Guarding the Parents' Honour—Deuteronomy 21.18-21

Abstract

The article argues that Deut. 21.18-21 does not represent an actual law that provides the parents with some guidelines how to proceed with an unruly son. Rather the law aims at guarding the honour of the family. With the help of insights from cultural anthropology it is argued that the law has been constructed to prevent parents abstaining from their duties of raising children and to show them what is at risk if they do, namely the scarce commodity of family honour, a standing in society that can be displayed by having a wise son that listens to his father's discipline. With such an approach it is possible to move beyond the prima facie meaning of the law, allowing its cultural background to be understood more fully.

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