כִּֽי־יִהְיֶ֣ה לְאִ֗ישׁ בֵּ֚ן סוֹרֵ֣ר וּמוֹרֶ֔ה אֵינֶ֣נּוּ שֹׁמֵ֔עַ בְּק֥וֹל אָבִ֖יו וּבְק֣וֹל אִמּ֑וֹ וְיִסְּר֣וּ אֹת֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמַ֖ע אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ וְתָ֥פְשׂוּ ב֖וֹ אָבִ֣יו וְאִמּ֑וֹ וְהוֹצִ֧יאוּ אֹת֛וֹ אֶל־זִקְנֵ֥י עִיר֖וֹ וְאֶל־שַׁ֥עַר מְקֹמֽוֹ׃ וְאָמְר֞וּ אֶל־זִקְנֵ֣י עִיר֗וֹ בְּנֵ֤נוּ זֶה֙ סוֹרֵ֣ר וּמֹרֶ֔ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ שֹׁמֵ֖עַ בְּקֹלֵ֑נוּ זוֹלֵ֖ל וְסֹבֵֽא׃ וּ֠רְגָמֻ֠הוּ כׇּל־אַנְשֵׁ֨י עִיר֤וֹ בָֽאֲבָנִים֙ וָמֵ֔ת וּבִֽעַרְתָּ֥ הָרָ֖ע מִקִּרְבֶּ֑ךָ וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל יִשְׁמְע֥וּ וְיִרָֽאוּ׃ {ס} וְכִֽי־יִהְיֶ֣ה בְאִ֗ישׁ חֵ֛טְא מִשְׁפַּט־מָ֖וֶת וְהוּמָ֑ת וְתָלִ֥יתָ אֹת֖וֹ עַל־עֵֽץ׃ לֹא־תָלִ֨ין נִבְלָת֜וֹ עַל־הָעֵ֗ץ כִּֽי־קָב֤וֹר תִּקְבְּרֶ֙נּוּ֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא כִּֽי־קִלְלַ֥ת אֱלֹהִ֖ים תָּל֑וּי וְלֹ֤א תְטַמֵּא֙ אֶת־אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָֽה׃ {ס}
If a man has a wayward and defiant son, who does not heed his father or mother and does not obey them even after they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the public place of his community. They shall say to the elders of his town, “This son of ours is disloyal and defiant; he does not heed us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Thereupon the men of his town shall stone him to death. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst: all Israel will hear and be afraid. If a man is guilty of a capital offense and is put to death, and you impale him on a stake, you must not let his corpse remain on the stake overnight, but must bury him the same day. For an impaled body is an affront to God: you shall not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
וכי יהיה באיש חטא משפט מות. סְמִיכוּת הַפָּרָשִׁיּוֹת מַגִּיד שֶׁאִם חָסִים עָלָיו אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ, סוֹף שֶׁיֵּצֵא לְתַרְבּוּת רָעָה וְיַעֲבֹר עֲבֵרוֹת וְיִתְחַיֵּב מִיתָה בְּבֵית דִּין (עי' תנחומא):
וכי יהיה באיש חטא משפט מות AND IF THERE BE IN A MAN A SIN DESERVING THE JUDGMENT OF DEATH — The juxtaposition of these sections (this and that of the rebellious son) tells us that if father and mother spare him (the rebellious son), he will in the latter end turn to mischief and commit sins for which he will become liable to the death penalty by the court (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Teitzei 1).
