Answers about
scourging
also known as: whipping, flogging, lashing, lashes
Whips and scourges are mentioned a number of times in Scripture as a form of corporal punishment.
…my father disciplined you with whips, but I [Rehoboam] will discipline you with scorpions. —1 Kings 12:11 excerpt; 2 Chronicles 10:11
The Israelite slaves in Egypt were whipped by their masters.
The wounds caused by such punishments are called stripes.
Jewish flogging (malkot)
The Jews also used whips for punishment. The whip was usually a strap made of calf or donkey hide, double-layered, one handbreadth wide. Unlike Roman flagrum whip, there were no vicious metal or bone attachments to the tips.
Old Testament law limited Jewish flogging to a maximum of 40 lashes (Deuteronomy 25:3), often 39 to avoid exceeding it (2 Corinthians 11:24).
Procedure:
- Purpose: Correction for sinful actions of a serious nature. The aim was to restore the person’s dignity post-punishment.
- Victim stripped partially, bent forward, hands tied to post/column.
- The blows were administered by a synagogue attendant in the presence of judges.
- Distribution: 1/3 of the blows to the chest, and 2/3 on the back/shoulders. Divided into sets of 13, with a judge reciting verses (e.g., penitential psalms).
- Physician assesses wounds: if there is noticeable health risk or risk of death, the lashes are reduced—even to few.
In the time of the Apostles, in consequence of the passing of what was called the Porcian law, no Roman citizen could be scourged in any case (Acts 16:22-37). (See Bastinado.)
Paul endured Jewish 39 lashes five times (2 Corinthians 11:24) and faced Roman scourging attempts (Acts 22:25). He was a Roman citizen.
Jesus scourged
Jesus was scourged by Roman order before crucifixion (John 19:1; Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15). This was a severe physical punishment, despite the fact that He had done nothing wrong.
In the scourging of our Lord (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15) the words of prophecy were fulfilled (Isaiah 53:5). Roman scourging was severe and brought one close to death.
Roman scourging used the flagrum (or flagellum), a short whip with 2–3 (sometimes more) leather thongs or cords attached to a handle. Thongs often incorporated:
- Small metal balls (plumbatae), sheep bones, or sharp fragments
- Knots, bronze pieces, or hooks (called “scorpions” when hooked)
Victims were stripped naked, and tied to a post or column. Lictors (soldiers) flogged their back, buttocks, and legs—sometimes front—without fixed limit (unlike Jewish 40 maximum). This was severe torture that weakened near death, ripped flesh, and exposed muscle and bone.
“By His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).
Temple moneychangers
Jesus Christ made an impromptu scourge to chase the sinful moneychangers out of the Temple.
And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; —John 2:15
Early Christians
Faithful Christians endured mocking and flogging (Hebrews 11:36) in an attempt to get them to deny their faith.
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