Question
Is the commandment that the Lord gave to Moses "You shall not kill" or "You shall not murder?" Thank you for your time. I am a Roman Catholic and I have been having this discussion with one of my professors. Any specifics would be helpful.
Answer
Dear Peter,
You have asked one of the most important questions to ask in order to understand Biblical morality.
The original Hebrew is "Lo Tirtzach", which means "Do not murder". The Hebrew word for killing is "Hariga", a completely different verb.
Murder is the taking of innocent life, which is always forbidden, while killing is the taking of any life, which is sometimes not only permitted but obligatory. The Bible commands us to kill those who have lost their innocence. Innocence is lost in two ways:
1) Someone who was found guilty in a court of certain crimes, for example, "Say to the Israelites: 'Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech (a form of idolatry where priests pass children through ritual fires) must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him." (Leviticus 20:2)
2) Someone who is clearly posing a direct threat to the lives of innocents. "If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account" (Exodus 22:2). This only applies where it is clear that he is willing to kill the house owner.
It is clear that there is no contradiction between these commandments - actually they compliment each other. Innocent life is protected, both by the commandment not to murder and the commandment to kill those who are a threat to innocence.
All the best,
Rabbi Mos