hang, hung

Definition

The term “hang” means to suspend something or someone above the ground.

• In modern times, death by hanging is usually done by tying a rope around a person’s neck and suspending him from an elevated object until he dies. This elevated object can be any number of things, such as a tree or a gallows, that is, a platform built specifically for the purpose of hanging a person in order to kill him.
• In biblical times, however, ancient cultures may not have killed people by hanging in precisely the same way. For example, Jesus died while hanging on a wooden cross (sometimes called a “tree”), but there was nothing around his neck. The soldiers suspended him by nailing his hands (or wrists) and his feet to the cross.
• Some ancient cultures “hung” a person by impaling him on a wooden pole in such a way that he was suspended above the ground so that he could not escape. The person would be left there until he died.
• For many references to death by “hanging” in the Bible, the specific means of death is unknown.

Bible References

• 2 Samuel 17:23
• Acts 10:39
• Galatians 3:13
• Genesis 40:22
• Matthew 27:3-5

Word Data

• Strong’s: H2614, H3363, H8518, G05190