Fragment with the Stoning of the Elders

Circa 1480-90
Colorless glass, oxide paint, and silver stain
Getty Center, Los Angeles, California

In Daniel 13 the two elders who had falsely accused Susanna of adultery were proven to be lying. Under the law, that meant they were to be given the same punishment that Susanna would have suffered if they had not been exposed: death.

Neither Daniel 13 nor the relevant passages in the Torah specify death by stoning, but that does appear to have been the method favored in gospel times and perhaps earlier. The deacon Stephen was stoned to death for "blasphemy" in Acts 7:54-60, and in John 8:1-11 Jesus disposes of the accusations against an adulteress by saying anyone without sin could "cast the first stone."

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Photographed at the site by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.