What Does “Thou Shalt not Kill” Mean and Not Mean?

Summary

Grace in Focus Podcast

Episode: "What Does 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' Mean and Not Mean?"
Host: Bob Wilkin (B)
Guest: David Renfro (C)
Air Date: August 10, 2026
Duration: 13 minutes

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Episode Overview

In this concise, content-rich episode, Bob Wilkin and David Renfro delve into the meaning of the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," exploring its linguistic, theological, and ethical nuances. Their discussion distinguishes between "killing" and "murder" in biblical context, addresses frequently raised objections about Old Testament violence, and unpacks implications for Christian ethics today. The tone is conversational, occasionally humorous, and always instructive, targeted at listeners wanting an in-depth but accessible take on a foundational biblical command.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context & Translation of the Sixth Commandment (01:03–04:46)

• The commandment traditionally reads "Thou shalt not kill," but some translations (e.g., New King James) opt for "You shall not murder."

  • C (01:18): “If you have the new King James version, it'll say you shall not murder. But most translations will say thou shalt not kill.”

• Why the difference? The hosts discuss that "kill" and "murder" are distinct both linguistically and theologically; the Hebrew supports this distinction.

• Examples from the Old Testament where God commands the Israelites to take life (e.g., Canaanites, capital punishment) show that not all taking of life is termed "murder."

  • B (02:14): “Isn't it true that there are different Hebrew words for kill and murder?...Killing was okay, but what wasn't okay was murder. We would call it first degree murder, second degree murder, murder one...or manslaughter.”

• English legal distinctions (murder vs. manslaughter) reflect this biblical nuance.

2. Hebrew Word Study: Ratzach vs. Harav (03:36–04:46)

• "Ratzach" (רָצַח): the word used in Exodus 20:13, specific to murder, not the general act of killing.
  • C (03:45): “The one for murder is ratzach.”
• "Harav": refers to general killing, including war or capital punishment.
  • B (04:27): “So David killed Goliath...That wasn’t wrong. That was war.”
• The word used in the commandment never appears in military contexts, clarifying that the commandment does not prohibit warfare or legal executions.

3. Ethical & Theological Implications (04:35–06:51)

• The selective use of "kill" in translations leads to misconceptions about pacifism or abolition of capital punishment.
  • C (05:00): “That just proves you cannot go all the way with English translations and come up with a whole philosophy based on an English translation.”
• God's justice and mercy are consistent between Old and New Testaments, despite popular notions.
  • B (05:19): “The God of the Old Testament is the same God as the God of the New Testament. The God of the Old Testament was a God of love and mercy and grace.”
  • The destruction of the Canaanites was not arbitrary but followed centuries of patience and warning.
• In Revelation, the destruction prophesied demonstrates that the God of judgment remains present in the New Testament.
  • B (06:07): “In the New Testament...he's going to wipe out evil. He's going to wipe about 1/2 to 2/3...of mankind...during the tribulation.”

4. The Canaanites, Children & Divine Justice (07:26–10:56)

• God’s command to destroy the Canaanites is rooted in justice, not cruelty.
  • C (07:26): “It's not because God is cruel, it's because God is just. If he did not judge sin, what kind of God is that?...And intense sin is going to result in intense judgment.”
• The problem of children killed in judgment:
  • Children are not punished for their parents' sins; the “age of accountability” doctrine provides an answer.
  • B (08:23): “When the children die in Canaan or in Sodom or in Gomorrah, it's not because of the sin of their parents per se...I would say the age of accountability is 20 because of Kadesh Barnea.”
• Unique View: Those younger than 20 who died under judgment will live in the Millennium and have a chance to believe in Christ.
  • B (10:33): “So just think what a mercy it would be for these young children to be going from there to the millennial kingdom in a natural body...the opportunity to come to faith in Christ is going to be terrific.”

