📖 Biblical Definition
Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being made in the image of God — the sixth commandment of the Decalogue: "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13; better rendered "do not murder," from Hebrew ratsach). Christ raised the standard inwardly in the Sermon on the Mount: "Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" (Matthew 5:21-22). Murder includes elective abortion (the deliberate killing of the unborn image-bearer, in the womb the LORD Himself was forming, Psalm 139:13), euthanasia, and unjust war. Scripture distinguishes murder sharply from capital punishment by the magistrate (Romans 13:4) and from killing in just war or self-defense. The murderer is excluded from the kingdom (Revelation 21:8; 22:15) — yet murderers are saved when they repent (David, Paul).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
MUR'DER, n.
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1. The act of unlawfully killing a human being with premeditated malice. 2. In scripture, sometimes used of any wrong taking of human life.
📖 Key Scripture
Exodus 20:13 — "Thou shalt not kill."
Genesis 9:6 — "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man."
Matthew 5:22 — "Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment."
1 John 3:15 — "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern abortion law denies the image of God in the womb; the sixth commandment never withdrew its protection.
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Genesis 9:6 grounds the prohibition of murder in the image of God: for in the image of God made he man. The dignity of human life is theological, not utilitarian. Modern moral philosophy can argue for personhood thresholds, viability, sentience, and exclusion of the inconvenient; biblical law plants its flag at the image of God in every human being from conception to natural death.
Christ's upgrade in Matthew 5 is severe: anger is murder in seed form. 1 John 3:15 says the same: whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. The cure is therefore not just legal restraint of the hand but Spirit-rule of the heart. Repent of the anger that wishes the brother gone; the Lord forgives sins committed in the heart through the same blood that forgives sins committed by the hand. Be a man whose hands and heart are both clean.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew ratsach (H7523); Greek phoneuo (G5407).
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H7523 — ratsach — to murder, slay
G5407 — phoneuo — to murder, kill
G443 — anthropoktonos — man-slayer (1 John 3:15)
Usage
"Modern abortion law denies the image of God in the womb; the commandment never withdrew protection."
"Anger is murder in seed form; 1 John 3:15 names the seed and the fruit."
"Be a man whose hands and heart are both clean."