Deuteronomy Chapter 25

“If there be a controversy between men, etc.] Between two or more: and they come unto judgment; into a court of judicature, bring their cause thither: that [the judges] may judge them; who were never less than three; the great sanhedrim at Jerusalem consisted of seventy one, the lesser court was of twenty three, and the least of all three only: then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked: acquit the one, whose cause is good, and condemn the other to punishment, who is guilty of a crime, and as that deserves; which is to do righteous judgment; the contrary to this is an abomination to the Lord,…”

“STRIPES MUST NOT EXCEED FORTY. (Deu. 25:1-19) if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten--In judicial sentences, which awarded punishment short of capital, scourging, like the Egyptian bastinado, was the most common form in which they were executed. The Mosaic law, however, introduced two important restrictions; namely: (1) The punishment should be inflicted in presence of the judge instead of being inflicted in private by some heartless official; and (2) The maximum amount of it should be limited to forty stripes, instead of being awarded according to the arbitrary will or passion of the magistrate. The Egyptian,…”

“Render it: (1) If there be a controversy between men, and they come to judgment, and the judges judge them, and justify the righteous and condemn the wicked (compare the marginal reference. and Exodus 23:7; Proverbs 17:15); (2) then it shall be, etc. Deuteronomy 25:2 Scourging is named as a penalty in Leviticus 19:20. The beating here spoken of would be on the back with a rod or stick (compare Proverbs 10:13; Proverbs 19:29; Proverbs 26:3). return to 'Top of Page'”

“Justify - Acquit him from guilt and false accusations, and free him from punishment. Deuteronomy 25:2”

“25:3 At a flogging, the maximum number of strikes allowed was forty lashes. Fewer could be applied depending on the case (25:2). As people created in the image of God, even wrongdoers were entitled to mercy and respect. In later Judaism, thirty-nine lashes were given (see 2 Cor 11:24 and note).”

“Deu 16:18-20, Deu 17:8, Deu 17:9, Deu 19:17-19; Exo 23:6, Exo 23:7; Sa2 23:3; Ch2 19:6-10; Job 29:7-17; Psa 58:1, Psa 58:2, Psa 82:2-4; Pro 17:15, Pro 31:8, Pro 31:9; Isa 1:17, Isa 1:23; Isa 5:23, Isa 11:4, Isa 32:1, Isa 32:2; Jer 21:12; Eze 44:24; Mic 3:1, Mic 3:2; Hab 1:4, Hab 1:13; Mal 3:18; Mat 3:10 Deuteronomy 25:2”

“Corporal Punishment. - The rule respecting the corporal punishment to be inflicted upon a guilty man is introduced in Deu 25:1 with the general law, that in a dispute between two men the court was to give right to the man who was right, and to pronounce the guilty man guilty (cf. Exo 22:8 and Exo 23:7). Deu 25:2 If the guilty man was sentenced to stripes, he was to receive his punishment in the presence of the judge, and not more than forty stripes, that he might not become contemptible in the eyes of the people. הכּות בּן, son of stripes, i.e., a man liable to stripes, like son (child) of death, in Sa1 20:31.…”