5. Summary Principles and New Testament Application (10:56–12:35)

• The commandment prohibits taking life without God-ordained cause ("we are not to take a life without good cause").
  • B (10:57): “If there is good cause, it's because God in his word permits it or even commands it.”
• Christians must not make up their own reasons for taking life but should remain biblically grounded.
  • C (11:15): “We cannot make up our own cause. We have to stay biblical in our point of view on this.”
• Distinction between Old Testament civil law (e.g., cities of refuge) and New Testament life: Christians are not permitted to take personal vengeance.
  • B (11:32): “We're not allowed to take vengeance into our own hands.”
• Nine out of Ten Commandments are restated in the New Testament, with the Sabbath being the exception due to the resurrection’s significance.
  • B (11:48): “Nine of the ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament. But not the one about...the Sabbath day...our worship day is the first day of the week.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On translation pitfalls:
  • “That just proves you cannot go all the way with English translations and come up with a whole philosophy based on an English translation.” — David Renfro, 05:00
• On God’s character:
  • “The God of the Old Testament is the same God as the God of the New Testament.” — Bob Wilkin, 05:19
• On Children and Judgment:
  • “So just think what a mercy it would be for these young children to be going from there to the millennial kingdom in a natural body, and then they're able to have children and they're able to live not 80 or 100 years, but a thousand years.” — Bob Wilkin, 10:33
• On application to Christians:
  • “We have to stay biblical in our point of view on this.” — David Renfro, 11:15

Lighter Moments

• Bob on Hebrew with a Texas accent:
  • “Keep in mind my Hebrew has a Texas accent.” — David Renfro, 03:51
• Joking about Hebrew letters:
  • “Ahmed, the dead terrorist. What's your name? Ahmed. How do you speak? How do you spell that? A phlegm.” — Bob Wilkin, 03:53

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:03] Opening the question: "Which commandment is 'thou shalt not kill'?"
• [02:14]–[04:46] Differentiation between "kill" and "murder" in Hebrew; legal and biblical distinctions.
• [05:19]–[06:39] Continuity of God’s character between Old and New Testaments.
• [07:26]–[10:56] The ethics of God’s judgments on Canaan and implications for children.
• [10:56]–[12:35] How the commandment applies under the New Testament.

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Bottom Line

Bob Wilkin and David Renfro offer a robust, biblically grounded examination of the sixth commandment, dispelling confused readings that equate all killing with murder. They emphasize the importance of context, both linguistic and historical, and reaffirm the consistent justice and mercy of God across the Testaments. Their discussion challenges Christians to interpret Scripture responsibly and to avoid drawing ethical conclusions from superficial translations.

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For more articles, podcasts, and theological resources visit: faithalone.org

Transcript

[A]

The following is a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society. Thou shalt not kill, one of the ten Commandments. Is there any difference between killing and murdering? What does this commandment mean and what does it not mean? We'll have a discussion about it today here on Grace and Focus. We're so glad that you are joining us, friend. This radio podcast presentation is a ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. Our website is faithalone.org we invite you to stop by and see all the articles that we have there on our website. Great for your research and reading just about any theological topic, especially free grace issues you'll find there. Also, we'd love you to read our blogs. They come out regularly. They're right there for you on our website. And don't miss our YouTube short videos. YouTube Grace Evangelical Society. Once again, our website, faithalone.org now with today's discussion, here's Bob Wilken along with David Renfro.

[B]

So David, what question do we have here? It's something about the tenth. No, it's not the tenth commandment. No, it's one of the ten. What commandment is thou shalt not kill?

[C]

I think it's six or seven.

[B]

Alright, what is the commandment thou shalt not kill?

[C]

Well, if you have the new King James version, it'll say you shall not murder. But most translations will say thou shalt not kill or you shall not kill.

[B]

Why would the new King James translate it murder when most others translate it kill? Or here's another question. What does it mean thou shalt not kill and what doesn't it mean? Because don't we have examples in the Old Testament where God tells the Israelites to wipe out all the men, women and children, like of the Canaanites.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And we have other. For example, if someone killed your brother, you were allowed to go kill the manslayer. Right. Unless they went to a city of refuge. And that wasn't considered murder. Justice. Right, Right. And capital punishment. You know, if someone committed adultery, they would stone the person to death. That wasn't murder, that was justice.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Isn't it true that there are different Hebrew words for kill and murder? So that what God commanded people to do was not murder, but to kill. And killing was okay, but what wasn't okay was murder. We would call it first degree murder, second degree murder, murder one. Yeah. Or manslaughter.

