Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

• 1 John 3:15
• 1 Peter 4:15

Key OT Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 5:17
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 20:13
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 21:12-14
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 22:1-2
  Jewish Commentary
• Genesis 9:5-6
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 24:17
  Jewish Commentary
• Numbers 35:11-34
  Click to retrieve Numbers 35:11-34
  Jewish Commentary

Supportive NT Scriptures

• Matthew 5:21-22
• Matthew 15:18-19
• Revelation 21:8

Supportive OT Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 4:41-43
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 19:1-13
  Click to retrieve Deuteronomy 19:1-13
  Jewish Commentary
• Genesis 4:8-9
  Jewish Commentary
• Numbers 31:7-8
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 1:10-16
  Click to retrieve Proverbs 1:10-16
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 13:9-10
  Jewish Commentary

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Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

The Scriptures that teach against murder appear to be of two kinds - the majority of them speak only of killing the physical body, and a few of them hint at a non-physical kind of murder - hostility in one's heart to one's brother. Of all the Scriptures on murder, Exodus 20:13 is the most well-known because it is among the "Ten Commandments". Murder (the intentional unrighteous killing of a human being) is universally perceived to be wrong, even by those who do not believe in God; it is what secularists may sometimes call "natural law". God Himself does not kill with impunity either. He values those whom He has created in His image and, when men do otherwise to their fellow men with intention, God deems it evil as though they are seeking to destroy God Himself. We see this clearly in Genesis 9:6 , which associates murder with destroying God's image; it reads: Whoever sheds human blood, by a human being will his own blood be shed; for God made human beings in his image. Perhaps the same rationale explains 1 John 3:15 that extends the sin of murder to hating one's brother, for it says: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. Seeking to kill a man who is created in God's image is akin to coming against God Himself, and is quite the opposite of receiving Him as Lord and Messiah by which we are saved. In a similar way, Matthew 5:22 states: But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother will be subject to judgment; that whoever calls his brother, 'You good-for-nothing!' will be brought before the Sanhedrin; that whoever says, 'Fool!' incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom! Murder, probably because of its permanently destructive nature, is presented as the quintessential opposite of loving our neighbor for, as Romans 13:10 states: Love does not do harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fullness of Torah. In the Bible, the penalty for murder is always death. That notwithstanding, the biblical law (similar to modern secular law) recognizes a category of justifiable killing and also unjustifiable killing that is a lesser crime than murder (terms used today are "murder in the second degree", "manslaughter", "negligent homicide", etc.). Murder is ordinarily distinguished from these lesser offenses by whether there was intention, deliberation, premeditation, provocation, and malice. Examples of justifiable killing are self-defense and killing in battle. Culpability in the case of accidental killing has to do with whether or not negligence contributed to the death. Not precisely analogous but interestingly, whereas modern systems of justice typically employ imprisonment as a penalty for these lesser categories of homicide, the biblical law provides cities of refuge to which a man who has killed another (excluding intentional murder) might flee to avoid being seized upon and killed by the deceased's vengeful relatives.

Classical commentators

Maimonides' mitzvah commands against murder (physical killing), references Sanhedrin 9 and Makkoth 2 , and prescribes death by beheading. Meir prescribes beheading as well, but only if the murder is by the perpetrator's own hand. If he only caused the death, he is not punishable by a bet din but only by "Heaven's hands". Ironically, this may even be the case if one pays another to commit murder. Meir also opines that if one kills even a single Jewish person, it is as though he slew the entire world. HaChinuch begins with citing Genesis 1:28 : God blessed them: God said to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.' He sees murder as violating God's plan that human beings multiply and settle the world. He also cites Proverbs 11:10 and 28:17 as justification for executing murderers. As does Maimonides, HaChinuch references Sanhedrin 9 and Makkoth 2 . None of the commentators refer to Genesis 9:6 or suggest a connection between murder and God's image.

Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

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Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

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Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

Copyright note: Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2