And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.
So the whole community took him outside the camp and threw stones at him until he died, just as the LORD had told Moses to do.
The writer is describing how the Israelites carried out God's judgment by executing a man who had broken the Sabbath law, following God's specific instructions to Moses.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Numbers, the Israelites were wandering in the desert after their exodus from Egypt, and God had given them the Law through Moses, which included strict commands for observing the Sabbath as a day of rest. A man was caught gathering wood on the Sabbath, an act that violated God's explicit instructions, leading to a divine judgment to maintain the holiness and order of the community. As a result, the congregation carried out the stoning as directed, emphasizing the seriousness of covenant obedience in their nomadic life.
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