2 Corinthians 11:24

Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. We have no account in the Acts of the Apostles, or elsewhere, of any one of these five scourgings, which the apostle underwent from the Jews;

Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Deuteronomy 25:3 ordained that not more than forty stripes should be inflicted.

God, to restrain the passions of his people, which might carry them out to cruelty in the punishments of malefactors, forbade the Jewish magistrates to give any malefactor above forty stripes; ; but they had made an order, that none should receive above thirty-nine. This was amongst their constitions which they called sepimenta legis, hedges to the Divine law; which indeed was a violation of the law: for that did not oblige them to give every malefactor, that had not deserved death, so many stripes; it gave them only a liberty to go so far, but they were not to exceed. Some think, that they punished every such malefactor with thirty-nine stripes: others, more rationally, think, that they did not so, but thirty-nine was the highest number they laid upon any. And it is most probable, that, out of their hatred to the apostle, they laid as many stripes upon him as their constitution would suffer them to do.

24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Ver. 24. Forty stripes save one] That they might be sure not to exceed the set number of stripes, limited by the law, Deuteronomy 25:3.

(24) Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.—None of these are recorded in the Acts. It is probable that the words refer to the early period of his work in Cilicia, which is implied though not recorded in that book. (See Note on Acts 15:41). The number of the stripes in Jewish punishments of this kind rested on the rule of Deu 25:3, which fixed forty as the maximum. In practice it was thought desirable to stop short of the full number in order to avoid exceeding it. The punishment was inflicted with a leather scourge of three knotted thongs, and with a curiously elaborate distribution: thirteen strokes were given on the breast, thirteen on the right shoulder, and thirteen on the left. Thrice was I beaten with rods.—This, as we see in Acts 16:22-23, was distinctively, though, perhaps, not exclusively, a Roman punishment. The instance at Philippi, as above, is the only one recorded in the Acts. As a Roman citizen he could claim exemption from a punishment which was essentially servile (Acts 16:37), and at Jerusalem (Acts 22:25) he asserted this claim; but it may well have happened elsewhere, as at Philippi, either that the reckless haste of Roman officials led them to order the punishment without inquiry; or that they disregarded the appeal, and took their chance of impunity; or that there were reasons which led him to prefer enduring the ignominious punishment in silence, without protest.

Verse 24. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.] That is, he was five times scourged by the Jews, whose law (Deuteronomy 25:3) allowed forty stripes; but they, pretending to be lenient, and to act within the letter of the law, inflicted but thirty-nine. To except one stripe from the forty was a very ancient canon among the Jews, as we learn from Josephus, Antiq. lib. iv. ch. viii. sec. 21, who mentions the same thing: πληγαςμιαςλειπουσηςτεσσαπακοντα· forty stripes, excepting one. The Mishna gives this as a rule, MISH., Maccoth, fol. 22, 10: "How often shall he, the culprit, be smitten? Ans. ארבעים תמר אתר forty stripes, wanting one; i.e. with the number which is highest to forty." Frequently a man was scourged according to his ability to bear the punishment; and it is a canon in the Mishna, "That he who cannot bear forty stripes should receive only eighteen, and yet be considered as having suffered the whole punishment." They also thought it right to stop under forty, lest the person who counted should make a mistake, and the criminal get more than forty stripes, which would be injustice, as the law required only forty. The manner in which this punishment was inflicted is described in the Mishna, fol. 22, 2: "The two hands of the criminal are bound to a post, and then the servant of the synagogue either pulls or tears off his clothes till he leaves his breast and shoulders bare. A stone or block is placed behind him on which the servant stands; he holds in his hands a scourge made of leather, divided into four tails. He who scourges lays one third on the criminal's breast, another third on his right shoulder, and another on his left. The man who receives the punishment is neither sitting nor standing, but all the while stooping; and the man smites with all his strength, with one hand." The severity of this punishment depends on the nature of the scourge, and the strength of the executioner. It is also observed that the Jews did not repeat scourgings except for enormous offences. But they had scourged the apostle five times; for with those murderers no quarter would be given to the disciples, as none was given to the Master. See Schoettgen.

24. Of the Jews] Literally, Under Jews, as though it were a disgrace to them to have treated one of their brethren thus. Cf. St Matthew 10:17.forty stripes save one] Cf. Deuteronomy 25:3. The Mishna (Makkoth, iii. 10 [9]) prescribes that one below the number there mentioned were to be given, clearly, as Maimonides (Commentary in loco and Mishneh Torah, Hilekhoth Synhedrin, xvii. 1) explains, lest by a mistake the prescribed number should be exceeded. Others refer it to the three cords of the scourges, which could only inflict stripes to the extent of some multiple of three. Josephus, Antiq. iv. 8. 21, mentions the custom.

Of the Jews ... - On this verse and the following verse it is of importance to make a few remarks preliminary to the explanation of the phrases: (1) It is admitted that the particulars here referred

24. The Jews—A less honourable epithet than either of the three in 2 Corinthians 11:22, used here to intimate to the Judaizers whence his severest persecutors came.