I was reading a commentary on the two translation variants for Genesis 40:19 — hang vs impale.
New American Standard Bible: “Within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”
New International Version: “Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”
New American Bible Revised Edition: “Within three days Pharaoh will single you out and will impale you on a stake, and the birds will be eating your flesh.”
According to Exegete77, hang is the traditional English translation, while impaled appears to be more likely the correct translation.
“In TWOT the author references at least three ancient pagan nations (Egypt, Persia, and Mesopotamia) and their use of impaling.”
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT), by Gleason L. Archer and R. Laird Harris, is an extensive, scholarly discussion of every Hebrew word of theological significance in the Old Testament and is keyed to Strong’s Concordance.
Public executions are not always just about killing the convicted person. They also serve as a deterrent to future crimes. As such, torture before death followed by leaving the corpse unburied and exposed has been practiced across a range of cultures.
I found an interesting reference to capital punishment for the crime of abortion in a Middle Assyrian law code (1500-1000 BC):
“If a woman with her consent brings on a miscarriage, they seize her, and determine her guilt. On a stake they impale her, and do not bury her; and if through the miscarriage she dies, they likewise impale her and do not bury her.”
Some ancient laws dictated the number of days a body could be left unburied as a way to LIMIT the practice, since some would leave the body out indefinitely.
Sources:
polination.blog 
I’ve been pondering more on the first part of that verse … lift up your head vs. single you out. People have to bow before royalty, which means Pharaoh would see mostly just the hair of his subjects. He couldn’t be sure of a person’s identity without lifting up the head to see the face make sure he was executing the right guy.
LikeLike