(עָרִ Š, araph', applied to an animal, to break the neck, Deuteronomy 21:6; like πελεκίζω, Revelation 20:4; but properly הֵסַיר הָראֹשׁ, αποκεφαλίζω, to take off the head, 2 Samuel 4:7; Matthew 14:10; Mark 6:16; Mark 6:27; Luke 9:9), a method of taking away life, known and practiced among the Egyptians (Genesis 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 (2 Samuel 4:8; 2 Samuel 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 (Matthew 14:8-12; Acts 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).