Peter Leithart writes:
Stoning is explicitly prescribed for only a handful of crimes in the Torah – giving seed to Molech (Leviticus 20:2), practicing spiritism or consulting the dead (20:27), certain forms of Sabbath breaking (Numbers 15:35-36). The man who blasphemes the name in the camp is stoned (Leviticus 24:14-23), and so is Aachan for stealing God’s plunder (Joshua 7:25). Stoning is a communal form of execution (sometimes a mob action, cf. Ezekiel 16:40; 23:47). When a criminal is stoned, it leaves a permanent memorial, a cautionary deterrent to others. The land rebels against the criminal and he is buried under the land, leaving a mark on the landscape. David “stones” Goliath because Goliath has blasphemed. Representing Israel, David is an agent of the land who rises against the Philistine hero who has committed a sacrilege against the holy name.
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