

פִּיד

H6365
Transliteration
pîyd
Pronunciation
peed
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
4

Glosses

destruction, ruin.

Lexicon definition

(figuratively) misfortune

Complete dictionary entries

Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Punishment

The New Testament lays down the general principles of good government, but contains no code of laws for the punishment of offenders. Punishment proceeds on the principle that there is an eternal distinction between right and wrong, and that this distinction must be maintained for its own sake. It is not primarily intended for the reformation of criminals, nor for the purpose of deterring others from sin. These results may be gained, but crime in itself demands punishment. (See [513]MURDER; [514]THEFT.) Endless, of the impenitent and unbelieving. The rejection of this doctrine "cuts the ground from under the gospel...blots out the attribute of retributive justice; transmutes sin into misfortune instead of guilt; turns all suffering into chastisement; converts the piacular work of Christ into moral influence...The attempt to retain the evangelical theology in connection with it is futile" (Shedd).

Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) · View data sources

Concordance

Strong's Concordance

Punishment

Indexed occurrences: 49

Source: Strong's Concordance · View data sources

All Scripture references171 references

Genesis 6

Exodus 8

Leviticus 12

Numbers 6

Deuteronomy 12

Joshua 2

1 Samuel 1

1 Kings 5

2 Kings 3

Esther 1

Job 9

Psalms 3

Proverbs 3

Isaiah 5

Jeremiah 13

Lamentations 3

Ezekiel 10

Daniel 1

Hosea 1

Amos 3

Zephaniah 1

Zechariah 4

Matthew 7

Mark 4

Luke 14

John 10

Acts 15

Romans 1

2 Corinthians 1

Titus 1

Hebrews 1

James 1

2 Peter 2

1 John 1

Revelation 1

Topical Bible

Sources

Ancient Context20 items

Josephus Antiquities Whiston

Concerning The Posterity Of Adam, And The Ten Generations From Him To The Deluge.

Antiquities Book 1, Chapter 2

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Joseph When He Was Become Famous In Egypt, Had His Brethren In Subjection.

Antiquities Book 2, Chapter 6

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How The Sea Was Divided Asunder For The Hebrews, When They Were Pursued By The Egyptians, And So Gave Them An Opportunity Of Escaping From Them.

Antiquities Book 2, Chapter 16

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

Several Laws.

Antiquities Book 3, Chapter 12

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Moses Was Displeased At This, And Foretold That God Was Angry And That They Should Continue In The Wilderness For Forty Years And Not, During That Time, Either Return Into Egypt Or Take Possession Of Canaan.

Antiquities Book 3, Chapter 15

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Those That Stirred Up This Sedition Were Destroyed, According To The Will Of God; And How Aaron, Moses's Brother Both He And His Posterity, Retained The Priesthood.

Antiquities Book 4, Chapter 3

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

What Happened To The Hebrews During Thirty-Eight Years In The Wilderness.

Antiquities Book 4, Chapter 4

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

Concerning Balaam The Prophet And What Kind Of Man He Was.

Antiquities Book 4, Chapter 6

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

The Polity Settled By Moses; And How He Disappeared From Among Mankind.

Antiquities Book 4, Chapter 8

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Joshua, The Commander Of The Hebrews, Made War With The Canaanites, And Overcame Them, And Destroyed Them, And Divided Their Land By Lot To The Tribes Of Israel.

Antiquities Book 5, Chapter 1

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How, After The Death Of Joshua Their Commander, The Israelites Transgressed The Laws Of Their Country, And Experienced Great Afflictions; And When There Was A Sedition Arisen, The Tribe Of Benjamin Was Destroyed Excepting Only Six Hundred Men.

Antiquities Book 5, Chapter 2

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

That The Judges Who Succeeded Gideon Made War With The Adjoining Nations For A Long Time.

Antiquities Book 5, Chapter 7

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

Herein Is Declared What Befell The Sons Of Eli, The Ark, And The People And How Eli Himself Died Miserably.

Antiquities Book 5, Chapter 11

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How The Philistines Made Another Expedition Against The Hebrews And Were Beaten.

Antiquities Book 6, Chapter 6

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How David, When He Had Twice The Opportunity Of Killing Saul Did Not Kill Him. Also Concerning The Death Of Samuel And Nabal.

