For the source text click/tap here: Makkot 22
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As the name of the tractate – Massekhet Makkot – and the name of the perek – Elu hen ha-lokin – imply the focus of the Gemara’s discussion is on the punishment of makkot – lashes.
The Mishna on our daf asks: How many lashes will a person receive if he is found guilty and sentenced to lashes?
According to the Mishna, the standard penalty of makkot is 39 lashes, although the defendant is first examined to ensure that he can withstand that punishment.
If he cannot then he will be given as many as the court believes that he will be able to endure (although it will always be a number divisible by three, since the lashes were given in groups of three). Rabbi Yehuda teaches that the convicted man receives 40 lashes, as is clearly written in the Torah – see Deut 25:4.