Bible Dictionary
Gallows
A gallows was a tree, post, or gibbet used for execution or public display of a condemned person. In biblical usage the word may also refer generally to a tree on which someone was hanged.
Definition
A gallows was a tree, post, or gibbet used for hanging or displaying a condemned person. The underlying biblical word may simply mean a tree, and related passages are translated with that term.
Biblical Usage
The term occurs in connection with execution or hanging in the biblical accounts and laws concerning condemned persons.
Historical Background
The term is discussed in connection with punishments and hanging.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Heb. ‘ets, meaning “a tree” (Esther 6:4), a post or gibbet. In Gen. 40:19 and Deut. 21:22 the word is rendered “tree.”
Smith's Bible Dictionary
[Punishments]
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>gal'-oz.</p><p>See HANGING; PUNISHMENTS.</p>