Chapter 4
PUNISHMENT Its Method and Purpose
Walter Jacob
Aun legal systems need a way of enforcing court decisions; punishment represents one of those means. It may be provided to exact or to circumvent vengeance, to rehabilitate, educate, enforce social norms, maintain class distinctions, exercise power, or for a variety of other reasons. Jewish law also used different methods of enforcement. The reasoning behind them may be clearly stated or implicit.
Effectiveness demanded a system of readily understood punishments and penalties governed by a rationale readily understood by the offender, the injured party, the surviving family, and the broader society. Various periods of Jewish history have seen the judiciary take different paths. The punishments provided rarely indicated the intent of those who imposed it and there was no extended debate of what punishment sought to accomplish. Occasional hints may point to some general theories of punishment. We shall investigate what punishments were used as well
Notes for this section begin on page 60.