I. Old Testament – II. New Testament – III. Judaism – IV. Law – V. Ethics
I. Old Testament
The death penalty in the Old Testament has three causes: 1. blood revenge as a direct legal reaction by a family damaged by a homicide; 2. cultic law involving severe violations of religious taboos such as witchcraft, sodomy and apostasy (Ex 22:17–19); 3. family property rights (Ex 21:12, 15–17) with violations against the authority of the parents, kidnapping and killin…
Cite this page
Otto, Eckart,
de Boer, Martinus C.,
Reichman, Ronen,
Owens, Erik C. and
Gräb-Schmidt, Elisabeth,
“Death Penalty”, in:
Religion Past and Present.
Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_COM_025133>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004146662, 2006-2013