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Bible Dictionaries
Scourge
People's Dictionary of the Bible
or Scourge. Deuteronomy 25:1-3. An instrument of punishment in Egypt and Rome. The number of stripes was limited by Moses to forty; which the Jews, in later times, were so careful not to exceed, that they inflicted only thirty-nine. Deuteronomy 25:3; 2 Corinthians 11:24. There were two ways of scourging; one with thongs or whips; the other with rods or twigs. Sometimes sharp iron points or sharp-cornered pieces of metal were fastened to the end of the thongs, to render the suffering still more extreme. The punishment was inflicted on the offender lying on the ground. Exodus 21:20; Leviticus 19:20; Deuteronomy 22:18; Proverbs 10:13; Proverbs 13:24; Proverbs 20:30; Proverbs 23:13-14; Psalms 89:32. In later times the offender was tied by his arms to a pillar, and his back laid bare to the virgœ or rods of the lictor. To this degrading punishment no Roman citizen could be subjected. Matthew 10:17; Matthew 27:26; John 2:15; Acts 16:23; Acts 22:25; Acts 26:11; Hebrews 11:35.
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Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'Scourge'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/rpd/s/scourge.html. 1893.
