φραγελλόω is a Greek rendering of the Latin flagellare ('to whip, scourge'), referring to the brutal Roman practice of flogging prisoners with a leather whip embedded with bone or metal. The verb appears only in the parallel accounts of Pilate's treatment of Jesus before crucifixion. Matthew 27:26 and Mark 15:15 both describe how Pilate, having released Barabbas, 'scourged Jesus' (φραγελλώσας τὸν Ἰησοῦν) before handing him over to be crucified. This was standard Roman procedure before execution, intended to weaken the victim and hasten death on the cross.