Bible Dictionary
Bastinado
Bastinado was a form of beating or scourging used as punishment. Israelite law limited the number of blows to forty, protecting the offender from excessive punishment.
Definition
Bastinado was a form of beating or scourging used as punishment in the East. Biblical law regulated the punishment and limited the number of blows so that the offender would not be excessively beaten.
Biblical Usage
Scripture refers to this punishment through expressions such as the rod of correction, scourging, and chastisement. The Mosaic law set the maximum at forty blows.
Historical Background
Bastinado was a recognized mode of corporal punishment. Its legal limitation shows that, although beating was permitted, excessive punishment was restricted.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Beating, a mode of punishment common in the East. It is referred to by “the rod of correction” (Prov. 22:15), “scourging” (Lev. 19:20), “chastising” (Deut. 22:18). The number of blows could not exceed forty (Deut. 25:2, 3).