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Gleason Leonard
Archer, Jr.
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QUOTE: Some speculate that God’s mandate for capital punishment is
weak, because the requirement for two witnesses in such cases (Numbers 35:30;
Deuteronomy 17:6) drastically reduces the application of that sanction. Such
speculation is unwarranted. By wrongly isolating the Hebrew ‘ d,
"witness", from its broad biblical context, some interpreters have
falsely concluded that two or more "eye" witnesses are required in
capital cases and in all criminal cases subject to court judgment (Deuteronomy
19:5). Did God want nearly all criminals, including murderers, to get off,
scot-free, if “. . . (they) had not taken the prudent measure of committing
(their) crime where two people did not happen to be watching him?" The
biblical record rejects any such conclusion.
The word
"witness",‘ d, has broad meaning, including, anyone with (1) " .
. . pertinent knowledge concerning the crime, even though he had not actually
seen it."(Lev 5:1), such as motive, opportunity, accomplices, overheard
confessions, wiretaps, etc.; (2) physical evidence can also bear witness, also
‘ d (Ex 22:13), such as bloody clothing, murder weapon, DNA, fingerprints,
etc.; (3) written documents may serve as evidence and witness (‘ d or ‘ dah,
Jos 25:25-27), such as a confession, documents showing motive or implication,
etc.; (4) monuments and memorial stones, such as gal-‘ d in Gen 31:46-49, can
also bear witness. Indeed, "there is no contravention of biblical
principles in allowing such testimony, even though only one actual witness may
be found, or none at all." There is no biblical requirement for two, or
any, "eye" witnesses in criminal cases. (Dr. Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of
Biblical Difficulties, Zondervan Pub., 143-145, 1982, also see the exceptional
writings on John 8:11, 371-373, therein.) According to actual biblical usage,
the witness and evidence requirements in capital cases in the U.S. meet or
exceed all biblical standards.
AUTHOR: Gleason Leonard Archer, Jr. (May 22,
1916 – April 27, 2004) was a Biblical scholar, theologian, educator, and author.
Archer's father was Gleason Archer, Sr., the founder of Suffolk University in
Boston. Archer graduated in 1938 with a B.A. from Harvard University (summa cum
laude in Classics) and received an LL.B. from Suffolk Law School in 1939, the
same year he was admitted to the Massachusetts bar. In 1940 he received a
master’s degree and in 1944 he was awarded a Ph.D. at Harvard University in
Classics. Finally he received his Bachelor of Divinity from Princeton
Theological Seminary in 1945.
Please
go to this Blog Post from Dudley Sharp to learn more.
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