Included on this list
- Death penalties revealed by God to be enacted by men on other men.
Not included on this list
- Death penalties coming from man’s fallible judgment. Eg. Judah and Tamar; Jacob with Laban, etc.
- Death penalties where God took the life, but did not command government to take the life. Eg. Nadab and Abihu; Uzzah ,etc.
Legal categories
- Moral: Laws for all people of all times
- Civil: Laws for the society of Israel
- Ceremonial: Laws for the time before the Cross
| First Text | Cause | Other Passages | Legal category Mor. Civ. Cer. | |||
| 1. | Gen. 9:5-6 | Murder | Ex. 21:12, 14; Lev. 24:17 ,21; Num. 35:16, 17, 18, 21, 30; Deut. 19:12 | X | X | |
| 2. | Gen. 17:14 | Rejecting circumcision | X | X | ||
| 3. | Ex. 12:15, 19 | Eating leaven during Passover | X | X | ||
| 4. | Ex. 19:12 | Touching Mount Sinai when God comes down | X | X | ||
| 5. | Ex. 21:15 | Assaulting parents | X | X | ||
| 6. | Ex. 21:16 | Kidnapping or slave trade | Deut. 21:7 | X | X | |
| 7. | Ex. 21:17 | Cursing parents | Lev. 20:9 | X | X | |
| 8. | Ex. 21:29 | Negligent homicide | X | X | ||
| 9. | Ex. 22:18 | Sorcery | Lev. 20:6, 27 | X | X | |
| 10. | Ex. 22:19 | Bestiality | Lev. 18:23; 20:15-16 | X | X | |
| 11. | Ex. 22:20 | Idolatry | Num. 25:5; Deut. 17:5 | X | X | |
| 12. | Ex. 30:33, 38 | Imitating the anointing oil | X | |||
| 13. | Ex. 31:14, 15 | Working on the Sabbath | Num. 15:32-36 | X | X | X |
| 14. | Lev. 7:20 | Eating the sacrifice while unclean | Lev. 7:21 | X | ||
| 15. | Lev. 7:25 | Eating the fat of the sacrifice | X | |||
| 16. | Lev. 7:27 | Eating the blood of the sacrifice | X | |||
| 17. | Lev. 17:4, 9 | Offering sacrifice without bringing it to Jehovah at the tabernacle Sacrificing to false gods or to your own religion | X | X | X | |
| 18. | Lev. 18:6-18 | Incest | Lev. 20:11-12, 14, 17 | x | x | |
| 19. | Lev. 18:19 | Sexual relations during a woman’s cycle | Lev. 20:18 | x | ||
| 20. | Lev. 18:20 | Adultery | Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:21, 22, 24 | x | x | |
| 21. | Lev. 18:21 | Ritual child sacrifice | Lev. 20:2 | x | x | |
| 22. | Lev. 18:22 | Sodomy | Lev. 20:13 | x | x | |
| 23. | Lev. 19:8 | Eating the sacrifice late | x | |||
| 24. | Lev. 21:9 | Prostitution of a priest’s daughter | x | x | x | |
| 25. | Lev. 22:3 | Coming to holy things unclean | x | x | ||
| 26. | Lev. 23:29-30 | Profaning the day of atonement | x | x | ||
| 27. | Lev. 24:14-16 | Blasphemy | x | x | ||
| 28. | Num. 3:10 | Joining the priesthood from outside Levi | x | |||
| 29. | Num. 3:38 | Coming near the Tabernacle | x | |||
| 30. | Num. 4:15, 20 May have been a divine judgment, a penalty only enacted by God Himself. | Touching or looking on the tools of the Tabernacle when moving them | x | |||
| 31. | Num. 15:30 | Presuming on God | Deut. 17:12 | x | X | |
| 32. | Num. 18:7 | Taking the priest’s office | X | X | ||
| 33. | Num. 19:13, 20 | Defiling the tabernacle or sanctuary | X | X | ||
| 34. | Deut. 13:5, 9, 15 | Promoting a false god | X | X | ||
| 35. | Deut. 18:20 | False prophecy | X | X | ||
| 36. | Deut. 21:21 | Rebellion against parents | X | X | ||
| 37. | Deut. 22:25 | Rape | X | X | ||
Conclusions
- There is no clear division between the traditional 3 categories of the law as moral, civil, and ceremonial. The overlap between these categories is so fluid as to make them inaccurate for understanding the Mosaic law. Covenant Theology needs these 3 categories, and yet they are not accurate.
- The death penalties of the Mosaic law do not allow for freedom of religion: idolatry, blasphemy, promoting a false god, neglecting the Sabbath, and false prophecy. The NT repeatedly assumes freedom of religion. Therefore, the OT laws cannot control the society in the times of the NT. Theonomy implements these death penalties, and yet it also tries to defend freedom of religion.
