I'm really struggling with the issue of stinging in the Bible. Do we actually know what the word 'stoning' in the Law actually refers to? Was it a slow and torturous method by which a crowd through rocks at a victim for minutes to hours? Or was it more humane? I remember seeing a movie about Alexander the Great, and when a soldier was wounded beyond healing, they took this special tool to painlessly kill them. They put a rock or something on the back of their neck and then struck it hard, instantaneously killing them. Could the stoning in ancient Israel be something more humane like this? I also was wondering if when they were talking about stoning they were referring to slings. Israel was a shepherd people so they were familiar with slings. Slings aren't a harmless weapon. They can accurately send a missile at high-speeds and instantly kill someone. Now imagine an entire tribe of skilled marksman sending high-speed rocks at a persons' head. They would die instantly and their would be no suffering. Are any of these possible solutions to this difficult question?
