Hormones begin to hurtle round their rapidly changing pubescent bodies.
Suddenly our sweet little angels turn into obnoxious, surly, highly-strung couch potatoes who refuse to do a thing they are told. The law of Moses took no prisoners. If Harry Enfield's teenage monster Kevin had lived in ancient Israel, he wouldn't have lived to see his fourteenth birthday. To our modern and post-modern minds, at this point the Torah appears barbarous. Before we get too carried away, let's remind ourselves that this seemingly inhumane solution to teenage rebellion must have shocked the ancient Israelite society that received the law.