רָצַח

Exodus 20:13 תִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח׃ ס you must murder

You shall not murder.

Here: Second person masculine singular imperfect ('you will / you shall kill'). With no object stated, it bans the violent killing of a fellow person, the kind of death that put blood on someone's hands under Israel's law. The singular 'you' speaks to each Israelite one by one. The supplied gloss 'you must murder' is a one-word gloss. The 'not' comes from the word before it.

Numbers 35:6 הָרֹצֵ֑חַ the killer

Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. In addition to these, give the Levites forty-two other cities.

Numbers 35:11 רֹצֵ֔חַ a killer

designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.

Numbers 35:12 הָרֹצֵ֔חַ the killer

You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.

Numbers 35:16 רֹצֵ֣חַֽ הָרֹצֵֽחַ׃ [is] a killer, the killer

If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

Numbers 35:17 רֹצֵ֣חַֽ הָרֹצֵֽחַ׃ [is] a killer, the killer

Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

Numbers 35:18 רֹצֵ֣חַֽ הָרֹצֵֽחַ׃ [is] a killer, the killer

If anyone has in his hand a deadly object of wood, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

Numbers 35:19 הָרֹצֵ֑חַ the killer

The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.

Here: Literally 'the one who killed'. In Numbers 35 the same word also names the accidental killer (vv. 11, 25–28). Here vv. 16–21 define him as a deliberate killer, so 'murderer' is right in context.

Numbers 35:21 רֹצֵ֣חַֽ הָרֹצֵ֖חַ [is] a killer, the killer

or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds the murderer, he is to kill him.

Numbers 35:25 הָרֹצֵ֗חַ the killer

The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

Here: The participle of the verb used in the commandment 'You shall not murder.' Here it names a man the court has just found to have killed someone by accident, so it means 'the one who killed', not 'the murderer'.

Numbers 35:26 הָרֹצֵ֑חַ the killer

But if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled

Here: 'The one who killed.' The context (vv. 11, 15, 22–25) makes clear that this is the person who killed someone without intent or enmity and has been judged by the assembly to deserve asylum. It is not a murderer.

Numbers 35:27 וְרָצַ֞ח הָ֣רֹצֵ֔חַ and he will kill, the killer

and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed,

Here: This is the same verb the Ten Commandments use ('You shall not murder'), and here it describes the avenger's legally excused killing. In Numbers 35 the verb covers murder, accidental killing and the go'el's lawful killing alike.

Numbers 35:28 הָרֹצֵ֔חַ the killer

because the manslayer must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may he return to the land he owns.

Numbers 35:30 יִרְצַ֖ח הָרֹצֵ֑חַ someone will kill, the killer

If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness.

Here: "One shall kill": an active verb whose subject is left open (most likely the blood-avenger of vv. 19, 21, 27, acting after the community's verdict). It is the same verb used for the killer's own deed, so the penalty is named with the word for the crime.

Numbers 35:31 רֹצֵ֔חַ a killer

You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.

Here: In this chapter the word covers anyone who has killed someone, including the accidental killer who runs to a city of refuge (vv. 11, 25–28). Only the clause that follows narrows it here to the deliberate murderer.

Deuteronomy 4:42 רוֹצֵ֗חַ יִרְצַ֤ח a killer, he will kill

to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:

Deuteronomy 5:17 תִּֿרְצָֽח׃ ס you must murder

You shall not murder.

Here: 'You (singular) will kill', from ratsach, Hebrew's narrow word for one person violently taking another's life in a way that brings blood-guilt on the community. It is never used of war, of slaughtering animals, or of God. The singular 'you' speaks to each Israelite and to Israel as one body.

Deuteronomy 19:3 רֹצֵֽחַ׃ killer

You are to build roads for yourselves and divide into three regions the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that any manslayer can flee to these cities.

Deuteronomy 19:4 הָרֹצֵ֔חַ the killer

Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him:

Deuteronomy 19:6 הָרֹצֵ֗חַ the killer

Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not intend any harm.

Deuteronomy 22:26 וּרְצָח֣וֹ and he will kill him

Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.

Joshua 20:3 רוֹצֵ֔חַ a killer

so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

Here: A participle used as a noun: 'a killer, a slayer'. This is the same root as the commandment 'You shall not murder' (Exod 20:13). Here it describes someone who killed by accident, which shows the word covers any killing that brings blood-guilt, not only deliberate murder.

