XXhang-ing (talah, "to hang up," "suspend," 2 Sam 21:12; Dt 28:66; Job 26:7; Ps 137:2; Song 4:4; Hos 11:7): Generally, where the word is used in connection with punishments, it appears to have reference to the hanging of the corpse after execution. We find but two clear instances of death by hanging, i.e. strangulation--those of Ahithophel and Judas ((2 Sam 17:23; Mt 27:5), and both these were eases of suicide, not of execution. The foregoing Hebrew word is clearly used for "hanging" as a mode of execution in Est 5:14; 6:4; 7:9 ff; 8:7; 9:13,14,25; but probably the "gallows" or "tree" (ets) was a stake for the purpose of impaling the victim. It could be lowered for this purpose, then raised "fifty cubits high" to arrest the public gaze. The Greek word used in Mt 27:5 is apagchesthai, "to strangle oneself." See HDB, article "Hanging," for an exhaustive discussion.
Frank E. Hirsch