# hang, hung

## Definition:

The term “hang” means to suspend something or someone above the ground.

* In modern times, death by hanging is usually done by tying a rope around a person’s neck and suspending him from an elevated object until he dies. This elevated object can be any number of things, such as a tree or a gallows, that is, a platform built specifically for the purpose of hanging a person in order to kill him.
* In biblical times, however, ancient cultures may not have killed people by hanging in precisely the same way. For example, Jesus died while hanging on a wooden cross (sometimes called a “tree”), but there was nothing around his neck. The soldiers suspended him by nailing his hands (or wrists) and his feet to the cross.
* Some ancient cultures “hung” a person by impaling him on a wooden pole in such a way that he was suspended above the ground so that he could not escape. The person would be left there until he died.
* For many references to death by “hanging” in the Bible, the specific means of death is unknown.

## Bible References:

* [2 Samuel 17:23](rc://en/tn/help/2sa/17/23)
* [Acts 10:39](rc://en/tn/help/act/10/39)
* [Galatians 3:13](rc://en/tn/help/gal/03/13)
* [Genesis 40:22](rc://en/tn/help/gen/40/22)
* [Matthew 27:3-5](rc://en/tn/help/mat/27/03)

## Word Data:

* Strong’s: H2614, H3363, H8518, G05190
