Makkot (Hebrew:מַכּוֹת,romanized: Makkoṯ,lit. 'Lashes') is a tractate of theMishnah andTalmud. It is the fifth volume of the order ofNezikin. Makkot deals primarily with laws of thebeth din (halakhic courts) and the punishments which they may administer and may be regarded as a continuation of tractateSanhedrin, of which it originally formed part.[1]
In its scope of application are the topics of:
The third chapter of Makkot enumerates 59 offenses, each entailing lashes (Malkot). Of these, three are marital sins of priests; four, prohibitedintermarriages; seven, sexual relations of anincestuous nature; eight, violations ofdietary laws; twelve, various breaches of the negative precepts; twenty-five, abuses ofLevitical statutes and vows. When the offense persists, the punishment depends on the number of forewarnings (see''hatra'ah''). The Mishnah gives 39 as the maximum number of stripes the court may impose for any one misdemeanor, but the convict must be examined as to their physical ability to endure the full count without endangering their life. The convict is bound in a bent position to a post, and the public executioner administers the punishment with a leather strap while one of the judges recites appropriate scriptural verses: Deuteronomy 28:58–59 and 29:8 and Psalm 78:38. Anyone guilty of a sin which is punished bykareth ("excision") may be cleared by flagellation. The author of this[which?]midrash, Hanina ben Gamaliel, adds, "If by the commission of a sin one forfeits his soul before God, so much the more reason is there for the belief that, by a meritorious deed, such as voluntary submission to punishment, his soul is saved."
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Makkot".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
