Deuteronomy 21:23

21:23 his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury ¹  him that same day, for the one who is left exposed ²  on a tree is cursed by God. ³  You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 21:2

21:2 your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 17:1

17:1 You must not sacrifice to him ⁵  a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive ⁶  to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 18:10

18:10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, ⁷  anyone who practices divination, ⁸  an omen reader, ⁹  a soothsayer, ¹⁰  a sorcerer, ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 18:14-15

18:14 Those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to omen readers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not given you permission to do such things.

18:15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you – from your fellow Israelites; ¹²  you must listen to him.

Deuteronomy 21:3

21:3 Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse ¹³  must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked – that has never pulled with the yoke –

Deuteronomy 21:9

21:9 In this manner you will purge out the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right before ¹⁴  the Lord.

Esther 7:10

7:10 So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The king’s rage then abated.

Esther 9:14

9:14 So the king issued orders for this to be done. A law was passed in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged.

Matthew 27:5

27:5 So ¹⁵  Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself.

Matthew 27:1

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

27:1 When ¹⁶  it was early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to execute him.

Matthew 2:1

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ¹⁷  in Judea, in the time ¹⁸  of King Herod, ¹⁹  wise men ²⁰  from the East came to Jerusalem ²¹ 

[21:23]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates by “make certain.”

[21:23]  ² tn Heb “hung,” but this could convey the wrong image in English (hanging with a rope as a means of execution). Cf. NCV “anyone whose body is displayed on a tree.”

[21:23]  ³ sn The idea behind the phrase cursed by God seems to be not that the person was impaled because he was cursed but that to leave him exposed there was to invite the curse of God upon the whole land. Why this would be so is not clear, though the rabbinic idea that even a criminal is created in the image of God may give some clue (thus J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy [JPSTC], 198). Paul cites this text (see Gal 3:13) to make the point that Christ, suspended from a cross, thereby took upon himself the curse associated with such a display of divine wrath and judgment (T. George, Galatians [NAC], 238-39).

[21:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “surrounding the slain [one].”

[17:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[17:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[18:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “who passes his son or his daughter through the fire.” The expression “pass…through the fire” is probably a euphemism for human sacrifice (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT). See also Deut 12:31.

[18:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “a diviner of divination” (קֹסֵם קְסָמִים, qosem qÿsamim). This was a means employed to determine the future or the outcome of events by observation of various omens and signs (cf. Num 22:7; 23:23; Josh 13:22; 1 Sam 6:2; 15:23; 28:8; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 3:945-51.

[18:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “one who causes to appear” (מְעוֹנֵן, mÿ’onen). Such a practitioner was thought to be able to conjure up spirits or apparitions (cf. Lev 19:26; Judg 9:37; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 2:6; 57:3; Jer 27:9; Mic 5:11).

[18:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a seeker of omens” (מְנַחֵשׁ, mÿnakhesh). This is a subset of divination, one illustrated by the use of a “divining cup” in the story of Joseph (Gen 44:5).

[18:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a doer of sorcery” (מְכַשֵּׁף, mikhashef). This has to do with magic or the casting of spells in order to manipulate the gods or the powers of nature (cf. Lev 19:26-31; 2 Kgs 17:15b-17; 21:1-7; Isa 57:3, 5; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 2:735-38.

[18:15]  ¹² tc The MT expands here on the usual formula by adding “from among you” (cf. Deut 17:15; 18:18; Smr; a number of Greek texts). The expansion seems to be for the purpose of emphasis, i.e., the prophet to come must be not just from Israel but an Israelite by blood.

[21:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “slain [one].”

[21:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the eyes of” (so ASV, NASB, NIV).

[27:5]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the leaders’ response to Judas.

[27:1]  ¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[2:1]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “in the days.”

[2:1]  ¹⁹ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[2:1]  ²⁰ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

[2:1]  ²¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.