Capital punishment among the Jews : a paper read before the New York Board of…
QR code
Capital punishment among the Jews by David de Sola Pool is a scholarly historical-legal study written in the early 20th century. It examines how Jewish law defined, applied, modified, and ultimately curtailed capital punishment across the Biblical, Second Temple, rabbinic, and medieval periods, with special attention to legal procedures and moral reasoning. The book first reviews the four rabbinically recognized executions—stoning, burning, beheading, and strangulation—showing how the Rabbis humanized them (e.g., stoning
recast as precipitation; burning reduced to strangulation with a token cautery; beheading done by sword at the throat; strangulation preferred for least disfigurement). It then outlines the Bible’s purposes for the death penalty—retribution, deterrence, and expiation—while noting rabbinic efforts to preserve life and dignity. Most of the study traces the dense legal safeguards that made execution virtually unattainable: two unimpeachable witnesses who issued a precise prior warning, rejection of circumstantial evidence, exacting cross-examination, numerous disqualifications, and stringent court rules (a 23-judge panel, delays, supermajorities, broad avenues for appeal, and a general tilt toward acquittal). Offenses marked for “kareth” were left to divine judgment, further narrowing human jurisdiction. Under Roman rule, Jewish courts lost capital power after the Temple’s destruction; thereafter discussions became largely theoretical, with only rare, exceptional acts tolerated by authorities. In the medieval diaspora, Jewish courts seldom held capital authority, though in parts of Spain and North Africa they sometimes condemned dangerous informers, typically handing them to state executioners. Overall, the work shows a tradition that upheld the death penalty in principle but, through legal refinement, rendered it practically inoperative. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Download for free
For your e-reader or reading app — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Calibre etc.
Kindle → Use Send-to-Kindle
Kobo, Nook etc. → Transfer via USB
Phone, tablet or computer → Open in a reading app
Other formats & older devices
There may be more files related to this item.
About this eBook
| Author | Pool, David de Sola, 1885-1970 |
|---|---|
| Title | Capital punishment among the Jews : a paper read before the New York Board of Jewish Ministers |
| Original Publication | New York: Bloch Publishing Company, 1916. |
| Credits | deaurider, PrimeNumber and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | DS: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Asia |
| LoC Class | HV: Social sciences: Social pathology, Social and Public Welfare |
| Subject | Capital punishment (Jewish law) |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77702 |
| Release Date | Jan 16, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 284 downloads in the last 30 days. |
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!