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( òָøִ Š, araph', applied to an animal, to break the neck, Deu_21:6; like ðåëåêßæù , Rev_20:4; but properly äֵñַéø äָøàֹùׁ , áðïêåöáëßæù , to take off the head, 2Sa_4:7; Mat_14:10; Mar_6:16; Mar_6:27; Luk_9:9), a method of taking away life, known and practiced among the Egyptians (Gen_40:17-19). This mode of punishment, therefore, must have been known to the Hebrews, and there occur indubitable instances of it in the time of the early Hebrew kings (2Sa_4:8; 2Sa_20:21-22; 2 Kings 10:68). It appears, in the later periods of the Jewish history, that Herod and his descendants, in a number of instances, ordered decapitation (Mat_14:8-12; Act_12:2). The apostle Paul is said to have suffered martyrdom by beheading, as it was not lawful to put a Roman citizen to death by scourging or crucifixion. SEE PUNISHMENT.