Makkot

Makkot deals primarily with laws of the beth din (halachic courts) and the punishments which they may administer, and may be regarded as a continuation of tractate Sanhedrin, 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.

Of these, three are marital sins of priests; four, prohibited inter-marriages; seven, sexual relations of an incestuous nature; eight, violations of dietary laws; twelve, various violations of the negative precepts; twenty-five, abuses of Levitical laws and vows.

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 his physical ability to endure the full count without endangering his life.

The convict is bound in 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 (Deut.