Antiquities Book 6, Chapter 13

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

That Upon The Slaughter Of Ishbosheth By The Treachery Of His Friends, David Received The Whole Kingdom.

Antiquities Book 7, Chapter 2

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How David Fell In Love With Bathsheba, And Slew Her Husband Uriah, For Which He Is Reproved By Nathan.

Antiquities Book 7, Chapter 7

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

That David Made Great Preparations For The House Of God; And That, Upon Adonijah's Attempt To Gain The Kingdom, He Appointed Solomon To Reign.

Antiquities Book 7, Chapter 14

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

What Charge David Gave To his Son Solomon At The Approach Of His Death, And How Many Things He Left Him For The Building Of The Temple.

Antiquities Book 7, Chapter 15

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Josephus Antiquities Whiston

How Solomon, When He Had Received The Kingdom Took Off His Enemies.

Antiquities Book 8, Chapter 1

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Related UNLEARN Content30 items

Topic

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Nave’s Topical Bible references for CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

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Topic

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Nave’s Topical Bible references for CORPORAL PUNISHMENT.

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Topic

ETERNAL PUNISHMENT

Nave’s Topical Bible references for ETERNAL PUNISHMENT.

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Topic

EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT

Nave’s Topical Bible references for EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT.

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Topic

FUTURE PUNISHMENT

Nave’s Topical Bible references for FUTURE PUNISHMENT.

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Topic

PUNISHMENT

Nave’s Topical Bible references for PUNISHMENT.

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Topic

PUNISHMENTS

Nave’s Topical Bible references for PUNISHMENTS.

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Dictionary

Barren

For a woman to be barren was accounted a severe punishment among the Jews (Gen. 16:2; 30:1-23; 1 Sam. 1:6, 27; Isa. 47:9; 49:21; Luke 1:25). Instances of barrenness are noticed (Gen. 11:30; 25:21; 29:31; Judg. 13:2, 3; Luke 1:7, 36).

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Dictionary

Bastinado

Beating, a mode of punishment common in the East. It is referred to by "the rod of correction" (Prov. 22:15), "scourging" (Lev. 19:20), "chastising" (Deut. 22:18). The number of blows could not exceed forty (Deut. 25:2, 3).

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Dictionary

Behead

A method of taking away life practised among the Egyptians (Gen. 40:17-19). There are instances of this mode of punishment also among the Hebrews (2 Sam. 4:8; 20:21, 22; 2 Kings 10:6-8). It is also mentioned in the New Testament (Matt. 14:8-12; Acts 12:2).

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Dictionary

Blind

Blind beggars are frequently mentioned (Matt. 9:27; 12:22; 20:30; John 5:3). The blind are to be treated with compassion (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). Blindness was sometimes a punishment for disobedience (1 Sam. 11:2; Jer. 39:7), sometimes the effect of old age (Gen. 27:1; 1 Kings 14:4; 1 Sam. 4:15). Conquerors sometimes blinded their captives (2 Kings 25:7; 1 Sam. 11:2). Blindness denotes ignorance as to spiritual things (Isa. 6:10; 42:18, 19; Matt. 15:14; Eph. 4:18). The opening of the eyes of the blind is peculiar to the Messiah (Isa. 29:18). Elymas was smitten with blindness at Paul's word (Acts 13:11).

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Dictionary

Brimstone

An inflammable mineral substance found in quantities on the shores of the Dead Sea. The cities of the plain were destroyed by a rain of fire and brimstone (Gen. 19:24, 25). In Isa. 34:9 allusion is made to the destruction of these cities. This word figuratively denotes destruction or punishment (Job 18:15; Isa. 30:33; 34:9; Ps. 11:6; Ezek. 38:22). It is used to express the idea of excruciating torment in Rev. 14:10; 19:20; 20:10.

