Oh, that description was from the Mishnah. Granted, what scholars think is that applying the Mishnah’s very formalized description of stoning to an earlier time period is suspect, given that it dates from the 2nd century (something which I agree with) but its basic structure - drop the person from a height first before the actual stoning - actually quite fits with early Christian traditions about the stoning of James the Just: it is said that he was thrown down from a pinnacle of the Temple first before they dropped rocks at him.
This is what the Mishnah says (
Sanhedrin 6):
Once the verdict is reached, they bring him out to stone him. The stoning area was outside the courthouse, as it says, (Leviticus 24:14) “Bring out he who has cursed.” One would stand before the entrance to the courthouse, his scarf in his hand; and another would ride on a horse before them at a distance, in order to see him. [If] one says, “I have an argument for acquittal,” then he waves the scarf, and the horse runs to stop him. And even if [the accused] says, “I have an argument for my [own] acquittal,” then he is returned; and this may happen even four or five times, so long as there is substance to his words. If he is acquitted, he is dismissed; and if not, he is brought out to be stoned. And an announcer comes out before him and announces, “So-and-so son of so-and-so is being brought out to be stoned for having committed such-and-such transgression, and so-and-so and so-and-so are his witnesses. Anyone who has any knowledge as to his innocence should come and argue for him.”
[Once the accused] was about ten cubit from the stoning area, they say to him, “Confess,” for such is the way of those sentenced to death to confess, for all who confess have a share in the World to Come. …] [Once] he was four cubits from the stoning area, they remove his clothing. [If it is] a man, his front is covered; [if it is] a woman, her front and her back are covered, according to Rabbi Yehudah. But the Sages say, a man is stoned naked, but a woman is not stoned naked.
The stoning area’s height was that of two men. One of the witnesses pushes him on his loins. If he is turned on his heart, they turn him [over,] on his loins. If he dies from this, [the court] has discharged [its obligation]. If not, the second [witness] picks up the stone and puts it on his heart. If he dies from this, [the court] has discharged [its obligation]. If not, he is pelted with stones by all of Israel, as it says, (Deuteronomy 17:7) “The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.”
All who are stoned are hanged, according to Rabbi Eliezer. But the Sages say, the only [offenders] who are hanged are the blasphemer and the idolator. A man is hanged with his face toward the people, and a woman with her face toward the gallows, according to Rabbi Eliezer. But the Sages say, a man is hanged, but a woman is not hanged. Rabbi Eliezer said to them, Did Shimon ben Shetach not hang women in Ashkelon? They said to him, he hanged eighty women, and we do not [even] judge two [capital cases] in one day!
Obviously as mentioned, it’s a bit suspect whether this stoning was really practiced in real life 1st century Judaea - or even in the Diaspora, although if we assume that the tradition surrounding the death of James the Just (thrown down from the pinnacle of the Temple before being stoned and/or being clubbed in the head) is historical, then that would suggest that the basic idea behind this description - the person is thrown from a certain height first before being actually stoned -
could be authentic. (In fact, some people even read Luke 4 - where the people of Nazareth try to throw Jesus off “the brow of the hill” as a stoning attempt because of this.)
As an aside, the interesting thing about the ritual as the Mishnah records it is how
humane it is. People - even the condemned themselves - are allowed to plead for their innocence. The condemned person is given an opportunity to confess “for all who confess have a share in the world to come.” If you’ll notice even, the victim is thrown from a high place pretty much
so that the witnesses would not have to throw rocks at them, and the reason why the witnesses threw a boulder onto their chest is pretty much to spare the person from being stoned by ‘all Israel’. It’s like they were trying to spare the person the actual fate of being stoned (as in pelted by rocks) for as long as possible.
