Exodus 21:15 - Exposition

He that smiteth his father , etc. To "smite" here is simply to "strike"—to offer the indignity of a blow—not to kill, which had already been made capital ( Exodus 21:12 ), not in the case of parents only, but in every case. The severity of the law is very remarkable, and strongly emphasises the dignity and authority of parents. There is no parallel to it in any other known code, though of course the patria potestas of the Roman father gave him the power of punishing a son who had struck him, capitally.