In Deuteronomy 17:6 and II Corinthians13:1, the passages refer to the “two or three witnesses.” I assume these are eyewitnesses. Does DNA count as an eye witness for justice biblically? So when individuals are convicted on DNA evidence alone for their crimes and incarcerated or put to death, is that biblical or not?<\/p>\n\t
Under the Old Testament law, a witness was any independent source of information that could confirm or deny a fact. Most of the time we are referring to a person’s testimony, but it can be other evidence as well. For example, in a trial concerning the misrepresentation that a woman was a virgin before marriage, the presentation of a cloth showing blood from when the hymen was broken constituted a witness (Deuteronomy 22:17). When Jacob and Labon made a covenant, a pillar of stone was raised to serve as a witness that the covenant was made (Genesis 31:48).<\/p>\n
Implied in all of this is that the witnesses must agree to the fact to be established. Contradictory witnesses were handled differently.<\/p>\n
One important aspect of witnesses is that no person could be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. “Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty<\/em>” (Numbers 35:30). “Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 17:6).<\/p>\n Thus, under the Mosaical law, a person could be punished based on a single witness, but he could not be put to death. If we were living under a similar set of laws, DNA would count as one witness, but it wouldn’t be enough by itself to trigger a death penalty. After all, all it says is that material containing the DNA was found at the scene of the crime. It doesn’t testify as to how it came to the crime scene.<\/p>\n Let’s take the case of rape. A woman’s testimony would be insufficient by itself to gain a death penalty. But add the statement of someone walking by who heard her scream or saw the man leave or in modern-days DNA left behind, then the multiple witnesses would allow a death penalty to be invoked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: In Deuteronomy 17:6 and II Corinthians13:1, the passages refer to the “two or three witnesses.” I assume these are eyewitnesses. Does DNA count as an eye witness for justice biblically? So when individuals are convicted on DNA evidence alone for their crimes and incarcerated or put to death, is that biblical or not? Answer:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[880,150,879,709,877,1516],"class_list":["post-7924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-capital-punishment","tag-courtship","tag-death-penalty","tag-evidence","tag-proof","tag-witnesses"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52095,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/righteous-judgment-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":7924,"position":0},"title":"Righteous Judgment (Sermon)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 7:14-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It seems you can\u2019t listen or read the news with yet another person being accused of inappropriate behavior. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People readily accept the bad news. The assumption that the person is guilty and so he is pressured to leave his job or be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69367,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-self-incrimination\/","url_meta":{"origin":7924,"position":1},"title":"Notes on Self-Incrimination","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Law required two or more witnesses to a crime. A person admitting to a crime would be insufficient gain a conviction. Deuteronomy 17:6 \"On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30916,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-jesus-allow-divorce-when-the-law-had-a-death-penalty-for-adultery\/","url_meta":{"origin":7924,"position":2},"title":"Why did Jesus allow divorce when the Law had a death penalty for adultery?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm trying to figure out how to reconcile a couple of Jesus' statements in the Sermon on the Mount. First Jesus said, \"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60038,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-if-a-virgin-bride-did-not-bleed-on-her-wedding-night\/","url_meta":{"origin":7924,"position":3},"title":"What if a virgin bride did not bleed on her wedding night?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening Jeff, I recently got into a discussion with someone regarding Deuteronomy 22:13-21, specifically verses 15-17. He seems to think that the evidence being talked about here was blood, something I do not disagree with. I told him that I have heard that not every woman bleeds when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35786,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/would-confession-and-repentance-remove-the-death-penalty-under-the-old-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":7924,"position":4},"title":"Would confession and repentance remove the death penalty under the Old Testament?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If you break one of the Ten Commandments, does it mean that you sinned? Of course, the consequence, I believe, is death, correct? However, if you confess what you did and repented, then God forgives you and you don't have to die, correct? Answer: Each of the Ten Commandments\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21222,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/john-and-witnesses\/","url_meta":{"origin":7924,"position":5},"title":"John and Witnesses","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford Most Christians probably appreciate the significance of Habakkuk 2:4 (\u201cThe righteous one will live by his faith.\u201d) to understanding the New Testament, but the significance of Deuteronomy 19:15 often escapes us. 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