Leviticus 24:14

14. Lay their hands upon his head For the significance of this ceremony, in the case of a victim for the altar, see chap. Leviticus 1:4, note. In this particular case, the witnesses who heard the blasphemy were required to cast off the guilt which they had involuntarily contracted by transferring it to the head of the sinner. By laying their hands upon his head they gave back the infection which they had received. In later ages it was a Jewish practice, when a person heard blasphemy, to lay his hand on the offender’s head to symbolize his sole responsibility for the guilt, and to rise up and tear his robe, which might never again be mended. See Matthew 26:65, note.

Let all the congregation stone him Says Baumgarten: “According to the sentence of Jehovah, the whole congregation was to be regarded as participating in the crime of the individual, because every one was a living member of the whole. For this reason the punishment was committed to the whole congregation, who gave back to the criminal its share of the guilt by leading him out of the camp and putting him to death. Thus they wiped off sin from Israel.” By this requirement of “all the congregation,” we are taught that for the efficient execution of laws against immoralities there must be strong public sentiment in favour of such law behind the officers of justice. The divine method, which puts a stone into every man’s hand to cast at the criminal, also effectually protects the witnesses. When any community has a righteous abhorrence of drunkenness, licentiousness, profanity, and other vices, sufficient to move a large majority of the citizens personally to assist in their suppression, these foul blots will be almost entirely wiped away from that community. The practice of stoning for blasphemy was continued till the martyrdom of Stephen.