Deuteronomy 21:20-23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
20 where they shall say to the elders of the city, “This son of ours is a stubborn and rebellious fellow who will not listen to us; he is a glutton and a drunkard.”(A) 21 Then all his fellow citizens shall stone him to death. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.(B)
Corpse of a Criminal. 22 (C)If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and you hang him on a tree,[a] 23 his corpse shall not remain on the tree overnight.(D) You must bury it the same day; anyone who is hanged is a curse of God.[b] You shall not defile the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you as a heritage.
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- 21:22 You hang him on a tree: some understand, “impaled on a stake.” In any case the hanging or impaling was not the means used to execute the criminal; he was first put to death by the ordinary means, stoning, and his corpse was then exposed on high as a warning for others. Cf. Jos 8:29; 10:26; 1 Sm 31:10; 2 Sm 21:9.
- 21:23 Gal 3:13 applies these words to the crucifixion of Jesus, who “redeemed us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for us.”
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