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.
He may give him forty lashes, but no more than that. If he goes beyond this and beats him with many more lashes, then your fellow person would be degraded in your sight.
This verse sets a limit on physical punishment to prevent someone from being dehumanized through excessive beating.
📚 Historical Context
This law was part of Moses' instructions to the Israelites about judicial punishment in their courts. In the ancient Near East, physical punishment was common, but this regulation limited beatings to prevent cruel and excessive punishment. The forty-stripe limit (which Jewish tradition later reduced to thirty-nine to avoid accidentally exceeding) was meant to maintain human dignity even in punishment.
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