Keluaran 20:12

20:12 “Honor ¹  your father and your mother, that you may live a long time ²  in the land ³  the Lord your God is giving to you.

Ulangan 22:16

22:16 The young woman’s father must say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected ⁴  her.

Yehezkiel 22:7

22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt ⁵  within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow ⁶  within you.

[20:12]  ¹ tn The verb כַּבֵּד (kabbed) is a Piel imperative; it calls for people to give their parents the respect and honor that is appropriate for them. It could be paraphrased to say, give them the weight of authority that they deserve. Next to God, parents were to be highly valued, cared for, and respected.

[20:12]  ² tn Heb “that your days may be long.”

[20:12]  ³ sn The promise here is national rather than individual, although it is certainly true that the blessing of life was promised for anyone who was obedient to God’s commands (Deut 4:1, 8:1, etc.). But as W. C. Kaiser (“Exodus,” EBC 2:424) summarizes, the land that was promised was the land of Canaan, and the duration of Israel in the land was to be based on morality and the fear of God as expressed in the home (Deut 4:26, 33, 40; 32:46-47). The captivity was in part caused by a breakdown in this area (Ezek 22:7, 15). Malachi would announce at the end of his book that Elijah would come at the end of the age to turn the hearts of the children and the parents toward each other again.

[22:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “hated.” See note on the word “other” in Deut 21:15.

[22:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”

[22:7]  ⁶ tn Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.