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SUBJECT: Killing vs. Murder
QUESTION: What is the difference between murder and
killing?
ANSWER
Notice this verse (Exodus 20: 13): Thou shalt not kill.
This verse should be rendered, “Thou shalt not murder.”
There is a huge difference between “kill” and “murder”.
Look at what Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance shows for the
word “kill” in Exodus 20:13.
7523 ratsach (raw-tsakh');
a primitive root; properly, to dash in pieces, i.e. kill (a
human being), especially to murder:
KJV-- put to death, kill, (man-) slay (-er), murder (-er).
Note: Clearly,
this word is talking about murder rather than killing.
Notice the rendering of this word in the verses below…
Psalm 10:8
He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the
secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are
privily set against the poor.
Psalm 94:6
They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder (Strong’s
word 7523) the fatherless.
Jeremiah 7:9
Will ye steal, murder (Strong’s word 7523), and commit
adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and
walk after other gods whom ye know not;
Hosea 6:9
And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of
priests murder (Strong’s word 7523) in the way by consent:
for they commit lewdness.
Matthew 19:18
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no
murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not
steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
In the New Testament, Strong’s Concordance shows the Greek
in this verse as…
5407 phoneuo (fon-yoo'-o);
from 5406; to be a murderer (of):
KJV-- kill, do murder, slay.
Romans 1:29
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy,
murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Strongs’ word here is…
5408 phonos (fon'-os);
from an obsolete primary pheno (to slay); murder:
KJV-- murder, + be slain with, slaughter.
Note: All of
these verses render the word, “murder” rather than kill.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WAR AND
MURDER
Now let us look at something else that will help us to
understand this subject.
Take a look at the Blessings and Curses Chapters which are
Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. These chapters outline the
blessings we, as a country or nation will have if we follow
God and the cursings or lack of blessings we will know if we
do not follow God and keep His commandments.
Leviticus 26:1-7
1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear
you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image
of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the
LORD your God.
2 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I
am the LORD.
3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and
do them;
4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land
shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall
yield their fruit.
5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the
vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat
your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down,
and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts
out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your
land.
7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall
before you by the sword.
Note: Verse 7 shows
that we chase our enemies and they shall fall before the
sword. Clearly, He would not hold us guilty for doing what
He commanded us to do.
Notice what the commentary says about this verse:
Leviticus 26:1-13
3. Victory and success in their wars abroad,
while they had peace and tranquility at home, v. 7, 8. They
are assured that the hand of God should so signally appear
with them in their conquests that no disproportion of
numbers should make against them: Five of you shall have
courage to attack, and strength to chase and defeat, a
hundred, as Jonathan did <1 Sam. 14:12>, experiencing the
truth of his own maxim (v. 6), that it is all one with the
Lord to save by many or by few.
~from Matthew Henry's
Commentary
Deuteronomy 28:6-7
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed
shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against
thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out
against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
Look at what the commentary says about this verse:
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
[6.] they should be victorious over their
enemies, and prosper in all their wars. If any were so
daring as to rise up against them to oppress them, or
encroach upon them, it should be at their peril, they should
certainly fall before them, v. 7. The forces of the enemy,
though entirely drawn up to come against them one way,
should be entirely routed, and flee before them seven ways,
each making the best of his way. ~from
Matthew Henry's Commentary
Now let us consider Exodus 12:21:
Exodus 21:12
He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put
to death.
This is clearly speaking of murder and not killing. Notice
the commentary:
Exodus 21:12-17
He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put
to death.
Capital Crimes.
The sanctity of life is stressed by these laws against
murder, kidnapping, and violence. God curbs the violence of
sinful men by this sanction of strict justice. ~from
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Read throughout the Old Testament how God went before Israel
in war. Read through Exodus and Joshua for example. You
will see the difference.
For additional help and understanding, get hold of Nave’s
Topical Bible and look under the subject of Homicide. There
are listed dozens of scriptures showing the difference
between killing and murder.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT ELEMENT
How having said all this…
Roman 14:23 tells us,
“whatever is not of faith is sin” which is to say that if we
individually feel that something is a sin to us, then it
is. Despite all the scripture above that proves that it is
murder and not killing that we are talking about, some may
feel guilty for something they may have done including
either murder or killing. This is okay, because there is
repentance of sin.
At that moment you go before God in repentance for past
sins….YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY FORGIVEN.
Psalm 103:12-13
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he
removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD
pitieth them that fear him.
Isaiah 1:18
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isaiah 43:25-26
25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for
mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
26 Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare
thou, that thou mayest be justified.
Matthew 1:21
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his
name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Matthew 26:28
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for
many for the remission of sins.
Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 4:7-8
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Heb 8:12
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their
sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
1 John 2:1-2
1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye
sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Note: We can
easily see that upon repentance that our sins are forgiven;
the slate is clean. If your husband and/or sons feel this
strongly about the past, they need only repent to have all
these past events to be wiped clean from their “record”.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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