Joshua 20:5 הָרֹצֵ֖חַ the killer

Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the manslayer into his hand, because that man killed his neighbor accidentally without prior malice.

Here: 'The one who killed.' This is the same root as the commandment 'You shall not murder', but here it describes a man who killed without meaning to. The word names someone who has taken a life. It does not by itself decide whether he is guilty.

Joshua 20:6 הָרוֹצֵ֗חַ the killer

He is to stay in that city until he stands trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest serving at that time. Then the manslayer may return to his own home in the city from which he fled.”

Here: 'The killer' or 'the manslayer.' This is the same verb as in 'You shall not murder' (Exod 20:13), but here it names someone who killed accidentally (v. 3, 5). The word covers any killing that brings bloodguilt, not only intentional murder.

Joshua 21:13 הָרֹצֵ֔חַ the killer

So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,

Here: Literally 'the killer', meaning a person who has taken a human life. In the refuge laws it mainly refers to someone who killed without intent or prior hatred (Josh 20:3). He is a 'manslayer', not someone already shown to be a murderer.

Joshua 21:21 הָרֹצֵ֛חַ the killer

they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,

Here: A participle, 'the one who has killed'. In this legal context it is the person who has taken a life and flees before anyone has judged whether it was deliberate. The city shelters the killer who did not intend it (Joshua 20:3, 'unintentionally, without knowing').

Joshua 21:27 הָרֹצֵ֔חַ the killer

This is what the Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah—two cities, together with their pasturelands.

Here: A participle meaning 'the one who has killed'. In the refuge law it covers anyone who has taken a life. The city protects such a person until a hearing decides whether the killing was accidental (Josh 20:3–6). Only the person who killed unintentionally keeps that protection.

Joshua 21:32 הָֽרֹצֵ֗חַ the killer

And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands.

Here: An active participle (a verb used as a noun) with 'the': 'the killer'. In the refuge laws it refers mainly to someone who killed a person without intent and without prior hatred (Josh 20:3, 5).

Joshua 21:38 הָרֹצֵ֔חַ the killer

And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim,

Judges 20:4 הַנִּרְצָחָ֖ה <the> murdered

So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night.

1 Kings 21:19 הֲרָצַ֖חְתָּ ¿ have you murdered

Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

Here: The prefix ha- makes a question, but it works as an accusation: 'So you have murdered?' Ahab threw no stones, yet the killing is charged to him. This is the verb of the commandment 'You shall not murder'.

2 Kings 6:32 הַֽמְרַצֵּ֤חַ the murderer

Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”

Job 24:14 רוֹצֵ֗חַ a murderer

When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.

Psalm 62:3 תְּרָצְּח֪וּ you will be murdered

How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you throw him down like a leaning wall or a tottering fence?

Here: The same root as the commandment 'you shall not murder'. As the standard Hebrew text is pointed it is passive ('you will be slain'). Read as active, the more likely sense, it means 'you set out to kill / batter him'. Either way it names the attack for what it is: deadly violence, not just rivalry.

Psalm 94:6 יְרַצֵּֽחוּ׃ they murder

They kill the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.

Proverbs 22:13 אֵֽרָצֵֽחַ׃ I will be killed

The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”

Here: 'I will be murdered!' This is the verb of the commandment 'You shall not murder,' used everywhere else of one human killing another. Using it of a lion inflates the excuse into melodrama, or it shows he now imagines human killers too. Its sounds also echo the first word of the line, ʿāṣēl, so the line opens with 'sluggard' and closes with his sound-alike panic.

Isaiah 1:21 מְרַצְּחִֽים׃ murderers

See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!

Here: 'Murderers', from the verb of the commandment 'You shall not murder' (Exod 20:13). The verb form points to people who kill as a practice. In context it includes those whose courts and greed bring death to the poor, the fatherless and the widow (cf. v. 15 'hands full of blood'; Ps 94:6).

Jeremiah 7:9 רָצֹ֙חַ֙ will you murder?

Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,

Here: The Decalogue word for unlawful killing of a fellow Israelite. In context it ties back to 'shedding innocent blood in this place' (7:6).

Hosea 4:2 וְרָצֹ֥חַ and murdering

Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.

Here: 'And murdering.' This is the verb of the commandment 'You shall not murder' (Exod 20:13). It means killing a member of the community unlawfully, not killing in general.

Hosea 6:9 יְרַצְּחוּ־ they murder

Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests; they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities.