Let's start with nakahH5221

to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill

Gen 4:15 And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill H5221 him.

Gen. 8:21 neither will I again smite H5221 any more every thing living, as I have done.

Gen. 14:5 (In account of kings attacking Sodom and Gomorrah) they smote H5221 the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim

Gen. 14:7 smote H5221 all the country of the Amalekites

Gen 14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter H5221 of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings

Gen 19:11 And they smote H5221 the men that were at the door of the house with blindness,

Exo 2:11 Moses... spied an Egyptian smiting H5221 an Hebrew, one of his brethren


Exo 2:12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew H5221 the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand


Exo 3:20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite H5221 Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

1 Samuel 7:11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote H5221 them

1 Samuel 13:3 And Jonathan smote H5221 the garrison of the Philistines

1 Samuel 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote H5221 the Philistine in his forehead,

1 Samuel 23:2 Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite H5221 these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite H5221 the Philistines,

Well -- that's only a few of the 1360 times the word "nakahH5221" is used.

The meaning is obviously a violent action of "smiting" that does serious harm, not always deadly, but still serious harm. It is often used to describe acts of war.

nakahH5221 is not the word used in the ten commandments so lets look at that word next.




THE WORD USED IN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

ratsach H7523

to murder, slay, kill, assassinate

It is used 47 times --
slayer (16x), murderer (14x), kill (5x), murder (3x), slain (3x), manslayer (2x), killing


Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill. H7523


Deu 5:17 Thou shalt not kill. H7523


Num 35:16 And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: H7523 the murderer H7523 shall surely be put to death.


Num 35:19 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: H7523 when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.


Num 35:21 Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: H7523 the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, H7523 when he meeteth him


Deu 19:4 And this is the case of the slayer, H7523 which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth (nakahH5221) his neighbour ignorantly,


Jos 20:5 And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer H7523 up into his hand; because he smote {nakah H5221] his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime

Judges 20:4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, H7523


Jer 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, H7523 and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

Thank you, Dedication. Those textual examples of the Hebrew word usages are very helpful. God doesn't "ratsach," which is against the Ten Commandments. In fact, if APL can find even one instance in the Bible where God is said to "murder" (Heb. ratsach), it could blow my entire theology on this point apart. However, the Bible does have a clear demarcation between these two concepts.

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Does the Hebrew word Ratsach H7523 always and only meam murder? No.

Numbers 35:11 Then you shall appointH7136 you citiesH5892 to beH1961 citiesH5892 of refugeH4733 for you; that the slayerH7523 may fleeH5127 thither,H8033 which killsH5221 any personH5315 at unawares.H7684
Numbers 35:12 And they shall beH1961 to you citiesH5892 for refugeH4733 from the avenger;H4480 H1350 that the manslayerH7523 dieH4191 not,H3808 untilH5704 he standH5975 beforeH6440 the congregationH5712 in judgment.H4941

Deuteronomy 4:42 That the slayerH7523 might fleeH5127 thither,H8033 whichH834 should killH7523 (H853) his neighborH7453 unawares,H1097 H1847 and hatedH8130 him notH3808 in times past;H4480 H8543 H8032 and that fleeingH5127 toH413 oneH259 ofH4480 theseH411 citiesH5892 he might live:H2425

So no, Ratsach does not always and only mean murder. Deuteronomy 4:42 even speaks of whether hatred is involved. To say that in the 10C that the word only and always means murder is not sustained.

Your deduction is based on English translation? I think that a very poor way to come to that conclusion.

Ratsach means "to break or dash in pieces"

The man in Number 35:11, 12 & are both in the case of a [pre-meditated] murderer.

The man in Deut 4:42 is in the case of a man that is innocent and did not murder, however, until the court can prove his innocence, he has to run to a city of refuge for if not the avenger of blood(ga'al) can murder[ratsach) him. So the text employs the word ratsach because he has to run as a murderer (ratsach).

As I was looking at all the Hebrew words for "kill" -- I was very surprise to see that scripture uses ratsach for the Avenger of Blood to murder(ratsach) the murderer(ratsach).

AV Num 35:27 And the revenger of blood(ga'al) find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood(ga'al) kill(ratsach) the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:

The ga'al is the family's defender in a court of law. He is either a redeemer of blood or an avenger of blood depending on the case. So in a case of a family member get's into debt due to an offense, or business misfortune; the ga'al is responsible to redeem His next of kin's debt. In the situation where any member of his family is a victim of a crime; the ga'al is responsible to make sure that full justice is rendered.

