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What is the Definition of Murder in the Bible?
Examining the Sixth Commandment
“Thou shalt not kill.” Most of us have heard that declaration. Most of us know it’s from the Ten Commandments. It reflects the classic King James Version of the Sixth Commandment, but what does it mean?
We find the Sixth Commandment in Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17. The classic Authorized (or King James) Version, as well as the Wycliffe and Tyndale Bibles, translate those verses as “Thou shalt not kill.” But…
Neither God nor Moses spoke English in ancient times.
When we look at the Hebrew text, the word for “kill” is “רָצַח” (ratsach) and that term refers to murder or unlawful killing with premeditation.
Accordingly, most contemporary English translations render the Sixth Commandment as “Do not murder” rather than the more general “Thou shalt not kill.”
This distinction is relevant because the Bible elsewhere seems to allow for capital punishment as well as killing in the context of self-defense or a “just war” (to use an Augustinian term).
Indeed, when you dig into the Mosaic Law, you find some of the distinctions spelled out explicitly:
- Murder: The deliberate, unjust killing of another person. This is condemned outright.
