L«ection deals with the respect shown to the elderly. It is subsumed under the“more important” laws of respect for the scholar.
The second thing that stands out is the language Maimonides uses in dealing with the elderly. Rather than using the halakhic terms used in the sugya, Maimonides calls an old person zaken
\ hamuflag b’ziknato. That is to say, he is an elder by virtue of his
old age. It would seem that Maimonides totally subsumes the first half of the biblical verse under the rabbinic understanding of zaken
bas a scholar/elder.’ Only by making the case that his old age gives him the title of zaken can Maimonides justify giving him respect! He is inclusive, as is the verse.
Caro codifies these laws as follows:
It is a positive commandment to stand before every scholar even if he is not old but rather young and wise, even if he is not his personal teacher. Similarly, it is a mitzvah to stand before seivah, that is, one seventy years and older.[Isserles adds: and even if he is an ignoramus so long as he is not an evil-doer]."