What Does Exodus 20:13 Mean in the King James?
Thou shalt not kill.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew verb names homicide, the taking of human life, so “kill” here carries a sharper focus than the English word can suggest.
THE MEANING
This command places a boundary around human life: one person’s life is not disposable to another. Its Hebrew verb speaks of homicide, giving the broad English word “kill” a more specific focus.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that another person’s life can be treated as expendable.
THE ROOT
תִּרְצָח
tirṣaḥ
GROWS FROM
רצח
To commit homicide; to slay.
This root names both the act of taking a life and a person who has caused a death, including a case later described as accidental. The command forbids homicide, while the wider law distinguishes intent, a precision the broad English “kill” can obscure.
ALSO GROWS
tirṣaḥ: You shall murder; you shall commit homicide.
תִּרְצָח
This is the verb in the command, making the prohibition direct and specific.
rōtsēaḥ: A slayer, murderer, or person who has caused a death.
רֹצֵחַ
Numbers 35 uses this same-root word for a person who kills “at unawares,” showing that the surrounding law distinguishes cases by intent.
THE PATTERN
Scripture marks human life as guarded by naming the taking of it as a moral boundary.
Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.THE THREAD
Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.The word translated “slayer” comes from the same root, רצח (rāṣaḥ), meaning to commit homicide or slay. Here it describes someone who kills “at unawares”; the surrounding law distinguishes that case from deliberate murder, revealing a precision the English word “kill” can hide.
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