[C]

But I think manslaughter is a different thing than murder one. Because sometimes manslaughter is unintended. I didn't mean to kill the guy kind of Thing.

[B]

Oh, right. Involuntary manslaughter. But then there's also voluntary.

[C]

Voluntary means I'm going to kill that person because they irritate me or something like that. And that's cold blooded murder.

[B]

Right. But if you didn't intend it in advance, it wouldn't be murder one. It would be voluntary manslaughter over passion or something.

[C]

But see, you just illustrated kind of what goes on in Hebrew too. We have more than one word for the killing of another person. We have murder, manslaughter, voluntary and involuntary. Yeah. And then, I mean, we have all

[B]

this, but we also have capital punishment, which is not considered murder.

[C]

No.

[B]

And we also have war. Like if you take a life in war, that's not considered murder.

[C]

That's not considered murder.

[B]

If you take a life in self defense. Our judicial system based on the Old Testament allows for self defense.

[C]

Right. And so technically, believe it or not, there's different Hebrew words for all that. Like the one for murder is ratzach.

[B]

It's what?

[C]

Ratzach.

[B]

Sounds like a ratatouille razach.

[C]

Keep in mind my Hebrew has a Texas accent.

[B]

Jeff Foxworthy. Ahmed, the dead terrorist. What's your name? Ahmed. How do you speak? How do you spell that? A phlegm.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Flem cough. And this was. What is it?

[C]

Well, that's the one used in Exodus 20:13. You shall not murder. R, A T, S, if you will.

[B]

Rats.

[C]

Ach. But that's the word for murder. But there's a different word for kill, Harav, which is normal. Oh. And so.

[B]

And so killed David, killed Goliath.

[C]

Right, that kind of thing.

[B]

That wasn't wrong.

[C]

No, that was war. And so, but what I am saying

[B]

is actually God told him to kill Goliath.

[C]

But see, he said, you know, this word that is used in Exodus 20:13 is never used in a military war situation. Okay, so when people say, well, the Bible says, don't kill, therefore I'm not going to join the military, because that means I have to kill people. No, it's a different situation.

[B]

And they say, therefore no capital punishment.

[C]

Yeah, same thing. But that just proves you cannot go all the way with English translations and come up with a whole philosophy based on an English translation. Because the Hebrew, just like English, has different words for different contexts of taking a life.

[B]

So like when people say the God of the Old Testament was some evil or some cruel, or God of wrath, and the God of New Testament is the God of love, that's a bunch of malarkey. Because the God of the Old Testament is the same God as the God of the New Testament. The God of the Old Testament was a God of love and mercy and grace. He allowed the Canaanites 400 years before their sins were filled up and he wouldn't have taken their lives. And remember when Jonah goes to Nineveh and Jonah didn't want to go because he knew that God was merciful.

[C]

Sure.

[B]

And so as a result, when he preaches to them and says 40 days and it's over and then they all repent and God relents of what he did because they turned from their wicked ways.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And so in the Old Testament you have the God of love and mercy and grace. And in the New Testament we find out if you read the book of Revelation, you he's going to wipe out evil. He's going to wipe about 1/2 to 2/3. Well, you probably know this better than I do because you loved the book of Revelation. But what percentage of mankind is going to die during the tribulation? Isn't it like 2/3?

[C]

Yeah, pretty much. Between 1/2 and 3/4 of the population of the world will be killed.

[B]

So based on the current population of the world, somewhere between 4 and 6 billion people are going to die if it were to in a seven year time period. Yeah.

[A]

The Grace Evangelical Society's recently published old testament commentary volume one is now available. Find [e-mail] store. It's where you can also find Bob Wilkins latest book the Gospel is still under Siege as well as many other titles by Grace Evangelical Society authors. Please come by and have a look. Today you'll find the GES store at our web site faithalone.org that's faithalone.org store. Now back to today's topic.

