All of the mefarshim are bothered by this, why was Tamar chayav שריפה? Rashi says that she was the daughter of שם and therefore a בת כהן (against the Gemara in סוטה), but in any case even so the din of שריפה should not apply.
The בעל הטורים quotes a fascinating pshat in the name of R' Yehuda Hachassid. He says that they were not going to kill her, rather they were going to burn a mark on her forehead to mark her as a prostitute.
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But, of course, such an answer only begs the question. How does the Baal Haturim (or R. Yehudah HaChassid) then justify that punishment?
Obviously because it's before Matan Torah, the punishments aren't necessarily controlled by Torah either.
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