Word Studies¶
Hebrew Kill/Murder Vocabulary¶
ratsach (רָצַח) — H7523¶
Original: רָצַח Transliteration: raw-tsakh Part of Speech: Verb Definition: "A primitive root; properly, to dash in pieces, i.e. kill (a human being), especially to murder: put to death, kill, (man-)slay(-er), murder(-er)." BLB Count: 47 occurrences
Translations¶
| Translation | Count | % | Key References |
|---|---|---|---|
| the slayer | 10 | 19.6% | Num 35:11,25-28; Deu 4:42; 19:6; Jos 20:3,5,6 |
| the murderer | 6 | 11.8% | Num 35:16,17,18,19,21,30 |
| for the slayer | 5 | 9.8% | Num 35 context |
| a murderer | 4 | 7.8% | Num 35:16,17,18,21 |
| kill | 3 | 5.9% | Exo 20:13; Num 35:27; Deu 5:17 |
| murder | 3 | 5.9% | Psa 94:6; Jer 7:9; Hos 6:9 |
| Thou shalt | 2 | 3.9% | Exo 20:13; Deu 5:17 (partial) |
| Other translations | 18 | 35.3% | Various |
Semantic Range Observation¶
Ratsach is translated BOTH as "the slayer" (10x — used for the UNINTENTIONAL killer who flees to cities of refuge, Num 35:11,25-28; Deu 4:42; Jos 20:3,5,6) AND as "the murderer" (6x — used for the INTENTIONAL killer who must be put to death, Num 35:16-19,21,30). The same Hebrew word covers both categories. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is made by context (presence/absence of hatred, enmity, malicious intent, lying in wait), not by a different word.
Key Verses with Hebrew Parsing¶
- Exo 20:13: לֹא תִּרְצָח — Qal Imperfect 2ms with negative particle. "You shall not ratsach."
- Num 35:11: רֹצֵחַ — Qal Participle ms. Used for the unintentional slayer: "the rotseach who strikes a person by error (bishgagah)"
- Num 35:16: רֹצֵחַ הוּא — Qal Participle ms + pronoun. Used for the intentional killer: "a murderer he [is]"
LXX Connections¶
The LXX translates H7523 primarily as: - G5407 φονεύω (phoneuo): 25 times (PMI 8.62 — overwhelmingly primary correspondence) - G2703 καταφεύγω (flee): 3 times (cities of refuge context) - G3960 πατάσσω (strike): 8 times - G2289 θανατόω (put to death): 5 times
The dominant LXX translation φονεύω is the same word used in Mat 5:21 and Rom 13:9.
harag (הָרַג) — H2026¶
Original: הָרַג Transliteration: haw-rag Part of Speech: Verb Definition: "A primitive root; to smite with deadly intent: destroy, out of hand, kill, murder(-er), put to (death), make (slaughter), slay(-er), surely." BLB Count: 167 occurrences
Translations¶
| Translation | Count | % | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| slew | 19 | 10.5% | Most common — narrative past tense |
| and slew | 10 | 5.5% | Narrative continuation |
| to slay | 5 | 2.8% | Purpose/intent |
| slain | 5 | 2.8% | Passive/result |
| kill | 2 | 1.1% | General |
| slay | 3 | 1.7% | Imperative |
| 113 other translations | 137 | 75.7% | Widely varied |
Comparison with ratsach¶
Harag is the general word for killing. It is used for: - Cain killing Abel (Gen 4:8) — "Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him [harag]" - War killing (Num 31:7-8) - Judicial execution (Exo 32:27) - General slaying of any kind - Even God's killing (Exo 4:23; 13:15)
Harag has a much broader semantic range (167x vs. 47x for ratsach). It does not carry the specific legal connotations of ratsach.
