The Bible contains several accounts of beheadings and references to the practice of beheading. While not as common as other forms of execution mentioned in Scripture, such as stoning, crucifixion, or hanging, decapitation by beheading is recorded in both the Old and New Testaments.
Here are some of the most notable biblical examples of beheadings:
The Beheading of John the Baptist
One of the most famous biblical accounts of beheading is that of John the Baptist in the New Testament. John was a prophet who baptized Jesus and preached repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. However, John eventually drew the ire of King Herod Antipas after calling out the king’s unlawful marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias (Mark 6:17-29). At Herodias’ urging, Herod reluctantly ordered John to be arrested and imprisoned. Later, at a celebratory banquet on Herod’s birthday, Herodias’ daughter (also named Herodias) danced before Herod and his guests. Herod was so pleased that he promised the girl anything she wanted, up to half his kingdom. After consulting with her mother, the girl demanded John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Though initially reluctant, Herod could not go back on his word in front of his guests, so he sent for John in prison and ordered his beheading. John’s head was brought to the girl on a platter, just as she had requested.
The beheading of John the Baptist is significant because it illustrates the cost of prophetic witness against immorality and injustice, even among the powerful. John ultimately gave his life for speaking truth to power and calling leaders to account for their misdeeds.
The Beheading of Goliath
One of the earliest biblical accounts of decapitation is David’s beheading of the giant Philistine warrior Goliath. This event is recorded in 1 Samuel 17. Goliath was a massive champion fighter for the Philistine army who challenged the Israelites to send forth a champion of their own. The young shepherd David stepped up to the challenge and miraculously killed Goliath with a slingshot stone to the forehead. David then took Goliath’s own sword and cut off his head (1 Samuel 17:51). Depriving Goliath of his head was the ultimate sign of David’s victory over the intimidating enemy of Israel. It struck fear into the Philistine army and rallied the Israelite army, who subsequently pursued and defeated the fleeing Philistines.
David’s beheading of Goliath illustrated Israel’s victory through faith in God rather than trust in human strength or weaponry alone. It was an early foreshadowing of Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and spiritual forces of evil through his death on the cross.
The Beheading of Sheba son of Bicri
Another Old Testament account of decapitation is the beheading of Sheba son of Bicri in 2 Samuel 20. Sheba rebelled against King David’s rule and tried to lead Israel astray after the kingdom was divided by civil war. David’s general Joab besieged Sheba in the city of Abel of Beth-maacah. During negotiations with Joab to spare the city, a “wise woman” from Abel convinced the citizens to behead Sheba and throw his head over the wall to appease Joab and King David (2 Samuel 20:16-22). Though done without due process, this act brought about reconciliation and the end of Sheba’s rebellion against the king.
This incident shows that in ancient Israel, the people sometimes took beheading into their own hands as an extrajudicial act to eliminate enemies of the state and restore peace. It also illustrates the value placed on reconciliation and the submission to authority that ended further violence and bloodshed at Abel.
The Beheading of Saul’s Sons
One of the most gruesome mass beheadings in Scripture took place in 2 Samuel 21. To atone for Saul’s bloodguilt against the Gibeonites, David delivered seven of Saul’s sons to the Gibeonites, who hung them on a mountain before God. Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, kept vigil over the bodies, preventing birds and beasts from devouring them. When David heard of Rizpah’s loyalty, he had the bodies as well as the bones of Saul and Jonathan retrieved and buried properly in Saul’s family tomb. Before burial, David ordered his men to cut off the heads of Saul’s seven sons and bury them with their bodies (2 Samuel 21:1-14).
This horrific event displays how in ancient Near Eastern culture, decapitation and public display of heads was a common practice to dishonor enemies after death. By giving Saul’s sons proper burial, David showed respect to Saul’s family and ended the Gibeonites’ blood vengeance.
Decapitation of the Prophets of Baal
One of the largest mass beheadings took place in 1 Kings 18 after the prophet Elijah’s contest with the prophets of the false god Baal. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a sacrifice competition, where Baal failed to consume the sacrifice by fire. After Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice, he had the 450 prophets of Baal seized and taken down to the Brook Kishon where he slaughtered them (1 Kings 18:40). Though the beheadings are not explicitly mentioned, the mass slaughter likely included beheading with the sword.
