Although each of these forms of punishment used were primarily applied to the individual found guilty, in the medieval period they were applied to the family through various forms of the ban. Many questioned this broader application of punishment and its effect; however, the practical consideration of its effectiveness in difficult times led to its intermittent use.
The considerations here mentioned were used as justification for punishment throughout our long history. They vary from the ideal to the highly utilitarian; as one looks at the literature and the authorities who mention these justifications, we see that the nature of the times and the nature of the personalities played a major role in determining which rationale was emphasized. The talmudic authorities and their later medieval successors rarely present us with any discussion of a theory of punishment or with a listing of alternative rationales. In fact in most instances when a rationale has been given at all, it was incidental to the punishment. Only when asked whether the sentence would have an adverse affect on the community or the individual was a rationale presented at all. Those who made the decisions were more interested in the task of practical leadership for their community than in a theory of criminology. Those who wrote codes wished to present a concise synopsis of the vast fields of the halakhah and, with the exception of Maimonides , added little theoretical material to their volumes. The great debates about the nature and purpose of punishment at human hands existed only in rudimentary forms.
The biblical efforts were intended to remove punishment from the hands of the individual through a system of courts and this succeeded. The courts and the law which accompanied them took care of all disputes. Both were firmly established; the power and authority of the halakhah, became firmly rooted, so that anarchy never reigned even in the worst of times. This was relatively easy in periods of independence or when a high degree of autonomy was given to the Jewish community and, to a lesser degree, in ages when submission to the will of the courts was voluntary. The punishments, of course, had to be tailored to the conditions which prevailed.
Human punishment through courts dampened the desire for vengeance. We see this especially with the treatment of murder and physical injury. Equally important, it leveled the ground between the powerful and well-connected and the ordinary human being. Justice, ultimately, in the hands of God , could be