Deuteronomy 21:18-21

The punishment of an incorrigible child 21:18-21

The previous ordinance guarded a son from a capricious father. This one maintained the rights of parents whose son (or daughter, presumably) was incorrigible. While the problem in view was one of lack of respect for parents (the fifth commandment), the offense could result in the death of the child (the sixth commandment).

This case presupposes a long history of rebelliousness. The son had become a glutton and a drunkard (Deuteronomy 21:20). That is, he had developed a lifestyle of deviant behavior. Before loving parents would take the step available to them in this law they would doubtless try every other measure to secure their son’s correction. This was the last resort for the parents. This law withheld the right of parents to slay their children for rebelliousness while at the same time preserving parental authority fully.

Commenting on the terms "stubborn" and "rebellious," David Marcus wrote the following.

"Both terms form a hendiadys to indicate a juvenile delinquent. Now when one examines how these terms are used in the Hebrew Bible one sees that they belong to the didactic vocabulary of biblical literature. [Note: Weinfeld, p. 303.] They generally connote disobedience, in particular in Israel’s relationship to God. (The pertinent references may be found in Bellefontaine’s article [see below] from which the present author has greatly profited.) For example, in Psalms 78:8 the generation of the desert is termed sorer umoreh [stubborn rebellious]. Isaiah castigates the people for being sorer and following its own way (Isaiah 65:2). Jeremiah proclaims that Israel has a heart which is sorer umoreh (Jeremiah 5:23). Israel is portrayed as rebellious and disloyal, and in so doing repudiating its God and its relationship with him. [Note: Elizabeth Bellefontaine, "Deuteronomy 21:18-21: Reviewing the Case of the Rebellious Son," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 13 (July 1979):18.] In like manner, the son, by being rebellious and disloyal, has repudiated his parents and his relationship with them. The authority of the parents has been rejected by the son since he has refused to obey them. The son, in renouncing his relationship with his parents, has effectively declared, if not by his words, then certainly by his deeds, what the adopted son in the Mesopotamian adoption contracts says when he abrogates his contract, ’I am not your son; you are not my parents’ (Ibid., 17)." [Note: David Marcus, "Juvenile Delinquency in the Bible and the Ancient Near East," Journal of the Near Eastern Society of Columbia University 13 (1981):47.]

It may appear at first that God was commanding the Israelites to exercise less grace with their own children than He showed the whole nation. However, God had previously promised never to cut off His people (Genesis 12:1-3). The Israelites were to be God’s instruments of judgment in many specific situations, as we have already seen in Deuteronomy. The punishment of sinners, be they Canaanites or Israelites, for specific types of sin, was imperative for Israel to fulfill God’s purpose for her in the world (Exodus 19:5-6).

This legislation teaches us that parents should put their love for God above their love for their children.