Exodus 21:17

17 "Whoever curses his father or mother must be put to death.

Exodus 21:17 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 21:17

And he that curseth his father, or his mother
Though he does not smite them with his hand, or with any instrument in it, yet if he smites them with his tongue, reviles and reproaches them, speaks evil of them, wishes dreadful imprecations upon them, curses them by the name explained, as the Targum of Jonathan calls it, by the name Jehovah, wishing the Lord would curse them, or that his curse might light upon them, see ( Proverbs 20:20 ) ( 30:17 ) ,

shall surely be put to death;
or be killed with casting stones on him, as the Targum of Jonathan, or with stoning; so Jarchi, who observes, that wherever it is said, "his blood be upon him", it is meant of stoning, as it is of the man that curses his father or his mother, ( Leviticus 20:9 ) which was after this manner, the place of stoning was two cubits high, to which the malefactor with his hands bound was brought; from whence one of the witnesses against him cast him down headlong, of which, if he did not die, then they took up stones and cast on him, and if he died not through them, then all Israel came and stoned him; that is, the multitude upon the spot: this verse in the Septuagint version follows ( Exodus 21:15 ) , with which it agrees, both respecting the same persons.

Exodus 21:17 In-Context

15 "Whoever hits his father or mother must be put to death.

16 "Whoever kidnaps another person must be put to death, whether he has sold the kidnapped person or still has him.

17 "Whoever curses his father or mother must be put to death.

18 "This is what you must do whenever men quarrel and one hits the other with a rock or with his fist and injures him so that he has to stay in bed.

19 If the injured man can get up again and walk around outside with a cane, the one who hit him must not be punished. He must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and for all his medical expenses.