Deuteronomy 24:16

LAWS OF JUSTICE

"The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to the sojourner, or to the fatherless, nor take the widow's garment to pledge; but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and Jehovah thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing."

Deuteronomy 24:16 is taken by some to mean that there is no such thing as corporate responsibility; but the example of the expiation that had to be made by the nearest city in the case of an unsolved murder (Deuteronomy 21) is more than enough to validate the principle of corporate responsibility. What is forbidden here is that Israel should follow the example of most ancient nations in those days, in which, "The family of a criminal was included in his punishment."[15] The Book of Esther details the punishment of Haman and his seven sons who were all hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai (Esther 9:25); yet Haman alone was the wicked enemy of the Jews. It was in contrast with such punishments that this law was promulgated.

The humanitarian aspect of Deuteronomy 24:17,18 is clear enough. There was special protection in all of God's laws directed to benefit the strangers, the poor, the wayfarers, the widows, the fatherless, and others of the poor.