Deuteronomy 17:7

My Notes

What Does Deuteronomy 17:7 Mean?

"The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you." The WITNESSES must throw the FIRST STONES: the people who testified must LEAD the execution. The requirement puts the ACCUSERS in the most ACCOUNTABLE position: if you testified falsely, YOUR hands kill an innocent person. The witnesses-first rule is a BUILT-IN DETERRENT against false testimony: you must be willing to EXECUTE what you ACCUSED. The accusation carries the execution-obligation.

The phrase "the hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him" (yad ha'edim tihyeh bo barishonah — the hand of the witnesses shall be on him first) makes the WITNESSES the EXECUTIONERS-FIRST: the first stones come from the people who TESTIFIED. Not the crowd. Not the authorities. The WITNESSES. The first-stone-throwing is the witness's ACCOUNTABILITY: you SAID this person deserves death. NOW you must BEGIN the killing. The testimony and the execution are CONNECTED by the same HANDS.

The "afterward the hands of all the people" (veyad kol ha'am ba'acharonah — and the hand of all the people afterward/last) makes the COMMUNITY the FINISHERS: after the witnesses begin, the community COMPLETES the execution. The entire community participates — the execution is COMMUNAL, not individual. The 'all the people' means EVERYONE shares in the carrying-out of the sentence. The responsibility is DISTRIBUTED across the entire community.

The "so thou shalt put the evil away from among you" (uvi'arta hara miqqirbekha — you shall burn/purge the evil from your midst) states the PURPOSE: PURGING. The execution REMOVES the evil from the community. The 'from among you' (miqqirbekha — from your midst, from your inner being) means the evil was INSIDE — internal, embedded, in the middle. The purging removes what was corrupting from WITHIN.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What would the 'witnesses throw first' rule change about accusations in your community?
• 2.What does the accusers leading the execution teach about testimony carrying execution-responsibility?
• 3.How does communal participation in the purging describe shared responsibility for community health?
• 4.What evil 'in your midst' needs purging — and who shares the responsibility for the removing?

Devotional

The WITNESSES throw first. Then the people. The accusers must LEAD the execution. If you testified, your HANDS start the killing. The witnesses-first rule is the ACCOUNTABILITY that deters false testimony: you must be willing to EXECUTE what you ACCUSED. The testimony and the execution are connected by the same hands.

The 'hands of the witnesses first' is BUILT-IN DETERRENCE against false testimony: if you KNOW your hands must throw the first stones, you'll think VERY carefully about whether your testimony is TRUE. The prospect of personally beginning the execution TESTS the confidence of the witness. Are you CERTAIN enough to kill for what you claimed? The first-stone-obligation is the ultimate credibility-test.

The 'afterward the hands of all the people' makes the execution COMMUNAL: the community doesn't just WATCH. They PARTICIPATE — after the witnesses begin. The 'all the people' means EVERYONE shares the responsibility. Nobody stands on the sideline. The execution is COMMUNAL because the purging serves the COMMUNITY. The evil being removed is in EVERYONE'S midst. The removal involves EVERYONE'S hands.

The 'put the evil away from among you' is the PURPOSE that drives the process: the evil is IN THE MIDST — inside the community, embedded in the body, corrupting from within. The execution is the REMOVAL — the purging, the burning-out of what contaminated. The community that SHARED the contamination now SHARES the removal. The communal participation in the execution mirrors the communal vulnerability to the evil.

What accountability would the 'witnesses throw first' rule create in YOUR community's judgment processes?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture