Bible Strands
Numbers 15:36
So the whole congregation took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the congregation's execution of a divine verdict given to Moses regarding a man who violated Sabbath law. This action occurs immediately after the command in the preceding verse and before the next legal instruction begins.
The words — The Hebrew וַ/יִּרְגְּמ֥וּ (va/i.yir.ge.Mu) translates literally as "and they stoned," while כָּל־הָ/עֵדָ֗ה (kol-ha./'e.Dah) means "all the congregation." These terms specify that the entire community, not a selected court, performed the execution.
The thread — The pattern of communal execution outside the camp reappears in Joshua 7:25, where Israel stones Achan after the defeat at Ai. It also establishes the camp as the geographic boundary for carrying out capital judgments in the wilderness narrative.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that divine commands demand immediate communal obedience rather than delayed or partial compliance. It frames the camp as a sacred space where holiness is maintained through collective enforcement of divine law.
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 all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses.
Cross-references
- Joshua 7:25 “Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.