“Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.”
Forty lashes may be given but not more; if more lashes than these are given, your neighbor will be degraded in your sight — the upper limit is forty strokes; the rabbinic tradition reduced this to thirty-nine to avoid accidental violation. The dignity of the person punished is preserved; beyond forty lashes, punishment becomes torture and degradation.
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