Makkot

Makkot (Hebrew: מכות, lashes) is a book of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the fifth volume of the book of Nezikin. Makkot deals primarily with laws of Jewish courts and the punishments which they may administer.

Included in its scope are the topics of:

• Collusive Witnesses (edim zomemim)
• Exile to a "city of refuge"
• Court-administered lashes (malkut)

Sample content

There is a dispute recorded between Rebbi Judah and the other sages as to the maximum amount of lashes a person might receive. Rabbi Judah held the maximum is forty, while the sages say that the maximum is thirty-nine. The Talmud rules in accord with the sages.

The lashes were administered in groups of three, one on the chest and one on the back of each shoulder. Rabbi Judah, who held that forty lashes should be administered, positioned the final strike between the shoulder blades. Since we do not wish to kill the person whom is being lashed, a doctor evaluates how many lashes the convicted can survive (in multiples of three).