Kill

Kill [Heb. harag, mut, nakah, shakhat, ratsakh, qatal, etc; Grk. apokteinō, anaireō, thyō, thanatoō, diacheirizō, sphazō]. To cause the death of a living being.

A number of Hebrew words are translated in NKJV with “kill” among which the most common are mentioned above. These words refer to different ways of killing, so one has to keep in mind that several other English terms are closely associated with killing, such as murdering, slaying, slaughtering, striking down, smiting, piercing, destroying, or simply causing death. Since the theme of killing is antonymous to life, discussion on the theme of killing must begin with the assertion that God is the originator of life (Gen 1:20–31; 2:7; cf. John 1:1–5). Consequently, any kind of life, especially human, has great value in the eyes of God, so it is not surprising that throughout both the OT and NT there is a strong emphasis on the importance of the sanctity of life (Pss 8:4–5; 139:13–16; John 3:16; 1 Cor 3:16–17). The sacredness of human life is derived from the concept of the Imago Dei, according to which human beings are created in God’s own image (Gen 1:26–28) and, therefore, they are supposed to preserve and not take each other’s life (Gen 9:6).

It is the human fall into sin that led to the death of the first animal from whose skin God made tunics for Adam and Eve (Gen 3:21). Even more tragically, sin led to the first homicide in which Cain murdered his brother Abel (Gen 4:8). In this new post-Fall world, where killing tragically became a common phenomenon, God set up some regulations that His people were supposed to keep. One of the most important regulations was the prohibition of murder (Gen 9:6; Exod 20:13; cf. 21:12; 23:7), though one had to make a distinction between murdering and killing unintentionally (Deut 19:4, 11; Num 35:9–21).

Besides the prohibition of murder, the OT law legislated ritual killing of animals for sacrificial purposes (Exod 12:6; 29:11; Lev 1:5, 11) as well as capital punishment—known as the death sentence—in case of serious offenses. The list of capital offenses is provided in Exodus 21:12–17, and these regulations should be understood from the perspective of the sacredness of human life. Comparative studies of law in the ANE societies have demonstrated that the people of Israel had higher moral standards with respect to killing than the nations surrounding them, so the rules introduced by God served as a prevention from the threat of violence.

From the point of view of the continuity and/or discontinuity of OT laws, including the laws legislating the death penalty, one has to keep in mind that these laws are not automatically transferrable to the current society or church. Jesus in the Gospels does not condone them, and neither do the rest of the NT writers. However, the OT laws were primarily designed to keep Israel a holy, dedicated nation to God, and thus, to be an agent of restoration for the whole earth. As such, in their historical context, these rules that were introduced by God served as a prevention from the threat of violence, and they delimited the spread of evil in general.

Besides the legal texts of the OT, the theme of killing appears predominantly in the narrative texts and prophetic literature. Those mentioned as doing the action of killing are usually human individuals such as Cain (Gen 4:8), Moses (Exod 2:14), the pharaoh (Exod 2:15), Gideon (Judg 8:17), and David (1 Sam 24:11)—to mention only a few—or group of people like Jacob’s sons (Gen 37:18, 20), the pharaoh’s servants (Exod 5:21), and Assyrians (Ezek 23:10). Besides human beings, the OT mentions other agents or causes of killing such as animals (1 Kgs 20:36; 2 Kgs 17:25; Job 20:16; Jer 5:6), hunger (Exod 16:1–3), thirst (Exod 17:3), and pestilence (Jer 21:6).

In the OT narratives, killing is mentioned most often in the context of different battles. The most well-known are those related to the conquest of the promised land (e.g., the battle against the Midians [Num 31:1–24; cf. Deut 7:2] and the battle against Ai [Josh 8]), those led by the Judges in the periods of Israel’s occupation (e.g., the battle led by Gideon [Judg 8]), and wars led by the kings (e.g., the war against Ammonites [2 Sam 10:18; cf. 1 Chr 19:18]). Most of these instances are associated with the so-called “holy wars” (Num 21:2; Josh 6:21; 8:26). Those who were killed were primarily human beings, individuals (2 Sam 2:21–23), small or large groups of people (Josh 7:5; Judg 20:31; 1 Sam 18:27), or the whole population of a certain region or city (Num 21:35; Josh 8:22; 2 Kgs 15:16), but also animals (Josh 20:48; 1 Sam 22:19). In some OT descriptions of battles, there are portrayals of people who took their own lives (Judg 16: 29–30; 1 Sam 31:4–5; 2 Sam 17:23; 1 Kgs 16:18; cf. Matt 27:3–10). In all these cases, suicide is mentioned in a negative context (see Suicide).