So in the case that someone murder(or kill by accident) someone of his family, the ga'al have the right to kill(ratsach) that person if he's outside a city of refuge.

In the case of the slayer is found innocent in the city of refuge court, that man has to stay in the city of refuge as long as the High Priest is alive. Once the High Priest dies, only then that man that killed accidently can return to his land. If the man leaves the city of refuge, despite he is found innocent before the High Priest death, the avenger of blood(ga'al) can kill(ratsach) him. That's what Num 35 says.

This all means something prophetically via how the Lord will judge at the Great White throne for cases of murder. Without digressing into that, I found it quite surprising that the Avenger of blood is said that he can murder (ratsach) that man. There's 5 other Hebrew "killing" words that could of been used instead; but for the Lord to use this word must mean something that I'm not seeing right now.

The ga'al, either redeemer of blood or the avenger of blood, both represent Jesus.

So Green we did find one place in the Bible where the Lord ratsach .... there it is. The Lord has allowed Himself to ratsach in His own law.

APL,

In the Levitical system, anyone who killed someone else was assumed to be a murderer until proven otherwise, i.e. "guilty until proven innocent." And here's the catch: Even IF the person had killed someone unintentionally, such as by an accident at work, the killer was required to live in one of the six cities of refuge until the death of the high priest, and if he or she was caught outside of the city, the nearest of kin to the one who had died was obligated to do his duty and kill the killer...and then go to the city of refuge himself!

If the murderer had fled to the city for safety, but then it was determined by witnesses before the judges that the murderer had intentionally killed, as by lying in wait, or with hatred, etc., then the city of refuge delivered him up to receive his capital punishment outside of the city.

So the Bible uses "murderer" for any killer before afterward declaring which cases were not murder: Guilty until proven innocent. Its usage in these cases is not incorrect, as APL alleges, and it does mean "murder."

Notice, for example, in APL's prime text, that it says "that the [murderer/ratsach] die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment." At the point of judgment, if he is found to truly be a murderer, he will die. If not, his life will be spared, as it was not "murder." Guilty until proven innocent means he was counted as a murderer until proven otherwise, hence the Biblical language depicting this.

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Deuteronomy 4:42 is describing a person who did not commit premeditated killing and did not hate his neighbor, and uses the term ratsach. That is not murder.

Elle,

You're running ahead to theological ramifications before having firmly established definitions. Once you have more completely defined the Biblical meaning of "murder," you will see that God does not do it. God does avenge, and He does kill. But look very carefully at the laws God gave for the avengers in doing their work, and you will see a better picture of the work God Himself will do as our future avenger. Yes, He says "vengeance is mine," and there is a spiritual lesson from this study. But don't jump ahead before the definitions are finished, remembering that we need to use the Bible's own definitions.

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

APL,

That verse is referring specifically to the city of refuge system. It speaks of the "murderer" being able to live there, but the implication is still there that the guilty would be treated differently because this was already outlined in Numbers 35, a few chapters prior, and specific reference is made to factors that would judge the murderer to be not guilty of murder.

Deuteronomy 4 simply records that Moses fulfilled part of God's requirement of selecting cities to be cities of refuge that would accept pre-trial "murderers" and allow the ones who had not hated nor lain in wait (i.e. those determined to have committed "involuntary manslaughter" as opposed to "murder") to live in them.

If you try to insist this is not speaking of murderers, you only show that you have not understood the "guilty until proven innocent" system that God gave Israel for these cases of manslaughter, nor the manner in which the cities of refuge functioned in this system. I think, however, that you may understand more than you let on. Why not simply accept the truth?

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Deuteronomy 4:42 That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing to one of these cities he might live:

What is the verse saying about the person fleeing to the city of refuge? That he is a murder? NO. He killed his neighbor unawares and hated him not. This verse shows the usage of the work ratsach. I know it does not fit with your ideas, but hey, only the Spirit can change you, not I. And Spirit, the Son and the Father do not kill anyone by any definition of the term, and the 10C, a transcript of Their character shows that. Why do you want to be able to kill so badly? Is it not Good News that God is not out to destroy us? Why is it so important to you that God kills?

You are correct that the Bible is not saying a person is a murderer for killing someone unawares. What it is saying here instead is that the person is considered a murderer, even if he may not be, until he's been tried, and, murderer or not, he must flee to the city for refuge.

Remember Jesus' words about the "dead" burying "their dead"? Obviously, dead people can't bury dead people. Why, then, does Jesus say it this way? There is a clue in the definitions there that applies to this in the same principle.

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.