muth (מוּת) — H4191¶
Original: מוּת Transliteration: mooth Part of Speech: Verb Definition: "A primitive root; to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill: at all, crying, (be) dead (body, man, one), (put to, worthy of) death, destroy(-er), (cause to, be like to, must) die, kill, necro(-mancer), must needs, slay, surely, very suddenly, in (no) wise." BLB Count: 835 occurrences
Key Translations¶
| Translation | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| died | 75 | 7.4% |
| die | 70 | 6.9% |
| surely [die] | 49 | 4.8% |
| shall die | 38 | 3.7% |
| be put to death | 33 | 3.2% |
| was dead | 28 | 2.8% |
| dead | 24 | 2.4% |
Comparison with ratsach¶
Muth is the broadest Hebrew death term. It covers: - Natural death (Gen 25:8) - Death penalty sentences: "moth yumath" (dying he shall die / surely put to death) — the emphatic construction used in Num 35:16-18,21,31 - Any form of dying or killing - Used in the Num 35 penalty formula alongside ratsach: the rotseach (ratsach) shall be moth yumath (muth) — "the murderer shall surely be put to death"
nakah (נָכָה) — H5221¶
Original: נָכָה Transliteration: naw-kaw Part of Speech: Verb Definition: "A primitive root; to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively)." BLB Count: 500+ occurrences
Key Translations¶
| Translation | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| and smote | 43 | 7.6% |
| smote | 36 | 6.3% |
| slew | 23 | 4.1% |
| smite | 13 | 2.3% |
| killeth | 5 | 0.9% |
Usage in Numbers 35¶
Nakah is the physical act verb used alongside ratsach in Num 35. The pattern is: "if he nakah (strike) him...and he muth (die)...rotseach (killer) he is." Nakah describes the physical action; ratsach describes the person's status/category. - Num 35:11: "rotseach, makeh-nephesh bishgagah" = "the killer, striker of a soul by error" - Num 35:16: "hikkahu" (nakah Hiphil) = "he struck him" — followed by rotseach classification - Num 35:21: "hikkahu" (nakah Hiphil) + "be'eybah" (in enmity) = intentional murder
dam (דָּם) — H1818¶
Original: דָּם Transliteration: dawm Part of Speech: Noun Definition: "Blood (as that which when shed causes death)." BLB Count: 360+ occurrences
Key Translations¶
| Translation | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| the blood | 79 | 20.2% |
| blood | 75 | 19.2% |
| of blood | 20 | 5.1% |
| bloody | 9 | 2.3% |
Theological Significance¶
Central to the murder prohibition: - Gen 9:4-6: Blood = life; shedding man's blood requires blood-for-blood restitution - Num 35:33: "Blood defileth the land; and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it" - Psa 51:14: "Deliver me from bloodguiltiness" (damim — bloods, plural intensive)
chamas (חָמָס) — H2555¶
Original: חָמָס Transliteration: khaw-mawce Part of Speech: Noun Definition: "Violence; wrong; unjust gain." BLB Count: 60+ occurrences
Key Translations¶
| Translation | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| violence | 14 | 23.0% |
| violent | 6 | 9.8% |
| with violence | 5 | 8.2% |
| of violence | 5 | 8.2% |
| cruelty | 3+ | ~5% |
Connection to Murder¶
Chamas is the underlying violence concept behind the murder prohibition. Used in Gen 49:5 context (Simeon/Levi's "instruments of cruelty"), and throughout the prophets for the violence that provokes God's judgment.
Greek Kill/Murder Vocabulary¶
phoneuo (φονεύω) — G5407¶
Original: φονεύω Transliteration: fon-yoo Part of Speech: Verb Definition: "To be a murderer (of); kill, do murder, slay." BLB Count: 12 occurrences LXX Connection: Primary translation of H7523 ratsach (25 times)
All NT Occurrences¶
| Reference | Context | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Mat 5:21a | "Thou shalt not kill" (quoting Exo 20:13) | kill |
| Mat 5:21b | "whosoever shall kill" | kill |
| Mat 19:18 | Jesus to rich young ruler: "Thou shalt do no murder" | murder |
| Mat 23:31 | "children of them which killed the prophets" | killed |
| Mat 23:35 | "whom ye slew between temple and altar" | ye slew |
| Mrk 10:19 | "Do not kill" | kill |
| Luk 18:20 | "Do not kill" | kill |
| Rom 13:9 | "Thou shalt not kill" | kill |
| Jas 2:11 | "Do not kill...yet if thou kill" | kill (2x) |
| Jas 4:2 | "Ye kill, and desire to have" | kill |
| Jas 5:6 | "Ye have condemned and killed the just" | killed |
Greek Parsing Notes (from parser output)¶
- Mat 5:21: φονεύσεις — Future Active Indicative 2nd Singular (LXX prohibition form)
- Mat 5:21: φονεύσῃ — Aorist Active Subjunctive 3rd Singular (conditional: "whoever should murder")
- Rom 13:9: φονεύσεις — Future Active Indicative 2nd Singular (same form as Mat 5:21)
phonos (φόνος) — G5408¶
Original: φόνος Transliteration: fon Part of Speech: Masculine noun Definition: "Murder; slain." BLB Count: 10 occurrences
All NT Occurrences¶
| Reference | Translation |
|---|---|
| Mat 15:19 | murders |
| Mrk 7:21 | murders |
| Mrk 15:7 | murder (Barabbas committed) |
| Luk 23:19,25 | murder (Barabbas) |
| Act 9:1 | slaughter (Saul's "breathing out") |
| Rom 1:29 | murder |
| Gal 5:21 | murders |
| Heb 11:37 | slain with the sword |
| Rev 9:21 | murders |
phoneus (φονεύς) — G5406¶
Original: φονεύς Transliteration: fon-yooce Part of Speech: Masculine noun Definition: "A murderer (always of criminal (or at least intentional) killing)." BLB Count: 7 occurrences
All NT Occurrences¶
| Reference | Translation |
|---|---|
| Mat 22:7 | murderers |
| Act 3:14 | a murderer (Barabbas) |
| Act 7:52 | murderers (of the Just One) |
| Act 28:4 | a murderer (assumed of Paul) |
| 1Pe 4:15 | a murderer |
| Rev 21:8 | murderers |
| Rev 22:15 | murderers |
Greek Parsing Note (Rev 21:8)¶
φονεῦσιν — Dative Plural Masculine. Listed in a catalogue of the excluded: cowards, unbelievers, abominable, murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, liars. Their portion: lake of fire = second death.