This wholesale slaughter fulfilled the legal punishment for leading Israel into idolatry as well as demonstrated the impotence of Baal compared to the true God Yahweh. The beheadings purified Israel from false prophets and quenched the spread of Baal worship in the land.
The Beheading of Sisera
Sisera was a Canaanite military general who oppressed Israel for 20 years with his massive army and 900 iron chariots, until the prophetess Deborah and the Israelite commander Barak defeated his forces (Judges 4:2-3). After his army was routed, Sisera fled on foot and took refuge in the tent of a Kenite woman named Jael. When he fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael took a tent peg and hammered it through Sisera’s temple and into the ground – pinning his head to the floor (Judges 4:21-22). This graphic account of hammering a spike through the head of Israel’s enemy shows how in ancient Near East culture, beheading was also accomplished through means other than the sword or axe.
Jael’s decapitation of Sisera delivered Israel from two decades of cruel subjugation and was celebrated in the Song of Deborah as a courageous act of bravery (Judges 5:24-27).
Warnings Against Beheading in the Law
Though the Old Testament records some instances of beheading, the Mosaic Law also warned against this form of mutilation and humiliation of enemies. Deuteronomy 21:12-13 states that for captive women taken as wives, “She shall shave her head and pare her nails. And you shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month.” Shaving a woman’s head was a symbol of humiliation, but the Israelite soldier was forbidden from further defiling her head or body.
Likewise, 1 Chronicles 10:9-10, records that after the Philistines defeated Saul and his sons in battle and stripped them of their armor, they beheaded Saul’s body and fastened his head in a pagan temple. However, when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard this, they retrieved the bodies and gave them proper cremation and burial. The beheading and desecration of Saul’s head was seen as a dishonorable act of contempt, and David later had the bones of Saul and Jonathan interred in the family tomb (2 Samuel 21:12-14).
While the Old Testament contains a few episodes of decapitation, the Mosaic Law valued proper burial of the dead and placed limits on further desecration of enemies’ heads or bodies.
The Beheading of James the Apostle
The New Testament also contains an account of beheading in the martyrdom of James the Apostle. According to Acts 12:1-2, King Herod Agrippa I arrested some believers in the early church and put James to death with the sword. Church tradition holds that James was beheaded as the first of the Twelve Apostles to be martyred for his faith.
James’ beheading illustrates that the early Christians faced violent persecution and sometimes death for their gospel witness. However, the courage of martyrs like James inspired countless others to take up their crosses and follow Jesus despite the cost.
Beheading Imagery in Revelation 20
The Book of Revelation uses decapitation symbolically in its prophecy about the end times persecution and judgment. In Revelation 20:4, the Apostle John sees visions of the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and the word of God. They had refused to worship the beast and his image or receive his mark. Though executed, they are pictured as reigning with Christ for 1,000 years.
Later in Revelation 20:11-15, John sees a vision of the final judgment, with the dead being judged before God’s throne according to their deeds. Death and Hades give up the dead to stand before God on judgment day. While not literal descriptions, these passages use beheading and judgment imagery to portray the eternal victory and vindication of God’s faithful people despite earthly persecution.
Lessons from Biblical Accounts of Beheading
The instances of decapitation recorded in Scripture offer some valuable lessons and themes:
- God’s people face persecution and suffering for standing up for truth and justice.
- Evil authorities often abuse their power to silence dissent and oppress the weak.
- Standing up to powerful evil forces can be costly but necessary.
- God honors those who give up their lives for Him and His kingdom.
- Martyrdom inspires and multiplies God’s witnesses rather than silences the truth.
- God will ultimately avenge and vindicate His martyrs.
- Beheading was a common ancient practice, but the Bible valued respect for the dead.
- Biblical values elevated human dignity and rejected excessive shaming of enemies.
While the Bible served as an ancient record of its cultural context, its accounts of beheading also communicated kingdom ethics that honored human life and refused to degrade enemies made in God’s image. As shocking as beheading stories are to modern sensibilities, they pointed to truths that ring true in all ages – life is fleeting, sacrifice brings purpose, justice will triumph however long it takes, and God remembers and rewards those who live and die for Him.