Does the text in Deuteronomy 21:18 say we should stone children? This is a natural assumption to make when living in a modern culture where sons and daughters are required to obey their parents only when they are children. When children become adults today, they can leave and do whatever they want with no repercussions from society.

But the culture in which Deuteronomy was written is different. Adult sons still had the command to 'honor their mother and father,' be respectful to them, and listen to their words. So how old is the 'son' in this passage?

The Hebrew term for 'son' (ben) employed here is indefinite. It is sometimes used of children of both sexes, but most often of the male. The word 'son' here does not give any indication of age; it can refer to a child or to an adult son. Age must be determined from the context. In this case, the son in view is not a child, for the sins brought forth in testimony are gluttony and drunkenness (v. 20).

Furthermore, the actions of this son are severe. This is not the case of a child who has failed to do his chores, spoke back to his parents, or even committed a serious act of disobedience, but of an adult son of dissolute character who is in full rebellion to authority. The text says that the son is 'stubborn' and 'rebellious.' Both of these descriptive terms are active participles, thus indicating habitual action. The son does not display a stubborn streak now and then, or act rebelliously from time to time, but is continuously stubborn and rebellious. The word 'stubborn' refers to one who is obstinate in his resistance to authority. This son is living a life without restraint, and is a serious danger to his family and to his community. For Christians, the Church Fathers often allegorized such harsh passages, seeing in them a spiritual command to ruthlessly cut off habitual sins and rebellious passions from our lives before they destroy the soul.