"Spare the rod, spoil the child": Why the rod verses in the book of Proverbs are repealed verses

Many parents think that the Bible condones or even commands spanking children. This is a common attitude amongst American parents. Most American parents cite 5 verses in Proverbs and 1 passage in Hebrews as their "proof" that spanking is biblical. However, there are precisely 6 verses in the book of Proverbs that mention the rod explicitly. The Bible here refers to judicial corporal punishment, not domestic corporal punishment.

One of the most favorite of rod verses cited by pro-spanking advocates is Proverbs 13:24 KJV:

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

The Hebrew root word translated "son" is ben and refers here to a mature adult son. The Hebrew root word translated "rod" is shebet and refers here to the 40 minus 1 lashes, applied to the bare back, in a courtroom setting, as a sentence for a crime. This punishment was a final warning before an errant son was put to death for running afoul of the law. However, striking another adult Jew was prohibited then outside of the context of a courtroom. Striking a minor child then was prohibited in all settings.  The reason for the rod verses was that, otherwise, Jewish parents would shield their adult children from guilt under the Law.'

Christ died on the cross in order to end all of the harsh punishments of the Old Testament. Christ abolished all corporal punishment by way of enduring it unjustly before being placed on the cross. The Early Christians did not practice corporal punishment as a means of church discipline. 

The teaching of" biblical spanking" is a man-made teaching. The Bible nowhere allows for, or commands, the use of foce in parenting. However, the Bible does have touch on the spanking issue, and then some. 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 here to offenses or damages, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. It is one thing to stop spanking your child  However, it is not enough to stop spanking your child, or even stop punishing them altogether for that matter. You need to avoid offense in children. Avoiding offense in children is the same as avoiding offense in other adults. Just as hurt feelings are inevitable in relations between adults, hurt feelings are also inevitable in children when dealing with them. Thus, in order to avoid offense in children, you need to be willing to give a meaningful apology whenever your hurt your child's feelings. Many times, all that is necessary is a reassurance of good intent coming from parents, in the form of an informal apology, whenever you hurt your child's feelings with limits not set out of anger, such as "I'm sorry, but I had to set X limit for Y reasons". However, if your ever lose your cool with your child as a parent, you definitely need to give  formal apology for hurting your child's feelings with your anger, such as "I apologize for losing my temper with you", and then commit never to loss your cool with your child ever again, as any parent anger directed towards children alone is entitlement, and was seen as entitlement in the Early Church. Thus commandment cross-references the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments, with the Apostle Paul here convicting a group of Greek Christian parents who brought into the church their pagan custom of patrias potestas, which is a Latin term roughly translating to "power to the parent", namely the power to impose punitive sanctions on children, such as spanking or other forms of punishment of children. However, this commandment was ultimately received by the parish at Colossae as prohibiting causing offenses in children as perceived by the child, at minimum. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punitive parenting in his secular writings. Attachment parenting was banned under Roman law, but the Early Christians did it anyway, obeying God over men,

King Solomon was not pro-spanking in the case of a minor child being whipped. Only adult children could be whipped by their father, and only after the errant son received many warnings beforehand by eyewitnesses.. King Solomon wrote parenting manuals to Jewish parents advocating attachment parenting. Attachment parenting was the norm in both Ancient Israel and the Early Church, with children up until age 6 suckling the teat of mothers, and otherwise being allowed to cry for their every vulnetable need. 

The rod in Proverbs does not refer to any corporal punishment apart from judicial corporal punishment  An Israelite whipping was a rare event. When the Sanhedrin convicted an adult child for running afoul of the law, he was whipped in the courtroom by his father. A common reason for a whipping was elder abuse and neglect, and even then, never was a minor child ever whipped then.

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!