When YAHVEH led the Israelites out of Egypt, He selected them to be His chosen people and He promised they would be a blessed nation forever. This blessing meant the Israelites had huge responsibilities. As YAHVEH’s chosen people, He expected them to act in ways that were holy and pleasing to Him. One of the first things YAHVEH did was give the Israelites the Laws He expected them to follow. YAHVEH’s first Laws were the Ten Commandments that were a short list of rules. Later on, YAHVEH gave Moses many more Laws that eventually were written down in books. These Laws affected every part of Israel’s life and even though YAHVEH loved Israel very much, the punishment for breaking the Law was very severe.

Before going into the specifics concerning Hebrew Law, it is important to get a general understanding of other laws in the Near East. Just as it is today, laws in the Near East were used to regulate individual behaviour for the overall good of the community. The main difference between laws today and ancient law was the belief about its origin. Today, people decide which laws would be best for their nation. This was not the case in ancient times. Instead, all ancient laws claimed to come from a divine source. This not only included Hebrew Law (which came from YAHVEH) but also Hammurabi’s Code and the law of Assyria. When we talk about the "divine origin" of ancient laws, we should be careful not to be too extreme in our thinking. Most likely, ancient laws were a combination of a divine source with other laws that were popular at the time. Hammurabi declared that the god Shamash, inspired his code. However, when we compare Hammurabi’s code with other Ancient Near Eastern laws, it is easy to see their similarities. In the same way, even though YAHVEH Himself gave the Israelites the Law at Sinai, this does not mean that the Hebrew Laws were not influenced by other sources.

HEBREW CRIMINAL LAW

LAWS GOVERNING OFFENSES AGAINST YAHVEH
Because Israel’s defining characteristic as a nation was its relationship with YAHVEH, it should not be surprising that there were many Laws concerning crimes against YAHVEH. These crimes were very serious and they had serious consequences if people broke them. YAHVEH expected all of Israel to obey only Him. Because of this, He outlawed all forms of idolatry. The second of the Ten Commandments says, "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them" (Exodus 20:4-5). Along with these Laws, YAHVEH made Laws concerning any practices that were related to idolatry. For instance, sacrificing children to false gods (a very common practice in biblical times) was punishable by death. YAHVEH was very clear with the Israelites that their devotion belonged only to Him. This included giving YAHVEH a portion of all the crops the Israelites harvested. In the same way, blaspheming the Name of YAHVEH was against the Law. Blasphemy means speaking of YAHVEH in an offensive and improper way. For the Israelites, the punishment for blasphemy was death. Along with this, there was a Law against false prophets. People who claimed to get messages from gods other than YAHVEH and people who falsely said that YAHVEH had given them a message were to be put to death. A law that might seem strange to us today is the Law YAHVEH gave the Israelites concerning the Shabbat. When YAHVEH created the world, He created it in six days and He rested on the seventh. YAHVEH called the seventh day the Shabbat; a holy day; and expected the Israelites to not work and to spend the day worshiping Him on that day of the week. Breaking this rule may not seem like a very serious offense to people today, but the Bible tells a story of a man who was stoned to death for collecting firewood on the Shabbat (Numbers 15:32-36).

LAWS GOVERNING OFFENSES AGAINST PEOPLE
Along with the crimes YAHVEH commanded concerning the Israelites’ relationship with Him, He also gave Laws that governed the Israelites’ relationship with each other. Because people were made in the image of YAHVEH, their bodies and lives were precious creations. If people defiled these wonderful creations, the punishment was harsh. Murder was the worst of these offenses against other people. In the Ten Commandments, YAHVEH told the Israelites, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13) and later on, YAHVEH told the Israelites that the punishment for murder was death. If one of the Israelites accidentally killed another person, the punishment was more lenient, but the killer was exiled from the community and sent to hide in another city (Cities of Refuge). It is important to note that the Israelites did not think killing someone in battle or killing someone for breaking the Law was illegal. If an Israelite was convicted of injuring another man, he not only had to pay for the injured man’s medical bills, but he also had to compensate him for any time lost at work because of the injury. Kidnapping was also against the Law and people who were guilty of it could be killed.

LAWS GOVERNING OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY
The Hebrew Laws concerning property were quite specific and involved, but this only illustrates YAHVEH’s expectation that the Israelites followed Him in all aspects of their lives.

