TT #625 · Parashas Ki Seitzei · Seventh Aliyah · Passuk 25:03
Forty times he shall strike him; he shall not add, lest he continue to strike him beyond these with a great blow, and your brother be degraded before your eyes.
Torah Temimah points to Makkot 22b.
TT lemma: אַרְבָּעִים יַכֶּנּוּ.
English: ‘Forty times he shall strike him’ – how many do they flog him? Forty less one. As it is stated ‘by a number of forty’ – a number that sums up to (i.e., approaches but does not reach) forty.
Derash on word order (Bavli) — the construct ‘number of forty’ is read as a number that bounds forty rather than equaling it.
The maximum number of lashes is thirty-nine, not forty. The Torah’s wording limits the court so that it never risks exceeding the stated limit.