Text: Deuteronomy 21:18-21
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 21:17
Subject: cursing parents and rebellious son law
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Exodus 21:17 prescribes death for anyone who curses (מְקַלֵּל, meqallel) his father or mother, and Deuteronomy 21:18-21 addresses the broader category of a rebellious son who will not obey his parents' voice. The verbal attack on parents (Exodus) and persistent behavioral defiance (Deuteronomy) are both treated as capital offenses because they undermine the foundational social unit of the covenant community. The Deuteronomic expansion adds that the son is characterized as "a glutton and a drunkard" (זוֹלֵל וְסֹבֵא, zolel vesove), suggesting that the rebellion manifests in self-destructive excess, and requires communal judicial proceedings rather than private parental punishment.