Murder in the Bible
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Murder is an act that occurs often in the Bible.
Biblical Definition
"Thou shalt not kill" (Exo 20) is the sixth commandment in the Ten Commandments. The word kill is the Hebrew raw-tsakh and is better translated as murder. Numbers 23 deals with defining raw-tsakh and setting up the rules for revenge killing in ancient Israel. It is very clear that killing anyone with any weapon or in unarmed combat is considered murder (Num 35:16-21). Murder even so much as includes accidental killings (Num 35:22-23). In case of the accidental killing, however, there would be cities where the accused could go and await a trail (Num 35:24). If it is found accidental he was allowed to live but must remain in the city of refuge until the High Priest died (Num 35:25).
If the killing was not accidental, people called avengers of blood could kill the murderer and it would not be considered murder (Num 35:27). The same Hebrew word used for the avenger’s killing is used for the murderer’s killing. This is allowed because it was common practice in God’s law that some commands trumped others. Just as circumcision trumped the Sabbath (Joh 7:23), the death penalty trumped “do not kill”.
Other cases in which killing was allowed were in self-defense (Exo 22:2) and during war. The Bible never uses raw-tsakh in conjunction with war and God commands many times in the Bible to go to war even using total war (see Jos 10:19 and Jos 10:28-32).
References in the Bible
- Genesis 4– Cain slays Abel out of jealousy.
- Genesis 9:6– God prohibits the murder of men because they were created in His image.
- Exodus 2:11-12– Moses kills an Egyptian because Moses saw him beating a Hebrew slave.
- Exodus 20:13– The sixth commandment prohibits murder.
- Numbers 35:25– There shall be cities of refuge put aside to house those who have killed another, but have not murdered them. The cities are meant for protection from an avenger."'Goel Hadam' - 'the blood avenger.'"
- Numbers 35:31– The penalty for murder is death.
- Joshua 20:3– An exception is made for one would kills unknowingly.
- Second Samuel 11:14-17- This recounts David's actions when he sent Uriah to the front line of the battle because David knew this would kill him. [1]
