פרשת כי תצא תש"ט - "לא יומתו אבות על בנים"

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.

לא יומתו אבות על בנים FATHERS SHALL NOT BE PUT TO DEATH על בנים — i.e. by the evidence of their children. But if you say it means “for the sin of their children”, then it would be redundant for it goes on to state “every man shall be put to death for his own sin” (Sifrei Devarim 280:1; Sanhedrin 27b).

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.

לא יומתו אבות על בנים FATHERS SHALL NOT BE PUT TO DEATH על בנים — i.e. by the evidence of their children. But if you say it means “for the sin of their children”, then it would be redundant for it goes on to state “every man shall be put to death for his own sin” (Sifrei Devarim 280:1; Sanhedrin 27b).

לא יומתו אבות על בנים, even if the crime involved was insurrection against the established authority, king, etc. It had been a widely accepted rule that kings would also execute the family members of rebels in order to ensure that the surviving relatives of such executed rebels would not form an active opposition to the king as a result of their grievance. Such matters are referred to in Isaiah 14,21 “prepare a slaughtering block for his sons because of the guilt of their father. Let them not arise to possess the earth! Then the world’s face shall be covered with towns.” The meaning of the word שונאים which I used earlier is to be understood as in Samuel I 28,17 ויהי ערך, “he became a foe.” In any event, the Torah prohibits Jewish kings from killing one person as a substitute for another; this is part of G’d’s pity for members of His people. Amatziah, King of Yehudah, abided by this legislation when he executed the servants who had killed his father but did not touch their children (Chronicles II 25, 3-4)

GEMARA: From where is this matter, that relatives are disqualified from bearing witness, derived? The Gemara answers: It is as the Sages taught in a baraita: “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” (Deuteronomy 24:16). Why must the verse state this first clause? If it is to teach that the fathers shall not be put to death for the sin of the children, nor shall the children be put to death for the sin of the fathers, this is unnecessary, as it is in any event stated: “Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” Rather, the statement “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children” should be interpreted to mean that they shall not be put to death by the testimony of the children, and the statement “Neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers” should be interpreted to mean that they shall not be put to death by the testimony of the fathers.

The Gemara continues with its understanding of the incident: “And the king took the two sons of Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, whom she bore unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of Michal, daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite” (II Samuel 21:8). The Gemara asks: What is different about these sons that David chose them from among all the descendants of Saul? Rav Huna said: He passed all of Saul’s descendants before the Ark of the Covenant. Whoever was held back by the Ark, so that he could not move on, was condemned to death; whoever was not held back by the Ark was set apart for life.