Proverbs 13:24: Why the rod verses in Proverbs are repealed verses

Many parents think that the Bible says somewhere "spare the rod, spoil the child". This is a common belief about the Bible by American parents. However, the fact of the matter is that there are verses that mention the rod, but that refers to dated forms of judicial corporal punishment.

It says in Proverbs 13:24 KJV:

He who spareth the rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

This passage refers to a specific form of corporal punishment, where young men were subject to the rod of correction in the form of the 40 minus 1 lashes. However, only legal adults were ever whipped, and only as a sentence for crime. Receiving the 40 minus 1 lashes was a final warning before putting the young adult to death. These harsh punishments were abolished by Christ on the cross, as the Early Christians forbade their members from engaging in Roman scourgings, floggings, or executions. The Early Church itself did not practice neither capital nor corporal punishment. The 40 minus 1 lashes only existed in the Old Testament, and only as a sentence for crime in adult children.

All 7 of the rod verses in Proverbs refer to the same thing - the rod of correction as a form of judicial corporal punishment. Due to the fact that we don't live under the harsh punishments of the Law of Moses, all the punishments mentioned in Proverbs are repealed punishments.

The reason why God put the rod verses in Proverbs was that, otherwise, fathers would refuse to administer the 40 minus 1 lashes to their sons, and stand by their sons instead of turning them in for their criminal habits.

The Hebrew word translated "son" can mean an adult son, and in this case, it does refer chiefly to an adult. Some verses include the word "child" in their translations, but those words refer to adult children. There are several words that were mistranslated in our English language Bibles based off of Roman bias.

What does the Bible actually say about punishing children? The Greek root word denoting parental entitlement, and cross-references the Tenth Commandment, is πλεονέκτης (Latin: pleonektés) and refers to, officially speaking, wanting things from children, to the point of imposition. Once this imposition of want is perceived by the child, it becomes child abuse. See Colossians 3:21 KJV:

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to damages or offenses, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul, and understood in its original context, as a moral stature prohibiting all forms of punitive parenting, including, but not limited to, any punishments, reprimands, or other controlling demeanor towards children. In the Old Testament, punitive parents were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing children one last time. Parents who punished their children were charged with kidnapping, with "kidnapping" being defined under the Law as the slightest of damages or offenses stemming from hostage-taking - child punishment was seen in biblical times as holding your child hostage merely for things that they did wrong, thereby treating your child as a quartered slave. Paul here was lifting up the Law in order to convict a group of Greek Christians who brought their pagan custom of spanking and punishing children into the church. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punishment of a child in his secular writings. Paul may not have gotten along with the women of the church, but he sure loved children, and even took in a few orphaned children during his time as a deacon. Indeed, Greco-Roman fathers got out the scourge of cords in order to punish their children, but NOT the Christians among them - the Early Christians were persecuted largely for being "too soft" on their children.

Any anger directed towards a child, in biblical times, was seen as child abuse. Parents who got angry at their children were seen as vipers and monsters. Parenting, in biblical times, was not motivated by anger, but rather worry or concern towards the child. Simply losing your temper at a child was a huge scandal. Punishing your child was out of the question. In most Early Christian parents, the anger switch was missing, with parent anger going aside of the child, in the form of protection. Otherwise, parents didn't get angry.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!