Tag Archives: Deuteronomy 25:3

“Forty Stripes He May Give Him, He Shall Not Add”: Legal Limits and Syntactic Boundaries in Deuteronomy 25:3

אַרְבָּעִ֥ים יַכֶּ֖נּוּ לֹ֣א יֹסִ֑יף פֶּן־יֹסִ֨יף לְהַכֹּתֹ֤ו עַל־אֵ֨לֶּה֙ מַכָּ֣ה רַבָּ֔ה וְנִקְלָ֥ה אָחִ֖יךָ לְעֵינֶֽיךָ׃ (Deuteronomy 25:3) He shall strike him forty times; he shall not add more, lest he continue to strike him with many blows beyond these, and your brother be degraded in your eyes. Justice, Mercy, and the Limits of Punishment Deuteronomy 25:3 addresses the punishment of a guilty person by flogging, setting a maximum number of lashes to prevent public degradation. This law encapsulates the Torah’s unique combination of justice and compassion, and the Hebrew syntax reflects this balance.… Learn Hebrew
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