Deuteronomy 21:19

19 In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate.

Deuteronomy 21:19 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 21:19

Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him
With their own hands, or cause him to be apprehended by others, in which they were to agree, and which the Jews gather from hence;

``if (say they ^F25) the father is willing (to bring him to justice), and the mother not willing, if his father is not willing and the mother is willing, he is not reckoned a stubborn or rebellious son, until they both agree:''

and bring him out unto the elders of his city;
according to the Misnah {z}, the sanhedrim, or court of judicature, consisting of twenty three; for they say, that after he has been admonished and scourged by order of the bench of three, if he returns to his corrupt and wicked ways again, he is judged by the court of twenty three:

and unto the gate of his place;
or city, where the court sat; so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, to the gate of the sanhedrim of his place.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 8. sect. 4.
F26 Ibid.

Deuteronomy 21:19 In-Context

17 He must recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does not love, by giving him a double portion. He is the first son of his father’s virility, and the rights of the firstborn belong to him.

18 “Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him.

19 In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate.

20 The parents must say to the elders, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’

21 Then all the men of his town must stone him to death. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.