LAWS CONCERNING CROPS AND ANIMALS
For the most part, the Israelites were farmers. They heavily depended on the food they were able to grow and if damage was done to their crops, the penalties were steep. If a person started a fire that destroyed other people’s crops, he was responsible for all of the damage he caused. In some cases, if a fire accidentally started in one person’s field and spread to others, the man who owned the field where the fire started was responsible for all the damage. Because the Israelites also depended on animals in order to be successful farmers, the Laws they had concerning their livestock were also very thorough. In most cases, if an animal like an ox accidentally killed a person, the animal was put to death, which was an enormous financial penalty for the animal’s owner. However, if the animal that attacked was known to have a bad temper, both the animal and the owner could be put to death. If people caused any damage to another person’s animal, they were usually forced to pay a steep price to make amends. Burglary was not considered a very serious crime by the Israelites and any time a thief was caught, he simply had to return what was stolen and he could return to his normal life. Even if the thief no longer had the stolen goods, he was just required to pay a fine.

FAMILY LAW
In biblical times, all family members, including a man’s wife and children, were considered property of the head of the household. Because of this, if anything happened to a man’s wife or children, the Law treated it as if it were a Law against that man’s property. The fifth commandment YAHVEH gave to the Israelites was "Honour your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12) and the Israelites took this commandment very seriously. If a man’s son was especially rebellious and stubborn, a trial could occur. If the son was found guilty, he could be stoned to death. Even though this may sound harsh to people today, the Hebrew Laws were more lenient than some other Near Eastern laws. In some surrounding cultures, a man could order the death of his son without a trial at all. Adultery was another crime the Israelites felt was a crime against property. For the most part, if two people were convicted of adultery they were both put to death. If a man committed adultery with a woman who was not married, the Hebrews did not execute them. The man would have to pay the woman’s father a bride price in order to marry her and once they were married they could never be divorced. The Israelites had a very interesting ritual when a woman was accused of adultery without any evidence to prove her guilt. In this case, the husband would bring his wife to the tabernacle where he would offer a small sacrifice to YAHVEH. His wife would hold a bowl of holy water. The priest would take dirt from the floor of the tabernacle and mix it into the water. The priest would then curse the woman by telling her she would become pregnant many times in the future, but many of her children would die before they were born. After this, the woman drank the water. A few days later, if nothing happened to her, she was innocent of all charges. But if she was guilty, the Israelites believed the muscle in her thigh would begin to rot. If this happened, she was exiled from the community. Slaves were also considered personal property of the head of the household. This did not give the owner a license to do with the slave as he pleased. If a man killed his slave, he could also be killed and if he caused a major injury to the slave (blinding, breaking a bone) the slave would be set free.

GENERAL LAWS
Along with all of the very specific Laws described above, the Hebrews had many Laws that concerned general, everyday interactions. All business interactions were expected to be honest. The Law commanded the Hebrews to be fair, not practice bribery and not to move boundaries that marked off other people’s property (Deuteronomy 19:14). Interestingly, most of Hebrew Law was sympathetic to poor people. There were strict consequences for people who took advantage of those in need. This included widows and orphans and people from other countries. YAHVEH commanded the Israelites, "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt" (Exodus 22:21). YAHVEH expected the Israelites to care for strangers and the needy with mercy and kindness because they had once been slaves in a foreign land. YAHVEH also did not allow the Israelites to practice sorcery or witchcraft. YAHVEH told the Israelites that the penalty for these acts was death (Exodus 22:18). YAHVEH also outlawed sexual sins like incest or sexual relations with animals. It was clear that these types of practices were not honouring to YAHVEH, so the Israelites, as YAHVEH’s chosen people, should not practice them, even though many of the nations surrounding them did.

PUNISHMENT
When people in biblical times were involved in wars, they often captured prisoners and tortured them. Naturally, the types of punishment people used were different in different countries, but there were a number of punishments that were practiced by most everyone at the time.

1.) PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT
Physical punishment did not actually involve killing someone, but it could still be very severe and painful. There were four main types of physical punishment in biblical times.

