Deuteronomy 17:13 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Ver. 13. And all the people shall hear, &c.— This punishment was inflicted for an example and severe warning to those who were yet innocent; as Seneca observes, nemo prudens punit quia peccatum est, sed ne peccetur; a wise man does not so much punish the fault, as furnish a warning to others, that they do not the same. Rabbi Akiba tells us, that offenders of this sort were kept in custody till the nearest great festival, and then executed when the whole nation was present. This, Mr. Selden observes, is the most received opinion: though other Rabbis say, that they did not make the sentence sharper by a long delay, but executed it immediately; and for the further publication of it, they sent letters to all the tribes and cities of Israel, to give notice that such a man was to be executed at such a time for this offence.