Exodus 21:15

Smiteth his father. That is, strikes him. This implies deliberate and persistent opposition to parental authority. In this and the next two verses other capital offenses are dealt with. To smite does not mean to kill, a crime dealt with in v. 12. However, the severe penalty for smiting strongly emphasizes the dignity and authority of parents.

When we reflect that parents stand in the place of God to their children until the age of moral responsibility (PP 308), that parents care for and protect them in their helpless years, and that even nature places within the minds of children an instinctive reverence for their parents, this penalty does not seem strange or excessive. Society is never secure and cannot long exist where parental authority is held in contempt. Far more is involved here than a single act of disrespect.