Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 21:22
If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel in the plains of Moab, issuing this judicial directive immediately after the stoning procedure of 21:21 and before the burial mandate of 21:23. The command governs how the community must handle the corpse of a convicted capital offender to prevent land defilement.
The words — The verb תָּלִיתָ (ta.Li.ta) means "you will hang" [H8518], specifying the public display of the executed body. The phrase חֵטְא מִשְׁפַּט מָוֶת (chet mishpat mavet) translates literally to "a sin of a sentence of death" [H2399, H4941], defining the threshold for capital punishment.
The thread — This regulation appears in John 19:31, where Jewish leaders request the removal of bodies from the "tree" to avoid defiling the land, directly echoing the Deuteronomy command. Acts 26:31 and Deuteronomy 22:26 both use the identical phrase "sin worthy of death" to contrast capital guilt with innocence.
Why it lands — The text requires immediate burial to prevent ritual defilement of the inheritance land, treating the exposed corpse as a defiling presence rather than a deterrent. It establishes that public execution does not grant permission to neglect the dead, binding judicial action to communal holiness.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
Cross-references
- John 19:31 It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed.
- Acts 26:31 On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”
- Deuteronomy 22:26 Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.
- Matthew 26:66 What do you think?” “He deserves to die,” they answered.
- Luke 23:33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.
- Acts 23:29 I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.
- Deuteronomy 19:6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not intend any harm.
- Joshua 8:29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take down the body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And over it they raised a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.
- Joshua 10:26 After this, Joshua struck down and killed the kings, and he hung their bodies on five trees and left them there until evening.
- 1 Samuel 26:16 This thing you have done is not good. As surely as the LORD lives, all of you deserve to die, since you did not protect your lord, the LORD’s anointed. Now look around. Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were by his head?”