Devarim 21:20

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).

Devarim 21:20 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 21:20

And they shall say unto the elders of his city
In open court, what follows, at the same time, according to the Targum of Jonathan, acknowledging their own sins, for which such a calamity had befallen them, saying,

``we have transgressed the decree of the word of the Lord, because is born unto us a son that is stubborn''

see ( John 9:2 )

this our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice;
one of an obstinate disposition, will have his own will and way, is perverse and refractory; honours not, but despises his parents, and is disobedient to their commands, unruly and ungovernable: the Jews gather

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 many things from hence, for which there is little foundation, as that they must be neither dumb, nor blind, nor deaf; though what they further observe is not much amiss, concerning this rebellious child, that the law respects a son and not a daughter, because a daughter generally is more tractable; and less capable of doing mischief than a son; and a son and not a man, for if at man's estate, and for himself, he is not under the power of his parents; and yet not a child or a little one, for that is not comprehended in the commands; he must be according to them thirteen years of age and one day, and he must be a son and not a father ^F2:

[he is] a glutton and a drunkard;
which, according to the Misnah ^F3, is one that eats half a pound of flesh, and drinks half a log of Italian wine; R. Jose says, a pound of flesh and a log of wine; but the decision was not according to him; the first rule stood: now half a pound of flesh, and half a log of wine, which was about three egg shells, or a quarter of a pint, would be at this day reckoned very little by our grandsons of Bacchus, as Schickard observes ^F4; but in an age of severer discipline, as he says, in the tender candidates of temperance, it was reckoned too much, and was a presage of a future glutton: and it must be further observed to denominate him a rebellious son, what he ate and drank was to be what he stole from his parents, and did not eat and drink it at home, but abroad, and in bad company; so Jarchi remarks on the text, he is not guilty until he steals, and eats half a pound of flesh, and drinks half a log of wine; in which he seems to have respect to the Jewish canon ^F5,

``if he steals from his father and eats it in a place in his father's power, or from others and eats it in a place in their power, or from others and eats it in a place in his father's power; he is not reckoned a stubborn and rebellious son, unless he steals from his father, and eats it in a place in the power of others,''

see ( Proverbs 23:20 ) , the Jews seem to refer to this when they charged Christ with being a glutton and a winebibber, ( Matthew 11:19 ) being desirous of having him thought as such an one.

F1 Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 8. sect. 4.
F2 Ut supra, (Misn. Bava Bathra, c. 8.) sect. 1. Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.
F3 Ib. sect. 2.
F4 Jus Regium Heb. c. 5. Theor. 17. p. 364.
F5 Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 8. sect. 3.

Devarim 21:20 In-Context

18 If an ish have a stubborn and rebellious ben, which will not obey the voice of his av, or the voice of his em, and that, when they have chastened him, will not give heed unto them;

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;