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Dictionary

Colosse

punishment; correction

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Dictionary

Crucifixion

A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the Mosaic law were, by the sword (Ex. 21), strangling, fire (Lev. 20), and stoning (Deut. 21). This was regarded as the most horrible form of death, and to a Jew it would acquire greater horror from the curse in Deut. 21:23. This punishment began by subjecting the sufferer to scourging. In the case of our Lord, however, his scourging was rather before the sentence was passed upon him, and was inflicted by Pilate for the purpose, probably, of exciting pity and procuring his escape from further punishment (Luke 23:22; John 19:1). The condemned one carried his own cross to the place of execution, which was outside the city, in some conspicuous place set apart for the purpose. Before the nailing to the cross took place, a medicated cup of vinegar mixed with gall and myrrh (the sopor) was given, for the purpose of deadening the pangs of the sufferer. Our Lord refused this cup, that his senses might be clear (Matt. 27:34). The spongeful of vinegar, sour wine, posca, the common drink of the Roman soldiers, which was put on a hyssop stalk and offered to our Lord in contemptuous pity (Matt. 27:48; Luke 23:36), he tasted to allay the agonies of his thirst (John 19:29). The accounts given of the crucifixion of our Lord are in entire agreement with the customs and practices of the Roman in such cases. He was crucified between two "malefactors" (Isa. 53:12; Luke 23:32), and was watched by a party of four soldiers (John 19:23; Matt. 27:36, 54), with their centurion. The "breaking of the legs" of the malefactors was intended to hasten death, and put them out of misery (John 19:31); but the unusual rapidity of our Lord's death (19:33) was due to his previous sufferings and his great mental anguish. The omission of the breaking of his legs was the fulfilment of a type (Ex. 12:46). He literally died of a broken heart, a ruptured heart, and hence the flowing of blood and water from the wound made by the soldier's spear (John 19:34). Our Lord uttered seven memorable words from the cross, namely, (1) Luke 23:34; (2) 23:43; (3) John 19:26; (4) Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34; (5) John 19:28; (6) 19:30; (7) Luke 23:46.

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Dictionary

Drown

(Ex. 15:4; Amos 8:8; Heb. 11:29). Drowning was a mode of capital punishment in use among the Syrians, and was known to the Jews in the time of our Lord. To this he alludes in Matt. 18:6.

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Dictionary

Dungeon

Different from the ordinary prison in being more severe as a place of punishment. Like the Roman inner prison (Acts 16:24), it consisted of a deep cell or cistern (Jer. 38:6). To be shut up in, a punishment common in Egypt (Gen. 39:20; 40:3; 41:10; 42:19). It is not mentioned, however, in the law of Moses as a mode of punishment. Under the later kings imprisonment was frequently used as a punishment (2 Chron. 16:10; Jer. 20:2; 32:2; 33:1; 37:15), and it was customary after the Exile (Matt. 11:2; Luke 3:20; Acts 5:18, 21; Matt. 18:30).

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Dictionary

Dust

Storms of sand and dust sometimes overtake Eastern travellers. They are very dreadful, many perishing under them. Yahweh threatens to bring on the land of Israel, as a punishment for forsaking him, a rain of "powder and dust" (Deut. 28:24). To cast dust on the head was a sign of mourning (Josh. 7:6); and to sit in dust, of extreme affliction (Isa. 47:1). "Dust" is used to denote the grave (Job 7:21). "To shake off the dust from one's feet" against another is to renounce all future intercourse with him (Matt. 10:14; Acts 13:51). To "lick the dust" is a sign of abject submission (Ps. 72:9); and to throw dust at one is a sign of abhorrence (2 Sam. 16:13; comp. Acts 22:23).

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Dictionary

Eternal life

This expression occurs in the Old Testament only in Dan. 12:2 (R.V., "everlasting life"). It occurs frequently in the New Testament (Matt. 7:14; 18:8, 9; Luke 10:28; comp. 18:18). It comprises the whole future of the redeemed (Luke 16:9), and is opposed to "eternal punishment" (Matt. 19:29; 25:46). It is the final reward and glory into which the children of God enter (1 Tim. 6:12, 19; Rom. 6:22; Gal. 6:8; 1 Tim. 1:16; Rom. 5:21); their Sabbath of rest (Heb. 4:9; comp. 12:22). The newness of life which the believer derives from Christ (Rom. 6:4) is the very essence of salvation, and hence the life of glory or the eternal life must also be theirs (Rom. 6:8; 2 Tim. 2:11, 12; Rom. 5:17, 21; 8:30; Eph. 2:5, 6). It is the "gift of God in Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). The life the faithful have here on earth (John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47, 53-58) is inseparably connected with the eternal life beyond, the endless life of the future, the happy future of the saints in heaven (Matt. 19:16, 29; 25:46).

