 Is “You shall not
kill” one of the Ten Commandments? In response to an email Rabbi Dr. Dan
Cohn-Sherbok, Professor of Judaism at the University of Wales, responded on
Jan. 31, 1999: “You shall not murder is better; that is the intention of
the text.” This is in keeping with the Prayer Book’s rendition of the
Commandment on pages 318 and 350. Likewise, this is the preferred rendering of
Exodus 20:13 and Deut. 5:17 in the Bible [New Revised Standard Version, Revised
English Bible]. The Harper’s Bible Commentary notes: “The
command of Deut. 5:17 did not concern all killing, but rather outright murder
and careless accidental killing.” The Torah: A Modern Commentary, a
Jewish publication, says: “The King James Version and older translations
had ‘kill.’ However, the usual words for killing are not used here,
rather it is (the Hebrew word) which generally refers to unauthorized
homicide.” (p. 554) “Prohibition of committing murder” is noted
in “The Ten Commandments,” Sec. 5, The Interpreter’s
Dictionary of the Bible - Supplementary Volume, p. 876. The Anchor Bible
Dictionary (CD-Rom ed.) mentions: “The Hebrew verb rasah has a
meaning more restrictive that the generic English verb ‘to kill.’ ...
The commandment forbids the illegal and willful killing of the innocent, but
does not ban capital punishment nor forbid the killing of Israel’s enemies
during war.” This information is relevant to current discussions of
abortion, assisted suicide, capital punishment, military combat, self-defense,
etc. One must ponder differing criteria for “killing” (which may be
permitted) and “murder” (which is forbidden).
Professor Dan Cohn-Sherbok is the author of Judaism: History,
Belief and Practice (Routledge, 2003) and Fifty Key Jewish
Thinkers (2nd edition,
Routledge, 2007).
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