A) BEATING
In the Old Testament, beating was a common form of punishment. This was usually done with a whip or a tree branch. Whips were usually made of leather and they sometimes had pieces of metal or bone inserted into them to make them more painful. The victim was tied to a post and the bare back was whipped by an official of the synagogue. For minor offenses, the victim was whipped a few times. However, for major crimes, the victim could receive up to forty lashes at one time. In some cases, the whipping could be so bad that the victim would die. In Roman times, whippings and beatings were usually only given to people who were not Roman citizens and people were only beat once they were condemned to die. It is odd that the Roman guards whipped Yeshua before He was condemned to die on the cross. Perhaps Pontius Pilate hoped the people would see the pain that the whipping caused and not demand that Yeshua be executed.

B) BLINDING
Another common punishment for prisoners was blinding them by gouging out their eyes. The Philistines did this to Samson once they had captured him (Judges 16:21) and it also happened to King Zedekiah when the Babylonians conquered Israel (2 Kings 25:7). Most likely, blinding someone was supposed to disgrace them as well as make it impossible for them to fight in future battles.

C) MUTILATION
Even though the Israelites considered the human body to be a sacred thing, during wartime, they often punished their prisoners by mutilation. This included chopping off fingers, toes, noses, tongues and ears. The Israelites were not the only people in biblical times that did this. The Assyrians for example, also allowed mutilation as a punishment for their enemies.

D) STOCKS
Stocks were made out of wood and they usually had a place where a person would put their ankles, head and arms. They were not meant as a punishment for severe crimes. Usually, stocks were set up in a public place, so people walking by could ridicule the people in the stocks. Jeremiah once spent time in stocks for speaking YAHVEH’s prophecy (Jeremiah 20:2). Paul and Silas also spent time in stocks when they were arrested (Acts 16:24).

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT --- THE DEATH PENALTY
Capital punishment or punishing someone with death, was common in biblical times. This not only punished the person guilty of a crime, but it also provided other people with an example of the consequences for unlawful behaviour. There were a few different methods of execution we hear about in the Bible and all of them were extremely gruesome.

A) BEHEADING
One method of execution was beheading or cutting off a person’s head. This was usually done with a sword. Sometimes, this method was used in private settings, as when King Herod ordered the beheading of John the Baptist (Matthew 14:10). However, beheadings also took place in public and the Bible tells us that sometimes whole city populations were "put to the sword" because of their idolatry (Deuteronomy 13:15).

B) BURNING
Punishing someone by burning them to death was generally reserved for people who committed sexual offenses. In the story of Judah and Tamar, Tamar is sent out of the city to be burned because of her adultery (Genesis 38:24). Fortunately for her however, the truth came out to prove her innocence.

C) HANGING
Many Bible scholars think "hanging" in the Bible is a little bit different than the hanging we are familiar with today. In biblical times, hanging most likely meant impalement or sticking someone’s body onto a stick. A sharpened wooden stick was pounded into the ground and the victim was set on top of it, causing a very painful death. Usually the victim was left to hang for one day as a reminder to other people of the punishment for horrible crimes. This was commonly practiced by the Assyrians for the prisoners they captured during wartime.

D) CRUCIFIXION
Along with the stories we find in the Bible, other historical sources tell us that crucifixion was a fairly common practice in biblical times. The Syrian king Antiochus once crucified Jews who refused to renounce their faith in YAHVEH. When Rome became a world power, crucifixions were a common form of execution throughout their entire empire. There were different types of crosses that were used. The most common in those days were the St. Anthony’s cross that was in the form of a capital T. The St. Andrew’s cross was in the form of an X. And the Latin cross was the type of cross Yeshua was crucified on. The victim was placed on the cross while it was lying on the ground. Then, using ropes and brute force, the cross was raised into the air and dropped into a hole where it stood. The people who were crucified had their hands and feet nailed to the cross and it sometimes took hours or even days before the victim would die. It was an extremely painful and brutal death.

E) STONING
For the Hebrews, stoning was the most common method of executing a person guilty of religious crimes. The person who made the accusation usually threw the first stone. People were sometimes stoned for sacrificing infants, sorcery and rebellion to YAHVEH. Before Paul was converted in the New Testament, he witnessed and approved the stoning of Stephen for preaching the Gospel (Acts 7:58-59). All the methods of judgment used by the Israelites assumed that YAHVEH was the ultimate judge and that human judgments were to be made without prejudice or falsity.