[C]

What's interesting about this too is there's he said to Moses the sin of the Canaanite is full. And that's why he tells Moses when you get to the land you need to kill every man, woman and child. It's not because God is cruel, it's because God is just. And he if he did not judge sin, what kind of God is that? He can't call himself just. And so he has to judge sin. And the Canaanites were, they were horrible people. They were incredibly pagan, rebellious against the Lord. I mean Canaan was part of the genealogy. And then later on Canaan was cursed in Genesis. But the Lord has, because of his justice, he has to judge sin. And intense sin is going to result in intense judgment.

[B]

Now you do have some people are bothered by the fact, I guess we all are to some degree, that God not only killed all of the adults of the Canaanites or of Sodom or of Gomorrah, but everybody, all the people were killed, including women and children, including small children. A lot of people say, well, what's up with that? Well, one of the things to realize is later scripture in the Old Testament makes it clear that the children are not punished for the sins of their parents, but each person bears their own guilt. So when the children are like in Ezekiel, we find that in other things. So when the children die in Canaan or in Sodom or in Gomorrah, it's not because of the sin of their parents per se, it's because God is eliminating or it's certainly not because of their sin. It's because God is eliminating that people group. And I believe it's a mercy because there's an age of accountability. And different people think it's different ages. Some people say, well, it's age 13, age 12, you know, the point of bar mitzvah, a bat mitzvah. Some people would say that it's the point at which someone's able to believe in Christ for eternal life, which they would say varies from age 5 to age 10 or 4 to 10 or whatever. I would say the age of accountability is 20 because of Kadesh Barnea. And all those who were under 20 got to go into the promised land. And the Promised land is kind of a tight of the coming kingdom. So those who got to go in were those under 20. So in my view, all the Canaanites who are under 20 and all those in Sodom and Gomorrah under 20 who died will come back in the millennium and live out their natural lives. Now my view is not that they automatically get everlasting life because they died below the age of accountability. My view is they'll come back, they'll live out their normal life, but now they're going to live it in the kingdom with Jesus on earth, with all the patriarchs on earth. The opportunity to come to faith in Christ is going to be terrific. So just think what a mercy it would be for these young children to be going from there to the millennial kingdom in a natural body, and then they're able to have children and they're able to live not 80 or 100 years, but a thousand years.

[C]

Yeah, makes sense.

[B]

So I think when you talk about the thou shalt not kill, the command there is, we are not to take a life without good cause. If there is good cause it's because God in his word permits it or even commands it.

[C]

Well, but we cannot make up our own cause.

[B]

Right.

[C]

We have to stay biblical in our point of view on this.

[B]

Right. And in the New Testament economy, we don't have cities of refuge and we're not allowed to take justice into our own hands and go kill the manslayer. Yeah, we're not allowed.

[C]

That's not our job.

[B]

Yeah, we're not allowed to go if someone kills our brother or our child or our parent. We're not allowed to take vengeance into our own hands.

[C]

That was a purely Israelite Old Testament law, which we are not under.

[B]

Right. It turns out nine of the ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament. But not the one about that. You have to keep the Sabbath day because the Sabbath day was Saturday and our worship day is the first day of the week.

[C]

The first. Didn't that just happen? That the disciples decided if you read Acts, oh, let's just meet on the first day, not on Saturday.

[B]

Yeah, that's a good question. Why they pick that? But in the book of Revelation, I think it's 1:10, it's that he had a vision on the Lord's day. So the Lord's day is typically interpreted there to refer to the first day because Jesus rose on the first day of the week. So a lot of people think the reason the disciples picked the first day is because that was a remembrance of Jesus resurrection.

[C]

Yeah. And that makes a lot more sense that hey, let's do Sunday because it's not Saturday.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, thank you David and thank you all. And I hope you found these questions we've been talking about in the Old Testament helpful. Now we've got a few more, but that'll wait until the next time. And in the meantime, let's all keep grace in focus.

[A]

Be sure to check out our daily [e-mail] they are short and full of great teaching, just like what you've heard today. Find [e-mail]. We would love to hear from you. Maybe you've got a question, comment or some feedback. If you do, please don't hesitate to send us a message. Here's our email address. It's radioaithalone.org that's radioaithalone.org on our next episode. What did Samuel mean when he said God would make Saul a new come back. Join us again. And until then, let's keep grace in focus. The proceeding has been a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.