Treatment of Children | Law of Messiah Commandment Study

Treatment of Children

F5

We are to care for and not mistreat children.

Category: Marriage & Family

Type: Positive & Negative

Form: Explicit

Source dataset: Old Testament

Uniqueness: Not unique

Classical commandment: No

New Covenant Literal Application

Applies to Person Categories: Everyone

Mandated

Jewish

K'rov Yisrael

Gentile

mandated for Gentile female, Gentile male, Jewish female, Jewish male, K'rovat Yisrael female, K'rov Yisrael male

More explanation about the icons and New Covenant Literal Application

The New Covenant Literal Application Code (NCLA) is an interpretive guide used by the authors to indicate which person categories a mitzvah applies to, and at what level of literal compliance.

Each card above groups one application level such as mandated or optional. The three people icons show whether that application is meant for Jewish, K'rov Yisrael, or Gentile believers, and the male or female symbols show whether it applies to men, women, or both.

Jewish

Used for instruction directed to Jewish believers.

K'rov Yisrael

Used for non-Jewish believers living closely with Israel and Torah practice.

Gentile

Used for instruction presented as applying to Gentile believers more broadly.

Male and female symbols

These show whether the instruction is directed to men, women, or both.

This code reflects the authors' interpretive opinion and is provided for prayerful consideration. The icon view is only a visual summary; the detailed codes and source explanation remain available below for careful study.

Read the full explanation from the source

Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

Ephesians 6:4
Matthew 18:5-6
Matthew 18:10
Matthew 19:14
1 Timothy 5:8

Key OT Scriptures

Proverbs 22:6

Supportive OT Scriptures

Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Proverbs 13:24
Proverbs 22:15

Bible verses copyright: PUBLIC DOMAIN except in the United Kingdom, where a Crown Copyright applies to printing the KJV. See http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/queens-printers-patent

Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

Generally, the statement of the Mitzvah speaks for itself, and the only controversy about it has to do with the administration of spankings. The well-known saying "spare the rod and spoil the child" is often mistakenly attributed to Scripture, but its origin is actually a 17 th century poem by Samuel Butler titled "Hudibras", which has nothing to do with Scripture. Nevertheless, Proverbs 13:24 and Proverbs 22:15 speak similarly, and have been the subject of law suits and prosecutions promulgated by some in our society who believe that spanking a child for correction is cruel and abusive. In oppositional response to that, much has been written on how to administer a spanking with love that is truly corrective.

Classical commentators

This Mitzvah is not addressed by any of the classical Jewish commentators.

Drawings

Artist: Jenske Visser

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Source and License

Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

Volume 1 & 2 | Volume 3

License: CC BY-ND 4.0 (Attribution required, NoDerivatives). CC BY-ND 4.0

Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.

Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

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