Bible Dictionary
Stripes
Stripes were blows inflicted as judicial punishment. Mosaic law limited the number of lashes, later observed by the Jews as thirty-nine, and Jesus and Paul are both recorded as having endured scourging or beating.
Definition
Stripes were blows inflicted as judicial punishment. Under the Mosaic law, the number of blows was not to exceed forty, which led to the Jewish practice of limiting the punishment to thirty-nine. Stripes could also be inflicted by Roman authorities.
Biblical Usage
Paul stated that he had received forty stripes minus one from the Jews and claimed the privilege of Roman citizenship when officials attempted to beat him. Jesus was beaten with stripes before His crucifixion.
Historical Background
The limitation of the punishment to thirty-nine blows arose from the legal maximum of forty. The supplied material treats stripes as a recognized form of punishment in Jewish and Roman settings.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
As a punishment were not to exceed forty (Deut. 25:1-3), and hence arose the custom of limiting them to thirty-nine (2 Cor. 11:24). Paul claimed the privilege of a Roman citizen in regard to the infliction of stripes (Acts 16:37, 38; 22:25-29). Our Lord was beaten with stripes (Matt. 27:26).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
[Punishments]
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>strips.</p><p>See PUNISHMENTS.</p>