FROM THE HEBREW · EXODUS 20:13
Kill or murder? What the Hebrew of Exodus 20:13 says
The King James Version says “Thou shalt not kill.” The 1917 JPS translation says “Thou shalt not murder.” The difference comes down to one Hebrew verb.
Key Hebrew words
Two words in Hebrew
The sixth commandment is only two words: לֹא תִרְצָח, lo tirtzach. The King James Version of 1611 rendered it “Thou shalt not kill.” The Jewish Publication Society’s 1917 translation chose “Thou shalt not murder,” and most modern translations have followed. Which is right depends on the verb ratsach.
Ratsach versus harag
Biblical Hebrew has several verbs for killing. The most common, הָרַג (harag), is general: it is used of Cain killing Abel, of soldiers in battle, and of a court-ordered execution. רָצַח (ratsach) is narrower. It is used only for killing human beings, and almost always for killing that the law condemns. It is never used for killing animals, and it is not the normal word for war.
There is one complication. In Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 19, the person who kills unintentionally is also called a rotze’ach and must flee to a city of refuge. So ratsach covers manslaughter as well as murder: it is the unlawful taking of a human life. “Murder” is the closest English word, though not a perfect fit.
What the classical commentators say
Rashbam (12th c., France) makes exactly this distinction: “every retzichah in Scripture is killing without cause,” as in “the murderer shall surely be put to death.” Harigah, by contrast, can be without cause, as when Cain killed Abel, or by law, as in Leviticus 20:16, “thou shalt kill the woman.” He adds that he made this very argument in the debates of his time, against those who read the commandment as forbidding all killing, because their Latin used one verb for both.
Ibn Ezra widens what counts as lo tirtzach: killing “with your hand or with your tongue,” giving false testimony that leads to a death, spreading slander, giving deadly advice on purpose, or keeping silent about a secret that could save someone’s life. “If you did not reveal it, you are like a murderer.”
Why the translation matters
“Thou shalt not kill” has been used to argue that the Bible forbids all killing, including self-defense, war or capital punishment. The Hebrew does not say that; other laws in the same Torah permit some of those. But “murder” can also sound too narrow, as if only premeditated killing were meant. The Hebrew sits between them: a strict ban on taking a human life unjustly, with Ibn Ezra stretching it to words and silence.
Why the KJV said “kill”
In 1611 English, “kill” was the ordinary word, and the translators followed earlier English and Latin Bibles. The Latin Vulgate has non occides, from a general verb for killing. Rashbam’s remark shows the problem was noticed long before modern translations: one Latin verb was carrying two different Hebrew words.
So what does it mean today?
Read in Hebrew, the sixth commandment is precise about the act and wide about responsibility. It names the unjust killing of a person. The commentators add that you can take part in it with a rumor, with bad advice, or by standing by. Two words, and they reach much further than they first appear.
Frequently asked questions
Does the original Hebrew say “thou shalt not kill” or “thou shalt not murder”?
The Hebrew is lo tirtzach (לֹא תִרְצָח). The verb ratsach means the unlawful killing of a person, so “murder” is closer than the general “kill.” The 1917 JPS translation has “Thou shalt not murder.”
What does ratsach mean in Hebrew?
Ratsach (רָצַח) means to kill a human being unlawfully. It is never used for animals and rarely for war, and it also covers unintentional manslaughter in the laws of the cities of refuge.
What is the difference between ratsach and harag?
Harag is the general word for killing, used for battle, executions and Cain’s killing of Abel. Ratsach is the narrower word for unlawful killing of a person. Rashbam draws this distinction in his commentary.
Is Exodus 20:13 the sixth commandment?
Yes, in both Jewish and most Protestant numbering “You shall not murder” is the sixth commandment. Catholic and Lutheran numbering count it as the fifth.
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Sources: Hebrew text from the Masoretic text; English from The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic Text (Jewish Publication Society, 1917, public domain). Commentaries (Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Radak, Metzudat David, Metzudat Zion, Malbim and others) quoted from their Hebrew originals, in our own translation. Lexical notes from Brown-Driver-Briggs and Strong’s.