Killing is not mentioned only in relation to battles and wars but also in the context of personal conflict with political opponents and/or personal enemies and rivals. Well-known examples of rivalry are the ones between Cain and Abel (Gen 4:1–16), which ended with the death of the younger brother; Esau and Jacob, in which Esau threatened to kill his brother Jacob (Gen 27:41); Joseph and his brothers (Gen 37:18–20); and Saul and David, the rivalry in which Saul desired to kill David (1 Sam 19:2). Prophets are in the OT often mentioned as targets since they posed a threat for kings and other people. One of the best examples is Elijah, who ran away from Jezebel (1 Kgs 19:1–3), an evil person who killed the prophets of the Lord (1 Kgs 18:13; cf. 19:10; Neh 9:6–37; Jer 11:18–23). Monarchical successions were also threatened sometimes by strong conflicts: usurpation of the throne by killing the existing king was not unheard of (1 Kgs 15:25–30; 2 Kgs 15:8–12; 27–30). Killing is also often mentioned as an act of revenge. Prominent examples include Simeon and Levi’s killing of the people of Shechem in revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah (Gen 34:25) and Joab’s killing of Abner (2 Sam 3:30).

In the prophetic literature, killing appears in a similar way as already discussed, but in some instances, the Lord acts as the subject of killing. Namely, He is described as the one who destroys His and Israel’s enemies, such as the Philistines, Tyre, and Moab (Isa 14:28–32; Ezek 26:8, 11; Amos 2:1–3), but at times He also begins a war against His own people (Isa 5:25; Amos 9:1–4). He can destroy His enemies by using other human agents (2 Sam 5:24; Ezek 32:15) or through illness (Exod 9:15) or catastrophes (Gen 8:21; cf. 6:5–7). When reading these passages, one has to keep in mind the historical context that those biblical texts address, as well as the fact that God’s judicial punishment is always a reaction to something that is evil and deteriorating. Punishment always comes as the final measure after numerous appeals to those people to change their evil ways are exhausted. It is also important to note that the purpose of God’s action is always to bring salvation to both Israelites and Gentiles (Gen 12:1-3; Jer 30:17; Ezek 18:23, 32; 33:11).

Finally, in the wisdom literature, killing as a concept appears in various ways. Similarly to other biblical texts, it is normally mentioned in a literal sense (e.g., Lam 2:21), but it is also used metaphorically. A good example of metaphorical use is a description of a crafty harlot as a slayer of men (Prov 7:26).

The NT also refers to the act of killing in a number of cases. Killing is primarily mentioned in the Gospels, where Jesus fundamentally condemns any act of killing and even goes beyond that and claims that murder can be committed in the heart without taking someone’s life (Matt 5:21–26; cf. Jas 2:11). He states that His disciples should not be afraid of those who kill them, because He has the power to raise them to eternal life (Matt 10:28; see Soul). The Gospels also develop the OT theme of the prophets’ persecution due to their faithfulness to God (Matt 23:37; Luke 11:47) and mention that, similarly, the followers of Jesus must face the threat of being killed (Matt 14:5; 23:30; 24:9; Mark 6:19; John 16:2)—the reality that continued in the life of the early church (Acts 21:31; 23:12–14). Most importantly, the Gospels mention the intention of the chief priests to kill Jesus (Matt 26:4; Luke 13:31; 22:2; John 5:16; 7:1), but one has to keep in mind that the emphasis is on Jesus’ voluntary submission to death, His sacrifice, and suffering. Jesus Himself predicted His sacrificial death on a number of occasions (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34). Thus, He is pictured as a slain lamb in Revelation 5:9.

In Acts 5, Luke narrates the story where Ananias and Sapphira were killed because Satan deceived them to lie to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). Paul refers to killing only in a few instances, both in a literal and a metaphorical sense. On the one hand, he uses the term “kill” in a literal sense to assert that Jesus was killed by His own people who also persecuted God’s prophets in the past (1 Thess 2:15). On the other hand, the apostle uses the term metaphorically in the context of the danger of legalism that “kills” (2 Cor 3:6) as well to describe the unity between Jews and Gentiles which was accomplished on the cross by putting the enmity between these two group of people to death (Eph 2:16).

Finally, “kill” is used extensively in the book of Revelation. It is used mostly in the context of the cosmic conflict between good and evil (Rev 6:8; 11:7; 13:10, 15). The execution of God’s final judgment will include killing (Rev 20:7–10), but this should be understood as the final act of eradicating evil from the universe that leads to life. See also Sanctity of Life; Murder; War in the OT; War in the NT.

References

Fuhs, H. F. “הרג.” In Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Edited by G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren. Translated by David E. Green. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978. 3:447–57

Illman, K. J., Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry. “מות.” In Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Edited by G. Johannes Botterweck. Translated by Douglas W. Stott. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997. 8:185–209

Conrad, J. “נכה.” In Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Edited by G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry. Translated by David E. Green. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998. 9:415–423.