It ends with the rather blunt statement: "then he shall be put to death."
Yikes. What exactly does that mean?
Well, the Sifrei Devarim, a collection of early rabbinic legal interpretations on the book of Deuteronomy, unpacks this for us. It clarifies that the phrase "death penalty" here isn't just any old execution. It's the unqualified death penalty of the Torah.
Okay, so what does that mean?
According to the Sifrei Devarim, it specifically refers to strangulation.
Now, that's a pretty direct and somewhat unsettling interpretation. It begs the question, doesn't it? Why specify strangulation? Why not stoning, burning, or any of the other forms of capital punishment mentioned in the Torah?
The Sifrei doesn't explicitly delve into the "why" here. Its focus is on clarifying which method of execution is being referenced by the seemingly simple phrase "put to death." Legal texts often work that way, concerned with precision and application of the law.
But we, as readers, can still ponder the implications.
Perhaps strangulation was considered a particularly... let's say efficient, method. Perhaps it carried a specific symbolic weight in the context of the offense being discussed in Deuteronomy 18:20 (prophecy, in this case). Or perhaps it was simply the standard method for cases where the Torah didn't specify another form of execution.
It’s a reminder that the Torah, and Jewish law in general, isn't always simple or easy. It requires careful reading, interpretation, and a willingness to grapple with difficult concepts. And sometimes, a verse that seems straightforward on the surface can lead us down a path of complex and challenging questions.