anthropoktonos (ἀνθρωποκτόνος) — G443¶
Original: ἀνθρωποκτόνος Transliteration: anth-ro-pok-ton-os Part of Speech: Adjective (used as substantive) Definition: "A manslayer, murderer." Compound of ἄνθρωπος (man) + κτείνω (to kill). NT Occurrences: 3 (Jhn 8:44; 1Jn 3:15 twice)
Key Occurrences¶
| Reference | Context |
|---|---|
| Jhn 8:44 | "He [the devil] was a murderer (anthropoktonos) from the beginning" |
| 1Jn 3:15a | "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer (anthropoktonos)" |
| 1Jn 3:15b | "and ye know that no murderer (anthropoktonos) hath eternal life abiding in him" |
Greek Parsing Note (1 John 3:15)¶
- μισῶν (miseo, G3404) — Present Active Participle: "the one [habitually] hating"
- ἀνθρωποκτόνος — Nominative Singular Masculine (predicate adjective): "is a man-killer"
- ζωὴν αἰώνιον — "eternal life"
- μένουσαν (meno, G3306) — Present Active Participle: "abiding/remaining"
The same word connects the devil (Jhn 8:44) to Cain (1Jn 3:12) to anyone who hates (1Jn 3:15). John's theology: hatred = murder in its heart-root.
androphonos (ἀνδροφόνος) — G409¶
Original: ἀνδροφόνος Transliteration: an-drof-on Part of Speech: Masculine noun Definition: "A murderer; manslayer." Compound of ἀνήρ (man) + φόνος (murder). BLB Count: 1 occurrence
Occurrence¶
| Reference | Context |
|---|---|
| 1Ti 1:9 | "...for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers (androphonos)" |
Note: Paul lists this in the context of what the law is "for" — the lawless, including patricides, matricides, and manslayers. This word is distinct from phoneus (G5406) which emphasizes criminal intent; androphonos may carry a broader meaning.
Word Family Summary¶
Hebrew Vocabulary Hierarchy¶
| Word | H# | Occurrences | Range | Specificity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| muth | H4191 | 835 | Broadest: all death/dying | General |
| nakah | H5221 | 500+ | Physical striking/smiting | Action |
| harag | H2026 | 167 | General killing (any context) | Moderate |
| ratsach | H7523 | 47 | Human-on-human killing (both intentional and unintentional) | Most specific — commandment word |
| dam | H1818 | 360+ | Blood (noun) | Theological concept |
| chamas | H2555 | 60+ | Violence (noun) | Underlying concept |
Greek Vocabulary¶
| Word | G# | Occurrences | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| phoneuo | G5407 | 12 | The LXX/NT verb for ratsach — "to murder/kill" |
| phonos | G5408 | 10 | Noun: "murder, slaughter" |
| phoneus | G5406 | 7 | Agent noun: "murderer" (criminal intent) |
| anthropoktonos | G443 | 3 | "Man-killer" — used of devil and haters |
| androphonos | G409 | 1 | "Manslayer" — Paul's term in 1Ti 1:9 |
Hebrew-to-Greek Correspondence¶
The primary correspondence chain: H7523 ratsach → G5407 phoneuo (LXX: 25 times). This is the word in Exo 20:13/Deu 5:17 that Jesus quotes in Mat 5:21, Paul cites in Rom 13:9, and James references in Jas 2:11. The commandment word ratsach traverses from the Hebrew Decalogue through the LXX into the NT through phoneuo.