כי קללת אלהים תלוי. זִלְזוּלוֹ שֶׁל מֶלֶךְ הוּא, שֶׁאָדָם עָשׂוּי בִּדְמוּת דְּיוֹקָנוֹ, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל הֵם בָּנָיו; מָשָׁל לִשְׁנֵי אַחִים תְּאוֹמִים שֶׁהָיוּ דּוֹמִים זֶה לָזֶה, אֶחָד נַעֲשָׂה מֶלֶךְ וְאֶחָד נִתְפַּס לְלִסְטִיּוּת וְנִתְלָה, כָּל הָרוֹאֶה אוֹתוֹ אוֹמֵר הַמֶּלֶךְ תָּלוּי. כָּל קְלָלָה שֶׁבַּמִּקְרָא לְשׁוֹן הָקֵל וְזִלְזוּל, כְּמוֹ (מלכים א ב') "וְהוּא קִלְלַנִי קְלָלָה נִמְרֶצֶת":
כי קללת אלהים תלוי FOR HE THAT IS HANGED IS A קללת אלהים — i.e., a degradation of the Divine King, for man is made in His image and the Israelites are His children. A parable! It may be compared to the case of two twin brothers who very closely resembled each other: one became king and the other was arrested for robbery and was hanged. Whoever saw him on the gallows thought that the king was hanged (Sanhedrin 46b). — Wherever the term קללה occurs in Scripture it has the meaning of bonding in light esteem and despising, as e.g., (1 Kings 2:8) “[Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim] who cursed me with a severe curse (קללני קללה נמרצת)” (cf. II Samuel 16:5—8).
כי קללת אלהים תלוי הנה כל עצם נבדל מחומר יקרא אלהים ומזה המין הוא עצם הנפש השכלית באדם הנקראת צלם אלהים. וע''ז הדרך אמרה בעלת אוב לשאול אלהים ראיתי עולים. ובהיות שהבזיון הנעשה למת אחר מיתה הוא בזיון לנפש השכלית אשר היא עצם נבדל הנשאר אחר מיתת הגוף אמר שהוא קללת אלהים כי הלנת חתליה לגוף המת בלתי קבורה היא בזיון לאותו העצם הנצחי הנקרא אלהים:
כי קללת אלוהים תלוי, every disembodied creature is known as elohim; this includes the soul of human beings known as צלם אלוהים, “image of G’d.” [as He is without body, so this essence of a human being is without a body, does not need a body. Ed.] (Genesis 1,27) This is how we can understand the woman, known as בעלת אוב in Samuel I 28,13 whom King Sha-ul approached and asked to raise the prophet Samuel for him producing a disembodied image. Seeing that the disgrace done to a person after he has died is also an insult to this disembodied essence of him, the Torah describes it as קללת אלוהים, equivalent to cursing the dead person’s eternal essence. קללת אלהים, leaving the dead corpse hanging without burial is an insult to that very eternal essence of a human being called אלהים.
כי קללת אלהים תלוי. בעבור שברך השם ועל דרך הפשט כי אלהים פועל והקללה תבוא לכל מקום קרוב מהתלוי ויש לו סוד דבק בנפש על כן ולא תטמא את אדמתך ונסמכה זו הפרשה בעבור המלחמה כי בתחלה כי תצא והנה גבעון יוכיח כי משפט לא תלין איננו לכבוד המת רק לכבוד הארץ כי משפט הערלים והישראלים [איננו] (בס' מ״ח מ״ז) שוה:
FOR HE THAT IS HANGED IS A REPROACH UNTO GOD. For he cursed God. However, according to the plain meaning of the text, God is the subject. The curse comes to all places close to the hanged. It has a secret connected to the soul. Scripture therefore goes on to say, that thou defile not thy land. This section follows because of the war, for Scripture first states, When thou goest forth to battle (Deut. 20:1). Now the incident at Gibeon shows that the purpose of the law which says that his body shall not remain upon the tree all night is not out of respect for the deceased but rather out of respect for the land, for the law of the Canaanites and the law of the Israelites differ.
הַהֶסְפֵּד כְּבוֹד הַמֵּת הוּא. לְפִיכָךְ כּוֹפִין אֶת הַיּוֹרְשִׁין לִתֵּן שְׂכַר מְקוֹנְנִים וְהַמְקוֹנְנוֹת וְסוֹפְדִין אוֹתוֹ. וְאִם צִוָּה שֶׁלֹּא יִסְפְּדוּהוּ אֵין סוֹפְדִין אוֹתוֹ. אֲבָל אִם צִוָּה שֶׁלֹּא יִקָּבֵר אֵין שׁוֹמְעִין לוֹ. שֶׁהַקְּבוּרָה מִצְוָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים כא כג) "כִּי קָבוֹר תִּקְבְּרֶנּוּ":
Funeral rites are held in honor of the deceased. Accordingly, the heirs are compelled to pay a fee to wailing men and women who eulogize the dead. But if the deceased charged in his will not to eulogize him, he should not be eulogized. If, however, he charged in his will not to bury him, his wish is not heeded, because burying the dead is a religious duty, as it is written: "You must bury him" (Deuteronomy 21:23).
