Hebrew word · H7275

רָגַם

vaiyirgemu

to stone

To stone, to pelt with stones. In the Hebrew Bible it is used almost entirely for formal, community execution under the law.

Appears 16 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to stone, slay or kill by stoning

1a) (Qal) to stone

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 Joshua 7:25

Range of meaning

To stone, to pelt with stones. In the Hebrew Bible it is used almost entirely for formal, community execution under the law.

Against the English

'Stoned' is accurate. BSB adds 'to death' to make the outcome clear. YLT's 'cast stones at' keeps the physical action but loses the sense of a legal execution.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 20:2, 27; 24:14–16, 23 (the blasphemer: 'all the congregation shall stone him'); Num 14:10; 15:35–36 (the Sabbath-breaker); Deut 21:21 (the rebellious son: 'all the men of his city shall stone him'). It is often paired with ʾeben, 'with stone'.

From the study of Leviticus 20:2

Range of meaning

"To stone, to kill by throwing stones." It is the common Hebrew verb for stoning, alongside saqal. Stoning was a public execution by the whole community, usually outside the settlement.

Against the English

"Stone him with stones" (KJV/WEB) keeps the Hebrew repetition. BSB "stone him" drops the redundant noun with no loss of meaning.

Used elsewhere in the period

Applied to blasphemy (Lev 24:16), Sabbath violation (Num 15:35–36), enticement to other gods (Deut 13:10), idolatry (Deut 17:5–7, where the witnesses throw first, then "all the people"), and necromancy (Lev 20:27). Achan is stoned for violating devoted things (Josh 7:25).

From the study of Deuteronomy 21:21

Range of meaning

To stone, to pelt with stones to death. The Arabic cognate rajama means the same. Hebrew has a second stoning verb, sāqal, which Deuteronomy uses elsewhere (13:10; 17:5; 22:21, 24).

Against the English

BSB and WEB have 'stone him to death'. KJV has 'stone him with stones, that he die', which keeps the Hebrew repetition and two-step sequence. YLT's past tense ('have stoned') is a wooden rendering of the Hebrew verb form and misleads readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for communal executions in Lev 20:2, 27; 24:14–16, 23 (the blasphemer); Num 15:35–36 (the Sabbath-breaker); Josh 7:25 (Achan). In every case the whole assembly does the stoning.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 6

  1. Leviticus 20:2 יִרְגְּמֻ֥הוּ they will stone him

    “Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him.

    Here: Plural subject: the community together carries out the sentence. Stoning is the penalty for offences that strike at God's holiness and the life of the whole people.

  2. Leviticus 20:27 יִרְגְּמ֥וּ people will stone

    A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”

    Here: "They shall pelt with stones." The subject is left open ("people shall stone them"), which points to the assembled community as executioners, not one appointed official.

  3. Leviticus 24:14 וְרָגְמ֥וּ and they will stone

    “Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him.

    Here: "And they shall stone." This is a technical legal term for execution by stoning carried out by the whole community.

  4. Leviticus 24:16 רָג֥וֹם יִרְגְּמוּ־ certainly <to stone>, they will stone

    Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

    Here: The same emphatic doubling again: 'stoning they shall stone'. It specifies how the sentence is carried out.

  5. Leviticus 24:23 וַיִּרְגְּמ֥וּ and they stoned

    Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Numbers · 3

  1. Numbers 14:10 לִרְגּ֥וֹם to stone

    But the whole congregation threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting.

    Here: To put someone to death by community stoning. This was the legal punishment for blasphemy, idolatry and open rebellion against God. The infinitive gives the purpose or content of what they said. It does not report that stones were actually thrown.

  2. Numbers 15:35 רָג֨וֹם it will stone

    And the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death. The whole congregation is to stone him outside the camp.”

  3. Numbers 15:36 וַיִּרְגְּמ֥וּ and they stoned

    So the whole congregation took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 21:21 וּ֠רְגָמֻהוּ and they will stone him

    Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

    Here: Ragam is the specific verb for killing someone by pelting them with stones. The verb form continues the 'if… then' legal sequence of vv. 18–20, so it means 'they shall stone him': what the law requires, not something that has already happened.

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 7:25 וַיִּרְגְּמ֨וּ 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: They executed him by pelting him with stones. This is the standard verb in Israel's legal texts for a community execution (Lev 24:14–16; Num 15:35–36; Deut 21:21).

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 12:18 וַיִּרְגְּמ֨וּ and they stoned

    Then King Rehoboam sent out Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 10:18 וַיִּרְגְּמוּ־ and they stoned

    Then King Rehoboam sent out Hadoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem.

  2. 2 Chronicles 24:21 וַיִּרְגְּמֻ֥הוּ and they stoned him

    But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 16:40 וְרָגְמ֥וּ and they will stone

    They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.

  2. Ezekiel 23:47 וְרָגְמ֨וּ and they will stone

    The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.

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