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Dictionary

Evil-speaking

Is expressly forbidden (Titus 3:2; James 4:11), and severe punishments are denounced against it (1 Cor. 5:11; 6:10). It is spoken of also with abhorrence (Ps. 15:3; Prov. 18:6, 7), and is foreign to the whole Christian character and the example of Christ.

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Dictionary

Expiation

Guilt is said to be expiated when it is visited with punishment falling on a substitute. Expiation is made for our sins when they are punished not in ourselves but in another who consents to stand in our room. It is that by which reconciliation is effected. Sin is thus said to be "covered" by vicarious satisfaction. The cover or lid of the ark is termed in the LXX. hilasterion, that which covered or shut out the claims and demands of the law against the sins of God's people, whereby he became "propitious" to them. The idea of vicarious expiation runs through the whole Old Testament system of sacrifices. (See [202]PROPITIATION.)

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Dictionary

Hanging

(as a punishment), a mark of infamy inflicted on the dead bodies of criminals (Deut. 21:23) rather than our modern mode of punishment. Criminals were first strangled and then hanged (Nu. 25:4; Deut. 21:22). (See 2 Sam. 21:6 for the practice of the Gibeonites.) Hanging (as a curtain). (1.) Heb. masak, (a) before the entrance to the court of the tabernacle (Ex. 35:17); (b) before the door of the tabernacle (26:36, 37); (c) before the entrance to the most holy place, called "the veil of the covering" (35:12; 39:34), as the word properly means. (2.) Heb. kelaim, tapestry covering the walls of the tabernacle (Ex. 27:9; 35:17; Num. 3:26) to the half of the height of the wall (Ex. 27:18; comp. 26:16). These hangings were fastened to pillars. (3.) Heb. bottim (2 Kings 23:7), "hangings for the grove" (R.V., "for the Asherah"); marg., instead of "hangings," has "tents" or "houses." Such curtained structures for idolatrous worship are also alluded to in Ezek. 16:16.

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Dictionary

Judgments of God

(1.) The secret decisions of God's will (Ps. 110:5; 36:6). (2.) The revelations of his will (Ex. 21:1; Deut. 6:20; Ps. 119:7-175). (3.) The infliction of punishment on the wicked (Ex. 6:6; 12:12; Ezek. 25:11; Rev. 16:7), such as is mentioned in Gen. 7; 19:24, 25; Judg. 1:6, 7; Acts 5:1-10, etc.

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Dictionary

Murder

Wilful murder was distinguished from accidental homicide, and was invariably visited with capital punishment (Num. 35:16, 18, 21, 31; Lev. 24:17). This law in its principle is founded on the fact of man's having been made in the likeness of God (Gen. 9:5, 6; John 8:44; 1 John 3:12, 15). The Mosiac law prohibited any compensation for murder or the reprieve of the murderer (Ex. 21:12, 14; Deut. 19:11, 13; 2 Sam. 17:25; 20:10). Two witnesses were required in any capital case (Num. 35:19-30; Deut. 17:6-12). If the murderer could not be discovered, the city nearest the scene of the murder was required to make expiation for the crime committed (Deut. 21:1-9). These offences also were to be punished with death, (1) striking a parent; (2) cursing a parent; (3) kidnapping (Ex. 21:15-17; Deut. 27:16).

