Exodus 20:12
in Exodus 20Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
KJV
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
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This verse in Exodus 20
Commentary
20 notes on this verseThe formation of the children is then the prerogative of the parents. Therefore honor your father, that he may bless you. Let the godly man honor his father out of gratitude and the ingrate do so on account of fear. Even if the father is poor and does not have plenty of resources to leave to his sons, still he has the heritage of his final blessing with which he may bestow the wealth of sanctification on his descendants. And it is a far greater thing to be blessed than it is to be rich.
This site's exposition
Honor your father and mother
The promise attaches to length of days upon the land, given to a people who have no land yet. Ephesians 6:2 calls this the first commandment with promise.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
It's your parents you see when you first open your eyes, and it is their friendship that lays down the first strands of this life. If anyone fails to honor his parents, is there anyone he will spare?
It's your parents you see when you first open your eyes, and it is their friendship that lays down the first strands of this life. If anyone fails to honor his parents, is there anyone he will spare?
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 11.9 · Written before 253.
proposed
And God said, "Honor your father and your mother," teaching that the child should pay the honor which is due to his parents. Of this honor to parents one part was to share with them the necessaries of life, such as food and clothing, and if there was any other thing in which it was possible for them to show favor toward their own parents.
And again, who would deny that the command which says, "Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you," is useful quite apart from any spiritual interpretation and that it ought certainly to be observed, especially when we remember that the apostle Paul has quoted it in the same words?
[The Lord] declares that [this commandment] is to be interpreted not of mere words, which while offering an empty show of regard may still leave a parent's wants unrelieved, but by the actual provision of the necessaries of life. The Lord commanded that poor parents should be supported by their children and that these should pay them back when old for those benefits which they had themselves received in their childhood.
13 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
So if you are afraid your son won't take care of you once he has his hands on the money, you are in fact making filial piety a commodity for sale, not a quality to be loved. How much better a poor man's son, the son, for instance, of an old man in the direst poverty, who expects nothing from his father because he hasn't got anything he can leave him but who all the same supports his father with his labor and the sweat of his brow. Sometimes, of course, the children of rich people too take the fear of God seriously, and that's why they show consideration to their parents, not because they expect something from them but because they are their parents who brought them into the world and brought them up, and God gave a commandment which says "Honor your father and your mother." But where the reward is there for all to see, the genuineness of their sentiments is not so obvious.
The Medieval Church9 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The precepts are ordered according to their nobility; and beneficence is better than innocence: therefore the commandment of beneficence is placed before the commandment of innocence; and it was handed down to the Jews synecdochically thus: Honor your father and your mother. And here is …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Beneficence toward every kind of person is commanded. Father names the person in whom there is a preeminent character of authority, seniority, and amiability. In natural being, the son is not coequal with the father. First I say, in the father there is authority: and …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
So that you may better retain this in mind, I shall tell you two examples: one good, about a man who honored his mother, and another evil and cruel, about a man who did not honor his father. There was a certain great and famous …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
In the second tablet are contained seven commandments ordering us toward neighbor, which are signified by two precepts of the natural law, namely: do to another what you wish to be done to you; do not do to another what you do not wish to …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The fourth plague was of dog-flies, by which the impious were struck, who have among themselves dog-flies, that is, carnal affections.
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
And because the lower portion of the soul is informed by the higher and is given to it as a help, it is necessary that the lower have commandments by which it would be conformed to the higher, so that it behave piously, truly and …
Perfection for man consists in the love of God and of neighbor. Now, the three Commandments which were written on the first tablet pertain to the love of God; for the love of neighbor there were the seven Commandments on the second tablet. But we …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The fourth plague was of dog-flies, by which the impious were struck, who have among themselves dog-flies, that is, carnal affections.
But because the neighbor is an image of the Trinity, and to him, insofar as he bears the image of the Father, piety is owed: insofar as he bears the image of the Son, truthfulness is owed, insofar as he bears the image of the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
As religion towards God is, an essential branch of universal righteousness, so righteousness towards men is an essential branch of true religion: godliness and honesty must go together.
Honour thy father and thy mother, &c.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Honor thy father and thy mother - There is a degree of affectionate respect which is owing to parents, that no person else can properly claim. For a considerable time parents stand as it were in the place of God to their children, and therefore rebellion against their lawful commands has been considered as rebellion against God. This precept therefore prohibits, not only all injurious acts, irreverent and unkind speeches to parents, but enjoins all necessary acts of kindness, filial respect, and obedience.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Having finished all that we are obligated towards the Creator Himself and His glory, He turns now to command us about those matters which concern created beings.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The verse is stating that the Sabbath-day will be blessed and hallowed because He has commanded to bless it and glorify it by remembering it.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כַּבֵּ֥ד | kabed | honor | H3513 → | 113 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אָבִ֖יךָ | ʾavikha | father your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִמֶּ֑ךָ | ʾimekha | mother your | H517 → | 220 times |
| לְמַ֙עַן֙ | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| יַאֲרִכ֣וּן | yaarikhun | they may be long ! | H748 → | |
| יָמֶ֔יךָ | yameikha | days your | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| עַ֚ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאֲדָמָ֔ה | haadamah | the land | H127 → | 225 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| נֹתֵ֥ן | noten | [is] about to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָֽךְ׃ ס | lakh | to <the> you |
כַּבֵּ֥דhonor
kabedH3513 →113 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אָבִ֖יךָfather your
ʾavikhaH1 →1212 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אִמֶּ֑ךָmother your
ʾimekhaH517 →220 times
לְמַ֙עַן֙so that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
יַאֲרִכ֣וּןthey may be long !
yaarikhunH748 →
יָמֶ֔יךָdays your
yameikhaH3117 →2304 times
עַ֚לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
הָאֲדָמָ֔הthe land
haadamahH127 →225 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
נֹתֵ֥ן[is] about to give
notenH5414 →2011 times
לָֽךְ׃ סto <the> you
lakh
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
Colossians 3:20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
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.
- Deuteronomy 27:16
‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 6:20
My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
- Matthew 15:4–6
For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
- Matthew 19:19
honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”
- Ephesians 6:1–3
Through
Deuteronomy 5:16Honor 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…
it leads to
- Colossians 3:20
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
- Mark 10:19
You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat others, honor your father and mother.’”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Colossians 3:20
Through
Mark 7:10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
it leads to
- Exodus 21:17
Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
- Exodus 21:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies28
On this verse
On this chapter
- You Shall Not Covet
- Creation and Evolution
- The Creation Week
- Egypt
- Generational Curses
- How Scripture Shapes Christian Ethics
Show the next 6 titles
About Exodus
This page draws on 17 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, THE PATRIARCHS 1.1; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 9.7; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 45.2; Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 5; Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 1; Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 7; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21; Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 5; Jerome, LETTER 123.6; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 11.9; Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 4.3.4 and Thomas Aquinas, Explanation of the Ten Commandments.