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Ramban on Exodus 22:17/רמב"ן על שמות כ״ב:י״ז

אמְכַשֵּׁפָה לֹא תְחַיֶּה אָמַר לְמַעְלָה בְּכָל חַיָּבֵי מִיתוֹת "מוֹת יוּמָת" (לעיל יד טז, כא יב), וְהַטַּעַם שֶׁהוּא חַיָּב מִיתָה, וּמִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה עָלֵינוּ לְהָמִית אוֹתוֹ מִמַּה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרַע מִקִּרְבֶּךָ" (דברים יז ז), אוֹ מִזֶּה בְּעַצְמוֹ שֶׁיְּצַוֶּה יוּמָת, אֲבָל בְּכָאן לֹא אָמַר מְכַשֵּׁפָה מוֹת תָּמוּת, כִּי הֶחְמִיר בָּהּ לְהַזְהִיר אוֹתָנוּ בְּלָאו שֶׁלֹּא נְחַיֶּה אוֹתָהּ. וְהַטַּעַם, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהִיא טְמֵאַת הַשֵּׁם רַבַּת הַמְּהוּמָה וְהַשּׁוֹטִים נִפְתִּים אַחֲרֶיהָ, הֶחְמִיר בָּהּ בְּלָאו, וְכֵן בְּכָל מְרֻבֵּי הַתַּקָּלָה, כְּגוֹן שֶׁאָמַר בְּמֵסִית "וְלֹא תַחְמֹל וְלֹא תְכַסֶּה עָלָיו" (שם יג ט), וְאָמַר בְּרוֹצֵחַ "וְלֹא תִקְחוּ כֹפֶר לְנֶפֶשׁ רֹצֵחַ אֲשֶׁר הוּא רָשָׁע לָמוּת" (במדבר לה לא):

1THOU SHALT NOT SUFFER A SORCERESS TO LIVE. In connection with all those who are guilty of death, He has said above: moth yumoth (he shall be surely put to death),²⁷³ meaning he is liable to death, and it is a positive commandment upon us to slay him, based upon the verse which says, And thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee,²⁷⁴ commandment of the execution of all four modes of death penalties. Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam) counted them as four separate commandments. See my translation, “The Commandments,” Vol. I, p. 240. or it may be that this obligation on us is derived from the very expression yumoth (he shall be put to death) which He used in these cases.²⁷⁵ But here, however, He did not say, “a sorceress shall be put to death,” but in this case He warned us in a stricter manner by means of a negative commandment, that we should not suffer her to live.²⁷⁶, pp. 285-286. The reason for this is that the sorceress is defiled of name and full of tumult,²⁷⁷ and fools are mislead by her, therefore He was more stringent and admonished us with a prohibition. We find a similar severity in relation to all those who cause snares for many people, such as that which He said in the case of the misleader after idols, neither shalt thou spare, nor shalt thou conceal him,²⁷⁸ and in the case of a murderer He said, And ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, that is guilty of death.²⁷⁹