Departmental Papers (Religious Studies)
Document Type
Book Chapter
Date of this Version
2009
Publication Source
Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception
Volume
4
Start Page
954
Last Page
957
Abstract
The Bible specifies capital punishment for a wide range of crimes against both God and man. Distinct and paradoxical political realia, however, circumscribe its interpretation and implementation in postbiblical Judaism.Capital jurisdiction is a test case of political autonomy, and in the postbiblical era, full Jewish political autonomy has been limited to the Second Temple era and the State of Israel. In Second Temple Judaism, executions fell primarily under the jurisdiction (or discretion) of the sovereign, such as Alexander Jannaeus or Herod. Any ties understood to have existed between executions and biblical strictures are unclear.
Copyright/Permission Statement
This text was originally published by De Gruyter in Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception in 2009. For full text, refer to www.degruyter.com/view/db/ebr
Keywords
Capital Punishment, Judaism
Recommended Citation
Dohrmann, N.B. (2009). Capital Punishment: Judaism. In C. Helmer, S.L. McKenzie, T.C. Römer, J. Schröter, B.D. Walfish, E. Ziolkowski (Eds.), Ecyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (pp. 954-957). New York: De Gruyter.
Included in
Criminal Procedure Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, Religion Commons, Religion Law Commons
Date Posted: 08 September 2017