The so-called “law of the rebellious son” in Deut 21:18-21 has drawn many different interpretations.1 The excessive nature of the punishment (stoning to death) for a son not listening to his parents is, at the very least, striking. Moreover, it is an affair in which the community gets involved, learning the story from the parents (v20) and performing the penalty in public (v21): at the gate of ‘his city’ (v19-20). The law’s rationale indicates how much of a threat the son’s behaviour is to society: to the land’s purity and the people’s own conscience. This challenging dynamic begs the question, what constitutes filial disobedience such that it deserves a public capital penalty? Why does everyone get involved? The legal process shows that the son’s behaviour is more than his or his family’s business: it concerns the nation. But if this law is read as also applying to the nation, such communal interest in the extreme punishment takes on a further significance. If the whole of Israel is seen as the stubborn and rebellious son, then it is the nation that faces the threat of destruction for its disobedience. Indeed, allusions to the law in two later biblical texts have been made to strengthen references to the fall of both Northern and Southern Kingdoms (Jer 5; Ps 78). A collective reading, suggested by the Deuteronomic context, accommodates the severity of the punishment as a warning of the nation’s destiny. First, I shall outline the structure of the legislation in its immediate context, drawing attention to important language that connects it with major Deuteronomic themes, especially obedience and filial piety. Secondly, I shall follow the implications of the context, showing the suitability of the collective reading of the law. Finally, I shall look at texts from Jer 5 and Ps 78 that allude to the law of the rebellious son in the context of the destruction of the people as punishment for sin, each with a related but distinctive purpose.