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Dictionary

Poetry

Has been well defined as "the measured language of emotion." Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man's relation to God. "Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon, redemption, repentance are the awful themes of this heaven-born poetry." In the Hebrew scriptures there are found three distinct kinds of poetry, (1) that of the Book of Job and the Song of Solomon, which is dramatic; (2) that of the Book of Psalms, which is lyrical; and (3) that of the Book of Ecclesiastes, which is didactic and sententious. Hebrew poetry has nothing akin to that of Western nations. It has neither metre nor rhyme. Its great peculiarity consists in the mutual correspondence of sentences or clauses, called parallelism, or "thought-rhyme." Various kinds of this parallelism have been pointed out: (1.) Synonymous or cognate parallelism, where the same idea is repeated in the same words (Ps. 93:3; 94:1; Prov. 6:2), or in different words (Ps. 22, 23, 28, 114, etc.); or where it is expressed in a positive form in the one clause and in a negative in the other (Ps. 40:12; Prov. 6:26); or where the same idea is expressed in three successive clauses (Ps. 40:15, 16); or in a double parallelism, the first and second clauses corresponding to the third and fourth (Isa. 9:1; 61:10, 11). (2.) Antithetic parallelism, where the idea of the second clause is the converse of that of the first (Ps. 20:8; 27:6, 7; 34:11; 37:9, 17, 21, 22). This is the common form of gnomic or proverbial poetry. (See Prov. 10-15.) (3.) Synthetic or constructive or compound parallelism, where each clause or sentence contains some accessory idea enforcing the main idea (Ps. 19:7-10; 85:12; Job 3:3-9; Isa. 1:5-9). (4.) Introverted parallelism, in which of four clauses the first answers to the fourth and the second to the third (Ps. 135:15-18; Prov. 23:15, 16), or where the second line reverses the order of words in the first (Ps. 86:2). Hebrew poetry sometimes assumes other forms than these. (1.) An alphabetical arrangement is sometimes adopted for the purpose of connecting clauses or sentences. Thus in the following the initial words of the respective verses begin with the letters of the alphabet in regular succession: Prov. 31:10-31; Lam. 1, 2, 3, 4; Ps. 25, 34, 37, 145. Ps. 119 has a letter of the alphabet in regular order beginning every eighth verse. (2.) The repetition of the same verse or of some emphatic expression at intervals (Ps. 42, 107, where the refrain is in verses, 8, 15, 21, 31). (Comp. also Isa. 9:8-10:4; Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6.) (3.) Gradation, in which the thought of one verse is resumed in another (Ps. 121). Several odes of great poetical beauty are found in the historical books of the Old Testament, such as the song of Moses (Ex. 15), the song of Deborah (Judg. 5), of Hannah (1 Sam. 2), of Hezekiah (Isa. 38:9-20), of Habakkuk (Hab. 3), and David's "song of the bow" (2 Sam. 1:19-27).

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Dictionary

Punishment

The New Testament lays down the general principles of good government, but contains no code of laws for the punishment of offenders. Punishment proceeds on the principle that there is an eternal distinction between right and wrong, and that this distinction must be maintained for its own sake. It is not primarily intended for the reformation of criminals, nor for the purpose of deterring others from sin. These results may be gained, but crime in itself demands punishment. (See [513]MURDER; [514]THEFT.) Endless, of the impenitent and unbelieving. The rejection of this doctrine "cuts the ground from under the gospel...blots out the attribute of retributive justice; transmutes sin into misfortune instead of guilt; turns all suffering into chastisement; converts the piacular work of Christ into moral influence...The attempt to retain the evangelical theology in connection with it is futile" (Shedd).

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Dictionary

Sorcerer

From the Latin sortiarius, one who casts lots, or one who tells the lot of others. (See [603]DIVINATION.) In Dan. 2:2 it is the rendering of the Hebrew mekhashphim, i.e., mutterers, men who professed to have power with evil spirits. The practice of sorcery exposed to severest punishment (Mal. 3:5; Rev. 21:8; 22:15).

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Dictionary

Stoning

A form of punishment (Lev. 20:2; 24:14; Deut. 13:10; 17:5; 22:21) prescribed for certain offences. Of Achan (Josh. 7:25), Naboth (1 Kings 21), Stephen (Acts 7:59), Paul (Acts 14:19; 2 Cor. 11:25).

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Dictionary

Stripes

As a punishment were not to exceed forty (Deut. 25:1-3), and hence arose the custom of limiting them to thirty-nine (2 Cor. 11:24). Paul claimed the privilege of a Roman citizen in regard to the infliction of stripes (Acts 16:37, 38; 22:25-29). Our Lord was beaten with stripes (Matt. 27:26).

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Dictionary

Tooth

One of the particulars regarding which retaliatory punishment was to be inflicted (Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21). "Gnashing of teeth" =rage, despair (Matt. 8:12; Acts 7:54); "cleanness of teeth" =famine (Amos 4:6); "children's teeth set on edge" =children suffering for the sins of their fathers (Ezek. 18:2).

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Dictionary

Witness

More than one witness was required in criminal cases (Deut. 17:6; 19:15). They were the first to execute the sentence on the condemned (Deut. 13:9; 17:7; 1 Kings 21:13; Matt. 27:1; Acts 7:57, 58). False witnesses were liable to punishment (Deut. 19:16-21). It was also an offence to refuse to bear witness (Lev. 5:1).

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