Deuteronomy 21:18
in Deuteronomy 21If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them;
KJV
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
⋯
This verse in Deuteronomy 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
If a man has two wives
on Deuteronomy 21:15-21
Both household laws take the matter out of the father's hands. The firstborn keeps “a double portion” whatever the father prefers, and Albert Barnes notes he could still set it aside for cause but not for favour. A stubborn son is brought by both parents to the elders, and tractate Sanhedrin narrows the conditions so far that it records the opinion that no such case was tried.
This site's exposition
a stubborn and rebellious son
The charge rests on a pattern: the father and mother have disciplined their son, and he will still refuse to listen. Henry notes that no son came under this law for a slow mind, only for a settled will against both parents. Discipline came first.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureDisputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Because the written law was a law of rigor, it not only approves this threefold obedience, but also punishes transgressors of this obedience. For it punishes the rebellious son, Deuteronomy 21: If a man beget a rebellious and insolent son, who does not heed his …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The stubborn, rebellious, gluttonous, and drunken son is to be stoned to death - This law, severe as it may seem, must have acted as a powerful preventive of crime. If such a law were in force now, and duly executed, how many deaths of disobedient and profligate children would there be in all corners of the land!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The formal accusation of parents against a child was to be received without inquiry, as being its own proof. Thus the just authority of the parents is recognized and effectually upheld (compare Exo 20:12; Exo 21:15, Exo 21:17; Lev 20:9); but the extreme and irresponsible power of life and death, conceded by the law of Rome and other pagan nations, is withheld from the Israelite father. In this, as in the last law, provision is made against the abuses of a necessary authority.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | he will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְאִ֗ישׁ | leish | to anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בֵּ֚ן | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| סוֹרֵ֣ר | sorer | stubborn | H5637 → | |
| וּמוֹרֶ֔ה | umoreh | and rebellious | H4784 → | 45 times |
| אֵינֶ֣נּוּ | ʾeinenu | not he | H369 → | 789 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֔עַ | shomea' | [is] listening | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּק֥וֹל | bekol | to [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| אָבִ֖יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וּבְק֣וֹל | uvekol | and to [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| אִמּ֑וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| וְיסְּר֣וּ | veyiseru | and they will discipline | H3256 → | 43 times |
| אֹת֔וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשְׁמַ֖ע | yishma' | he will listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יִהְיֶ֣הhe will belong
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְאִ֗ישׁto anyone
leishH376 →1663 times
בֵּ֚ןa son
benH1121 →4930 times
סוֹרֵ֣רstubborn
sorerH5637 →
וּמוֹרֶ֔הand rebellious
umorehH4784 →45 times
אֵינֶ֣נּוּnot he
ʾeinenuH369 →789 times
שֹׁמֵ֔עַ[is] listening
shomea'H8085 →1159 times
בְּק֥וֹלto [the] voice of
bekolH6963 →506 times
אָבִ֖יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
וּבְק֣וֹלand to [the] voice of
uvekolH6963 →506 times
אִמּ֑וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
וְיסְּר֣וּand they will discipline
veyiseruH3256 →43 times
אֹת֔וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִשְׁמַ֖עhe will listen
yishma'H8085 →1159 times
אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃to them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 20:12Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:1–3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Colossians 3:20
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 5:16
Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the…
- Mark 7:10
For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
- Proverbs 23:22–25
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
- Ephesians 6:1–3
Through
Leviticus 19:3Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- Exodus 20:8
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Hebrews 12:9
Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?
- Exodus 20:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.