Deuteronomy 21:21

21 And the men of his city shall stone him with stones, and he shall die; and thou shalt remove the evil one from yourselves, and the rest shall hear and fear.

Deuteronomy 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 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Deuteronomy 21:21 In-Context

19 then shall his father and his mother take hold of him, and bring him forth to the elders of his city, and to the gate of the place:

20 and they shall say to the men of their city, This our son is disobedient and contentious, he hearkens not to our voice, he is a reveler and a drunkard.

21 And the men of his city shall stone him with stones, and he shall die; and thou shalt remove the evil one from yourselves, and the rest shall hear and fear.

22 And if there be sin in any one, the judgment of death , and he be put to death, and ye hang him on a tree:

23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but ye shall by all means bury it in that day; for every one that is hanged on a tree is cursed of God; and ye shall by no means defile the land which the Lord thy God gives thee for an inheritance.