God’s Image Study • Commandment 6: You Shall Not Murder
“You shall not murder.”
— Exodus 20:13, LSB
We begin with the Hebrew wording and follow its use within Scripture. The commandment contains two words:
לֹא תִּרְצָח — lōʾ tirṣāḥ.
The Two Words
לֹא תִּרְצָח — lōʾ tirṣāḥ — “You shall not murder.”
The word לֹא supplies the negation; תִּרְצָח supplies the action and the singular “you.” They must be read together as the prohibition. Read Exodus 20:13 with its Hebrew text.
To understand the root’s use, we must also examine the passages in which it occurs.
The Same Root in Different Circumstances
Numbers 35:11 describes a person who has killed unintentionally and may flee to a city of refuge. The Hebrew calls this person רֹצֵחַ — rōṣēaḥ, a form of the same root found in the commandment. The LSB translates it manslayer. Read Numbers 35:11 with its Hebrew text.
Numbers 35:16 uses the same Hebrew form for a person who strikes another with an iron object and causes death. In that passage, the LSB translates it murderer. Read Numbers 35:16 with its Hebrew text.
This detail matters. The root appears in accounts involving both intentional and unintentional killing. The surrounding wording establishes distinctions that an isolated English label cannot explain by itself.
Notice What the Passage Specifies
Numbers 35:20–21 describes hatred, lying in wait, and hostility accompanying an act that causes death.
Verses 22–23 describe different circumstances: an action occurring without hostility or ambush, or without seeing the person struck. The passage adds that the one responsible was neither an enemy nor seeking the other person’s injury.
Verses 24–25 then direct the congregation to judge between the parties and provide protection for the manslayer in the circumstances described. Read Numbers 35:20–25.
The account gives us specific details to retain: what happened, whether hatred existed, whether someone lay in wait, and whether injury was intended.
An Example in Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 19:4–6 describes two companions cutting wood. An axe head slips from its handle, strikes the other person, and causes death. The passage states that there had been no previous hatred and provides refuge.
Verses 11–13 describe someone who hates a neighbor, lies in wait, attacks, and causes death. That person’s flight to a refuge city does not produce the same outcome. Read Deuteronomy 19:4–13.
Our starting point is therefore the commandment’s Hebrew wording together with the circumstances Scripture supplies. We will retain those distinctions as we continue into hatred, responsibility, and the protection of life.
Threads to Follow
Hatred and intent: Examine the words describing the relationship before the act.
Refuge and responsibility: Follow why the passages distinguish the cases.
The Greek wording: Later compare the commandment’s quotation in Matthew with John’s statement about hatred.
The books were opened…
🌿 By Maria Emilia
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