Deuteronomy 25:3 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-4

Here is, I. A direction to the judges in scourging malefactors, Deut. 25:1-3. 1. It is here supposed that, if a man be charged with a crime, the accuser and the accused (Actor and Reus) should be brought face to face before the judges, that the controversy may be determined. 2. If a man were accused of a crime, and the proof fell short, so that the charge could not be made out against him by the evidence, then he was to be acquitted: ?Thou shalt justify the righteous,? that is, ?him that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:3

Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed ,.... And that this number might not be exceeded, it is ordered by the Jewish canons that only thirty nine should be given; for it is asked F2 Misn. Maccot, c. 3. sect. 10. Vid. Buxtorf. Synagog. Jud. c. 25. p. 522, 523. ,"with how many stripes do they beat him? with forty, save one, as it is said, in number "forty" that is, in the number which is next to forty;'this they make out by joining the last word of Deuteronomy 25:2 with the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 25:3

Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed - According to God's institution a criminal may receive forty stripes; not one more! But is the institution from above or not, that for any offense sentences a man to receive three hundred, yea, a thousand stripes? What horrible brutality is this! and what a reproach to human nature, and to the nation in which such shocking barbarities are exercised and tolerated! Most of the inhabitants of Great Britain have heard of Lord Macartney's embassy to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-3

EXPOSITION LAWS RELATING TO CORPORAL PUNISHMENT , LEVIRATE MARRIAGES , AND WEIGHTS AND MEASURES . The first and second verses should be read as one sentence, of which the protasis is in Deuteronomy 25:1 and the apodosis in Deuteronomy 25:2 , thus: If there be a strife between men, and they come to judgment, and they ( i . e . the judges) give judgment on them, and justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked, then it shall be, if the wicked deserve... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-3

Humanity to be respected in judicial inflictions. This passage is an interesting illustration of the restraints which the Law of Moses puts on the Hebrews, as to the semi-barbarous customs of other nations. It is well known that punishment by bastinado was common among the ancient Egyptians. It would be not unnaturally adopted by the Hebrews. There are here three matters to be noticed. 1. Here is a principle to be recognized ( Deuteronomy 25:1 ). 2. The punishment 3. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-3

The bastinado. Professor W. R. Smith regards this law of stripes as indicating a late date for Deuteronomy. He argues from the customs of the free Bedouins. But it is perilous to reason from the customs of the Bedouins to the punishments in vogue among a people who had lived some centuries in Egypt, where, as is well-known, the bastinado was in constant use. The sculptures at Beni-Hassan represent the very scene here described. We learn— I. THAT IT IS THE FUNCTION OF CIVIL... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-3

Earthly magistracy an argument for the heavenly. It is not conceivable that God should have taken such pains, through Moses, to secure pure administration of justice in earthly courts, unless he had established a like court of judicature in heaven. So far as the will of God is embodied in the judicial procedure on earth, it is copied from the pattern of heavenly things. I. A JUDICIAL COURT IS CREATED FOR THE DISCRIMINATION OF HUMAN CHARACTER . The purpose of all... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-3

Corporal punishment. We have here directions given for the punishment of criminals. As the Hebrews had no gaol system, a properly graduated corporal punishment supplied most effectively its place. Moses here directs the judges to look carefully into the case, and to assign a certain number of stripes, which are never to exceed forty, the chastisement being given in the presence of the judge. Thus the largest measure of equity was introduced into their penal system. I. RETRIBUTION OF... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 25:3

The Jews to keep within the letter of the law fixed 39 stripes as the maximum (compare the marginal reference.). Forty signifies the full measure of judgment (compare Genesis 7:12; Numbers 14:33-34); but the son of Israel was not to be lashed like a slave at the mercy of another. The judge was always to be present to see that the Law in this particular was not overpassed. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Deuteronomy 25:3

Deuteronomy 25:3. Forty stripes he may give him The law of Moses very wisely limited the number of stripes, lest severe judges should order delinquents to be lashed to death, as was often done among the Romans, than which, perhaps, a more cruel kind of death can hardly be devised. And it seems not to have been superstition, but prudent caution, in the Jews, when they would not exceed thirty-nine stripes, lest, through mistake or forgetfulness, they should go beyond the bounds which they... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:3

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 25:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-3

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-3

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-3

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-3

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 25:1-3

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 25:3

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Deuteronomy 25:3

Group of Brands