Hebrew word · H5619

סָקַל

sukal

to stone

In the simple form it means to stone someone to death (e.g. Deut 13:10; Josh 7:25). In the intensive form used here it can mean to throw stones at someone (2 Sam 16:6, 13) or, as here and in Isa 62:10, to clear stones away. Hebrew sometimes uses this form to mean removing the thing the root names.

Appears 22 times in 20 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to stone (to death), put to death by stoning

1a) (Qal) to pelt with stones, stone to death

1b) (Niphal) to be stoned to death

1c) (Piel)

1c1) to stone, pelt with stones

1c2) to free from stones (of vineyard, highway)

1d) (Pual) to be stoned to death

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 5:2

Range of meaning

In the simple form it means to stone someone to death (e.g. Deut 13:10; Josh 7:25). In the intensive form used here it can mean to throw stones at someone (2 Sam 16:6, 13) or, as here and in Isa 62:10, to clear stones away. Hebrew sometimes uses this form to mean removing the thing the root names.

Against the English

All the major versions render it correctly: "gathered out the stones," "cleared it of stones."

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 62:10 uses the same form for clearing a highway of stones. Archaeological surveys of the Judean hills show terraces and field walls built from cleared stones, often with heaps of them nearby.

From the study of 1 Samuel 30:6

Range of meaning

To stone, that is, to kill by throwing stones. In Israel's law it is the community's form of execution, with the people acting together (Deut 13:10; 17:5; 21:21; Josh 7:25). It also appears as mob violence against leaders, outside any legal process (Exod 17:4; Num 14:10; 1 Kgs 12:18).

Against the English

English "stoning" is accurate. What a modern reader misses is that stoning was a collective verdict, not a random act of violence.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 17:4: Moses cries, "A little more and they will stone me." Num 14:10: the whole congregation speaks of stoning Joshua and Caleb. 1 Kgs 12:18: Israel stones Adoram, Rehoboam's overseer of forced labour.

From the study of Deuteronomy 22:21

Range of meaning

To stone, meaning to execute by communal stoning. In other forms it can also mean to clear stones from a field.

Against the English

English 'stone her to death' is accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 13:10; 17:5; 21:21; 22:24; Josh 7:25. It is the standard communal penalty for offences against the covenant community as a whole.

Where it appears

Exodus · 8

  1. Exodus 8:26 יִסְקְלֻֽנוּ׃ will they stone? us

    But Moses replied, “It would not be right to do that, because the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are detestable before the Egyptians, will they not stone us?

  2. Exodus 17:4 וּסְקָלֻֽנִי׃ and they will stone me

    Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? A little more and they will stone me!”

    Here: 'And they will stone me.' Stoning was the community's way of putting someone to death for a grave offense, with everyone taking part. Moses fears the crowd is about to treat him as a criminal and execute him. The verb form looks like a past tense but, after 'yet a little,' points to what is about to happen.

  3. Exodus 19:13 סָק֤וֹל יִסָּקֵל֙ certainly <to stone>, he will be stoned to death

    No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

  4. Exodus 21:28 סָק֨וֹל יִסָּקֵ֜ל certainly <to stone>, it will be stoned to death

    If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.

  5. Exodus 21:29 יִסָּקֵ֔ל it will be stoned to death

    But if the ox has a habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or woman, then the ox must be stoned and its owner must also be put to death.

  6. Exodus 21:32 יִסָּקֵֽל׃ ס it will be stoned to death

    If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.

Deuteronomy · 4

  1. Deuteronomy 13:10 וּסְקַלְתּ֥וֹ and you will stone him

    Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

  2. Deuteronomy 17:5 וּסְקַלְתָּ֥ם and you will stone them

    you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.

  3. Deuteronomy 22:21 וּסְקָלוּהָ֩ and they will stone her

    she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.

    Here: 'And they shall stone her.' Stoning was a communal execution in which no single person was the killer and the whole community carried out the judgment.

  4. Deuteronomy 22:24 וּסְקַלְתֶּ֨ם and you will stone

    you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 7:25 וַיִּסְקְל֥וּ and they stoned

    “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.

    Here: A second verb for stoning, common in Deuteronomy and in stories (Deut 13:10; 17:5; 22:21; 1 Kgs 21:10). Placed after the burning, it is either a looping recap ('having stoned them…') or a later addition; it is not necessarily a second execution.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 30:6 לְסָקְל֔וֹ to stone him

    And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

    Here: "To stone him": a killing done by the whole group together, which in Israel was the community's way of carrying out a verdict. The men are turning on their leader as the guilty party.

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 16:6 וַיְסַקֵּ֤ל and he stoned

    He threw stones at David and at all the servants of the king, though the troops and all the mighty men were on David’s right and left.

  2. 2 Samuel 16:13 וַיְסַקֵּ֤ל and he stoned [them]

    So David and his men proceeded along the road as Shimei went along the ridge of the hill opposite him. As Shimei went, he yelled curses, threw stones, and flung dust at David.

1 Kings · 4

  1. 1 Kings 21:10 וְסִקְלֻ֖הוּ and stone him

    But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

    Here: 'And stone him': execution by the whole community, the punishment the Torah set for blasphemy (Lev 24:16). The witnesses were to throw first (Deut 17:7).

  2. 1 Kings 21:13 וַיִּסְקְלֻ֥הוּ and they stoned him

    And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

    Here: "And they stoned him": the communal form of execution the Law gave for blasphemy (Lev 24:16). The whole community took part, so the whole community shared the act.

  3. 1 Kings 21:14 סֻקַּ֥ל he has been stoned

    Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

  4. 1 Kings 21:15 סֻקַּ֥ל he had been stoned

    When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, who refused to give it to you for silver. For Naboth is no longer alive, but dead.”

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 5:2 וַֽיְסַקְּלֵ֗הוּ and he cleared of stones it

    He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!

    Here: The same root that elsewhere means "to stone" a person here means the opposite: to take the stones off the ground. On Judean hillsides this was back-breaking work, and the stones went into terraces and walls.

  2. Isaiah 62:10 סַקְּל֣וּ clear [it]

    Go out, go out through the gates; prepare the way for the people! Build it up, build up the highway; clear away the stones; raise a banner for the nations!

    Here: This verb normally means 'to stone' (execute by stoning). In this intensive form with 'from' it means the reverse, 'un-stone it': pick the stones out. Isaiah 5:2 uses it of God clearing his vineyard of stones.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.