The fifth commandment

Deuteronomy 25.1-3

“If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to the offense. Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.”

It’s not clear for what cause a transgressor might deserve to beaten. If we keep in mind the “eye for an eye” character of Old Testament justice, beatings may have been inflicted on those who did bodily harm to another. The beating may have been a substitute, for example, for putting out someone’s eye or breaking one of his bones.

This retributive form of justice was harsh, but necessary, at least, for this period of Israel’s history. Note, however, that the punishment must be carefully measured. Justice was meant to restore order and social harmony, not to humiliate offenders or to leave them permanently degraded in the eyes of their neighbors. Once the judgment was made and the penalty inflicted, the community would consider that justice had been done, and people could then get on with their lives. How unlike this system is our own, which creates an enduring stigma for those sentenced to time in jail or prison.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.