Devarim 21:21

21 And all the men of his town shall stone him with avanim (stones), that he die; so shalt thou put harah away from among you; and all Yisroel shall hear and fear.

Devarim 21:21 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 21:21

And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that
he die
The populace; that is, after his trial is finished, and he is condemned to die; and he was not stoned until the three first judges were there (by whom he was admonished, and ordered to be beaten), as it it said, "this is our son", this is he that was beaten before you F6; and according to the Targum of Jonathan,

``if he feared (God, and showed any token of repentance) and received instruction, and they (his parents) desired to preserve him alive, they preserved him; but if he refused and was rebellious, then they stoned him;''

but the Jews say this law, and that of retaliation, were never put into execution:

so shalt thou put away evil from among you;
put a stop to, and prevent such an evil for the future, and remove the guilt of it; or, as the Targum of Jonathan, him that doeth that evil:

and all Israel shall hear, and fear;
it being to be publicly notified throughout the land, that such an one suffered death for such a crime, which would be a means of deterring others from the same; so Jarchi remarks,

``here (says he) a proclamation was necessary to be made by the sanhedrim, as that such an one was stoned because he was stubborn and rebellious;''

for the mystical sense of this see ( Ephesians 2:2 ) ( Colossians 3:6 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F6 Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 3. sect. 4.

Devarim 21:21 In-Context

19 Then shall his av and his em lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the zekenim of his town, and unto the sha’ar (gate) of his place;
20 And they shall say unto the zekenim of his town, This our ben is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a zolel (glutton) and a soveh (drunkard).
21 And all the men of his town shall stone him with avanim (stones), that he die; so shalt thou put harah away from among you; and all Yisroel shall hear and fear.
22 And if an ish have committed a chet (sin) mishpat mavet (worthy of death), and he is put to death, and thou hang him on an etz;
23 His nevelah shall not remain all night upon the etz, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; for he that is talui (hanged) is under Kilelat Elohim (curse of G-d); that thy adamah be not defiled, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee for a nachalah [see 2Sm 18:14; Yn 19:31; Ga 3:13].
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.