Ancient practices: Capital punishment, codes of law, cities of refuge, unsolved murders

 

For Shabbat , August 22, 2020

Shofetim (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9)

By Irv Jacobs, M.D.

Irv Jacobs

LA JOLLA, California — From this parasha, I have chosen four passages for comparison with texts from ancient Israel’s pagan neighbors, concerning capital punishment, codes of law, cities of refuge, unsolved murders

I.Deuteronomy 17:6 A person shall be put to death (by stoning) only on the testimony of two or more witnesses…”

Capital punishment’s history goes back to the earliest societies. [1] It was formalized in writing in Hammurabi’s Code (c. 1754 BCE, for which he lists some 25 offenses.

The Hittite code (14th Century BCE) mentions capital punishment, but only marginally, preferring punishment through enslavement.

The Draconian Code of Athens (7th Century BCE) made death nearly the lone punishment for all crimes.

Roman Law of the Twelve Tribes (5th Century BCE) listed Capital sentences, including beheading, boiling in oil, burying alive, burning, crucifixion, disembowelment, drowning, flaying alive, hanging, impalement, stoning, strangling, being thrown to wild animals, and being torn apart.

In my search, I found no mention in ancient pagan writings of ‘required witnesses,’ as in the .above Hebrew passage. [2]

II. Deuteronomy 17:18-20 “…on his royal throne, he (the king) shall have a copy of this Teaching written for him…let him read in it all his life…every word of this Teaching…Thus he will not…deviate from the Instruction…”

Hammurabi (1810-1750 BCE), Babylon ruler from 1792-1750 BCE, conquered a series of city-states to unify his empire. Toward the end of his reign, he issued his famous law code.

He faced Solomonic challenges by way of significant disputes between these city-states over their beliefs and practices, including hostilities toward each other. He even rearranged the calendar for them to agree on what day it was. His code, which included the famous then-circulating notion of lex talionis (an eye for an eye), required application of nimble strategies. Since he was the initiator, he had knowledge of his laws and so controlled their application. We don’t know more about a system of judges, or even if he used them. [3]

The Athenian Greeks had their own evolution in managing disputes. At first they had an unwieldy jury system with no official laws. A jury of citizens, from many social classes, might include anywhere from 201 to 1501 or even a maximum of 6001 jurors, chosen randomly by lot, who voted on the merits of a case. Juries had to consist of an odd number, to avoid ties! There was no judge but the jurors themselves. Early Greeks were said to be a litigious lot.

Draco, an Athenian legislator (c. 621 BCE), instituted reforms, with the first written Athenian laws and a constitution which enfranchised the lower class soldiers. Draconian laws were noteworthy for harshness, and thus the contemporary meaning of draconian. As above, those laws involved a prevalence of Capital punishment
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Roman law involved jurors who were elected, and courts were more orderly. [4] [5]

III. Deuteronomy 19:2-4 “…you shall set aside three cities…so that any manslayer may have a place to flee to…one who has killed another unwittingly…”

The idea here was protection from family vengeance. The Middle East was dominated by wandering tribes, who saw revenge as family honor.
Archaeological research has found that in the ancient Middle East, pagans had cities of refuge, where one who flees was protected by a pagan god. In these cities it was forbidden to kill even a dog. Some pagan societies had cities of refuge where a person could even run away from a bill collector! [6]

IV. Deuteronomy 21:1-7 “If…someone slain is found in the open, the identity of the slayer not being known…the elders of the town nearest to the corpse…shall…take a heifer…(and) break (its) neck…The priests…to pronounce blessing…wash their hands…And…make this declaration: ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done.'”

I found no equivalent in pagan writings to this naive Biblical guilt cleansing process. However, my search yielded a list of unusual ancient deaths, plus one whose mystery extended into modern times.

In the case of Draco (referenced above), who died c. 620 BCE, he is said to have been smothered by gifts of cloaks and hats showered upon him by appreciative citizens!

Here’s another: Diagones reported that Heraclitus was devoured by dogs (c. 465 BCE) after smearing himself with cow manure in an attempt to cure his dropsy (edema). So much for ancient medical care. [7]

Most intriguing is the ‘autopsy’ on the Iceman, a frozen natural mummy found in a crevice in the Alps in 1991. He is felt to have lived between 3400 and 3100 BCE. In 2001, X-rays and a CT scan revealed an arrowhead lodged in his left shoulder, which shattered his scapula and tore blood vessels, from which he bled to death. He had additional wounds to his hands, wrists, chest, and head. [8]
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NOTES
[1] https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/execution/origins-of-capital-punishment
[2] https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/history-of-death-penalty-laws.html
[3] Of Codes & Crowns, 3rd edition, 2007, Constitutional Rights Foundation www.crf-usa.org
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_court_(ancient_Athens)
[5] Draconian laws, ancient Greek Law, written by The Editors of Encyclopedia Brittanica
[6] http://milknhoney.co.il/masaey-refuge/
[7] https://en.encyclopedia.org/wiki/List_of _unusual_deaths
[8] List of unsolved murders (before the 20th century), Wikipedia: Lists of unsolved murders

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Irv Jacobs is a retired medical doctor who delights in Torah analysis.  He often delivers a drosh at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, and at his chavurah.