שלא ילין הצלוב על העץ, שנאמר "לֹא תָלִין נִבְלָתוֹ עַל הָעֵץ" (דברים כא, כג).
That the dead body of an executed criminal shall not remain hanging on the tree over night, as it is said, “Thou shalt not suffer his corpse to remain (over night)” (Deut. 21:23).
From "Judaism and the Human Body" by Rabbi Bradley Artson at https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/lets-get-physical/
Why is an impaled body an offense against God? Wouldn’t the humiliated corpse serve a valuable preventative function, since all who saw it would resolve not to commit a similar offense? If so, it should be a good thing to leave the body hanging. Besides, the person isn’t the same as the body anyway! The body is relatively unimportant, like a used set of clothing that no longer fits. So who cares about how the body is treated!
Apparently, the Torah doesn’t accept that trivialization of the body. Rashi adds to the Torah that, “It is a slight to the King [God] because humanity is made in the likeness of God’s image and Israel are God’s children.” This may be likened to two twin brothers who resembled each other; one became a king while the other was seized as a criminal and hanged. Whoever saw him exclaimed, ‘The king is hanged.'” This shocking comment implies that our resemblance to God is more than just spiritual, that even our bodies reflect the Divine Image, and therefore deserve reverence and respect.
In Midrash Va-Yikra Rabbah, the great sage, Hillel, compares keeping our bodies clean to maintaining a statue of a king. He comments that, “Bathing the body is an obligation, since we are created in the image of the Ruler of the world.”
For that same reason, Jewish tradition prohibits cremation as undignified to the body of the deceased, and Talmudic tradition affirms a physical resurrection of the dead. One need not share every Talmudic belief about the afterlife to recognize great wisdom in preserving a sense of awe and gratitude for the human body.
In an age awash in self-destructive drugs, too busy to exercise or to eat carefully, respect for our bodies is dangerously low on our agenda. Teenagers and women smoke in growing numbers, and alcohol use, too, is on the rise. Biblical and Rabbinic tradition maintain that our bodies reflect God’s image and therefore command respectful maintenance. In addition, our bodies are not our property, but God’s. We use them, as the tenants and stewards of God’s possessions. But ultimately, our bodies must be returned, well-tended, to their original Owner.
Why is an impaled body an offense against God? Wouldn’t the humiliated corpse serve a valuable preventative function, since all who saw it would resolve not to commit a similar offense? If so, it should be a good thing to leave the body hanging. Besides, the person isn’t the same as the body anyway! The body is relatively unimportant, like a used set of clothing that no longer fits. So who cares about how the body is treated!
Apparently, the Torah doesn’t accept that trivialization of the body. Rashi adds to the Torah that, “It is a slight to the King [God] because humanity is made in the likeness of God’s image and Israel are God’s children.” This may be likened to two twin brothers who resembled each other; one became a king while the other was seized as a criminal and hanged. Whoever saw him exclaimed, ‘The king is hanged.'” This shocking comment implies that our resemblance to God is more than just spiritual, that even our bodies reflect the Divine Image, and therefore deserve reverence and respect.
In Midrash Va-Yikra Rabbah, the great sage, Hillel, compares keeping our bodies clean to maintaining a statue of a king. He comments that, “Bathing the body is an obligation, since we are created in the image of the Ruler of the world.”
For that same reason, Jewish tradition prohibits cremation as undignified to the body of the deceased, and Talmudic tradition affirms a physical resurrection of the dead. One need not share every Talmudic belief about the afterlife to recognize great wisdom in preserving a sense of awe and gratitude for the human body.
In an age awash in self-destructive drugs, too busy to exercise or to eat carefully, respect for our bodies is dangerously low on our agenda. Teenagers and women smoke in growing numbers, and alcohol use, too, is on the rise. Biblical and Rabbinic tradition maintain that our bodies reflect God’s image and therefore command respectful maintenance. In addition, our bodies are not our property, but God’s. We use them, as the tenants and stewards of God’s possessions. But ultimately, our bodies must be returned, well-tended, to their original Owner.