Does Biblical law actually require burning to death for certain crimes?
Quick answer: There are good reasons to believe that "burning" was not a method prescribed by Biblical law for actually causing death. In a few crimes, it was used as a post-execution procedure added to the standard death penalty.
Legal background
There are only three crimes which associate burning with a death penalty:
- The death penalty for sexual relations with both a woman and her mother. (Lev. 20:14)
- The death penalty for fornication by a priest's daughter. (Lev. 21:9)
- The burning of the corpse of someone who steals certain warfare spoils (Josh. 7:15,25)
Let's examine the first two:
14 “‘If a man takes a wife and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you. Leviticus 20:14WEB
9 “‘The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire. Leviticus 21:9WEB
The two citations from Leviticus are the only two laws which specify that a person found guilty must be "burned with fire." There are two ways to interpret the Hebrew words which are translated "burned with fire":
- the person must be put to death by burning
- the person's corpse must be burned up after they have been put to death by stoning
Analysis
If the first interpretation were true, there would obviously be nothing unjust about it: Heb. 2:2. However, there are good reasons to interpret the law as prescribing #2:
1. The latter explanation was the execution method prescribed for Achan in the incident described in Joshua 7:15,25, when he took the devoted spoils after the battle at Ai. Achan was stoned first and then he and his possessions were burned with fire.
2. Two important aspects of Biblical justice are:
- testifying witnesses throw the first stones
- community participation in the execution after initiated by the witnesses
These principles cause a direct legal and moral connection between the truthful testimony of the witness and the death of the criminal. They also protect the consciences of the community participants, who would understand that the primary responsibility for the death of an innocent was with the false witnesses (who could be prosecuted: Deut. 19:16-20). Notice the importance of the ordinality: first the witnesses, then the community. Any witness who is tempted to testify falsely against an innocent person would understand from this ordinality that he has direct responsibility for murdering the innocent person. Consider, however, that the act of merely lighting a fire (along with other members of the community) as the method of execution removes this important scriptural ordinality from the Biblical judicial procedure for execution.
If the second interpretation is correct, then "burning with fire" could be understood as an additional level of punishment beyond the standard stoning death penalty, reserved for these particular crimes. Relatives usually care about how their family member's bodies are treated after death -- this was no less true in the ancient Near East (cf. 2 Sam. 21:9-10, Deut. 21:22-23). The condemned person would know that his family would suffer an additional level of distress because their corpse would be burned. This might also serve as a deterrent.
Commentators
Here is what a few commentators say about these verses. Hartley:
The punishment prescribed is the burning of the man and the two women; this punishment, though, may not be in place of stoning but in addition to it, i.e., burning the corpse (cf. Josh 7:15,25; Lev 21:9; Judg 14:15; 15:6; Gen 38:24) . "Burning" deprived these offenders of a proper burial and thus increased significantly their punishment in the eyes of ancient man. It also cleansed the land from the defilement of such זִמָּ֣ה, "a lewd act" (cf. 18:17; Hoffmann, 2:71-73) [1]
The penalty for a daughter of a priest who becomes a prostitute is burning, because fire cleanses away the defilement. Most interpreters understand the penalty to be stoning to death and then burning the corpse. There is no evidence that cremation was favored in Israel; thus, burning the corpse was part of the humiliating punishment, signifying that this daughter was totally removed from the face of the earth. [emphasis added][2]
Gane:
The category of promiscuity/harlotry is unique to biblical law. This is consenting immorality by a woman living in her father’s house, which disgraces him. If she is the daughter of a priest, whose reputation for holiness is crucial, she suffers the most severe punishment: burning (Lev. 21:9; see also Gen. 38:24), probably after death by stoning (cf. Josh. 7:25).[3]
Sprinkle:
"Burned" typically is taken to indicated execution and cremation (cf. Gen. 38:24; Judg. 15:6), an ignoble punishment for putting her father into mortal danger in the sanctuary. Unlikely but conceivable is an alternative view that this refers to branding to stigmatize her and mar her beauty (Isa. 3:24; cf. comments at Lev. 20:14).[4]
Jay Sklar in his commentary on Leviticus also understands that "her corpse was to be burned after she had been stoned (see at 20:14)."[5]
