![]() ![]() On a separate occasion, a blasphemer was stoned to death because he blasphemed the name of the Lord ( Yahweh) with a curse. As a result, Moses said that the Levites had received a blessing that day at the cost of son and brother. The Levites obeyed and killed about three thousand men who had sinned in worship of the golden calf. When Moses came down, he commanded the Levites to take up the sword against their brothers and companions and neighbors. A number of sins were considered to be worthy of the death penalty including murder, incest, bearing false witness ( perjury) in proceedings of a capital charge, adultery, idolatry, bestiality, child sacrifice to pagan gods, cursing a parent, fortune-telling, homosexuality, and other sins.įor example, the Exodus narrative describes the people as having turned to idolatry with the golden calf while Moses was on the mountain receiving the law from God. The Torah and Hebrew Bible made clear distinctions between the shedding of innocent blood versus killing as the due consequence of a crime. Justified killing: due consequence for crime In a more modern analysis, Wilma Ann Bailey also finds a broader application of the word retzach. While Jerome had access to Jewish scholars, "even the Jewish translators were not unanimous in maintaining a consistent distinctions between the various Hebrew roots." ![]() Most subsequent translations follow Jerome's Vulgate. Eliezer Segal observes that the Septuagint uses the term harag, and that Augustine of Hippo recognized that this did not extend to wars or capital punishment. When Cain is driven into exile, complaining that "every one that findeth me shall slay me" in Genesis 4:14, he again uses this verb ( h-r-g). Īnother verb meaning "to kill, slay, murder, destroy, ruin" is h-r-g, used of Cain slaying Abel in Genesis 4:8. The right of the avenger of blood to such revenge ceased, upon the death of the person who was the Jewish High Priest at the time of the crime. The Priestly Code allowed the victim's next of kin ( avenger of blood) to exact retribution on the suspect but the accused could seek sanctuary in a city of refuge. The Torah portrays murder as a capital crime and describes a number of details in the moral understanding and legal implementation of consequences. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. The Genesis narrative also portrays the prohibition of shedding innocent blood as an important aspect of God's covenant with Noah. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand." Genesis 4:10–11 (ESV) "The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. ![]() The commandment against murder can also be viewed as based in respect for God himself. The commandment against murder can be viewed as a legal issue governing human relationships, noting that the first four commandments relate strongly to man's duty to God and that the latter six commandments describe duties toward humans. These range from Christian pacifism and opposition to suicide, euthanasia, and abortion, to support for capital punishment and just war. Interpretations of Biblical directives on when it is and is not appropriate to kill vary across denominations of Judaism and Christianity that treat the Torah as holy scripture. In Jewish law, a wrongful killing deserving punishment incurs what is known as bloodguilt. Other passages in the Torah describe circumstances in which killing is permitted or encouraged. The Ten Commandments are given twice in the Torah, and this one appears at both Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17. Thou shalt not kill ( LXX οὐ φονεύσεις), You shall not murder ( Hebrew: לֹא תִּרְצָח lo tirṣaḥ) or You shall not kill ( KJV), is a moral imperative included as one of the Ten Commandments in the Torah. The image is from the altar screen of the Temple Church near the Law Courts in London. The Sixth Commandment, as translated by the Book of Common Prayer (1549). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |