Death In the Bible

by

Anthony Valasek

I was asked a few times, what my thoughts were on the death penalty. Being a Christian, I pondered the thought as opposed to instantaneously answering. Do not kill, being one of the Ten Commandments along with passages that say to "stone" individuals that committed certain acts (adultery, homosexuality, and bestiality to name a few) seemed to present a paradox or possibly a contradiction in scripture. Of course, this idea of contradiction is what I spend the better part of my studies trying to understand, believing that no contradictions exist, just misunderstandings. Just as those of Christ's time were trying to get Jesus to stumble in word or deed, there are those individuals today that try to present an argument without understanding, sometimes calculated I believe, to cause us to stumble or plant the seed of doubt. Of course, often times we do "put our feet in our mouths", and instead of answering the question in support of God's will, we reinforce the false beliefs by answering ignorantly. So as well as I could, I poured over the scripture looking for the answer.

I chose to look solely at the Old Testament and sparingly at the New Testament. The reason for this is simple, to understand a problem, you have to know the root cause, and since the commandment first appears in the Old Testament, the answer should be there.

I looked at over 800 verses and a dozen or so reference books that I have for the answer, and decided that the death penalty was just a scratch on the surface of understanding death. That is when I decided to do an exhaustive study of death as it pertains to the Bible.

For starters, there is no less than eleven words that describe death, killing, or some other variant of the term. Therefore, it stands to reason that there are obviously more than one meaning or classifications for the words pertaining to death. As I started trying to figure out this complexity, I decided to come up with a classification system for this seemingly massive undertaking. What I come with was six basic classes of killing and a seventh that spans all of the groups. The six basic classifications I chose were these:

1. animals and sacrifices
2. act of war or in comparison to battle
3. planned, premeditated murder
4. death by accident
5. killing in the heat of anger
6. death by judgement, by law, or by God (natural or not)
7. symbolism (see below)

The seventh classification is those deaths that are symbolic in nature. Of course, it could be argued that all death and the circumstances surrounding the death are symbolic somewhat, which I would agree with, that it why I have placed this category separate from the six mentioned. However, some deaths were described within the Bible as symbolic whereas the rest are up to us to figure out the allegorical or metaphorical context. This is why I chose to include the classification. For the purposes of limiting redundancy, the numbers in the parentheses are those used in Strong's numbering system, if someone is so inclined to confirm or reject my findings. Let us get on with the study shall we?

The first word I would like to examine is zabach (2076). This word was used nine times, and in all cases but one; it was used in reference to animals or sacrifices. Curiously, I studied the one verse where it seemed that this word was used as an act of war or in comparison to battle. The verse in question was 2 Kings 23:20. This verse pertains to the time King Josiah restores true worship to the land.

2 Kings 23:20 (NKJV)
He executed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned men's bones on them: and he returned to Jerusalem.

Notice that in this act of war towards those false priests, he executed them "on the altars", a normal place for sacrifices. Verses like these are the reason I added a seventh category, symbolism, which spans the other six. By sacrificing these pagan priests and subsequently burning men's bones on them, he let everyone know that these deaths were a warning, or sign that things were going to change. Bottom line, no contradiction, the verse fits the meaning of the word.

Along with zabach there is another word used for sacrificial means, tabach (2873). This word is only used six times and two of these verses seem to belong to the category of war or battle. Those verses are Psalms 37:14 and Lamentations 2:21. Let's take a look at these verses in more depth.

Psalms 37:14 (NKJV)
The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy to slay those who are of upright conduct.

How can we reconcile this obvious act of aggression with the spirit of the word tabach? Looking at the Psalm in its entirety, we can see that it refers to the inheritance of the righteous and the destruction of the wicked. In verse 1, the psalmist says to "not fret because of evildoers." This sets up the joy of the psalm and the reward of the righteous. In verse 16, we can see that the rewards of those that were slain for righteousness sake are better than the punishments that will come to the wicked. In verse 18, we find that the reward for the upright, who are slain mind you, is eternal and that they will inherit the land and dwell in it forever as stated in verse 29. These verses point to the resurrection but more importantly for this discussion, the act of dying in righteousness, symbolically sacrificed, earned certain rewards. Were not the animals of the sacrificial system innocent? Of course they were, they were symbols, just as those who die in righteousness are symbols or sacrifices for righteousness' sake. Now look at the verse in Lamentations.

Lamentations 2:21 (NKJV)
Young and old lie on the ground in the streets; my virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword; you have slain them in the day of your anger, you have slaughtered and not pitied.

Curiously enough, the first referring to death in this verse slain is another word in Hebrew, harag that we well discuss later. It is the second word slaughtered that is the word tabach. Why use two separate words conveying the same subject if they were meant to mean the same thing? This just does not stand to reason, and therefore there must be another meaning here. The writer of Lamentations, which I believe is Jeremiah, is referring to whom, who was angry and showed no pity? The person who took the Israelites captive or God through the vices of men to demonstrate his will? Again, the use of the seventh category seems appropriate, symbolism. Taking the liberty to paraphrase, this verse tells me that God himself is passing judgment on the people by killing them (harag) and then saying that this death is a symbol or act to turn the hearts of men towards God (tabach). Under Mosaic Law, the sin and trespass offerings were symbolic acts of repentance, with the sin offering being available for the whole congregation of Israel at once if they sin unintentionally. Based on this understanding, I believe that God decided that the sins of Israel were unintentional. Remember that during the time leading up to the exile, many wicked rulers reigned. Therefore the teachings of the Torah were not the choice of the people and perhaps many of those in sin were never exposed to the ways of true worship. This also is supported by the fact that Israel was not completely destroyed, just led to captivity.

Now let's take a look at a word that was mistranslated in the KJV. In Isaiah 29:1, the KJV translated the word naqaph (5362) as kill. However, both in the NKJV and the Interlinear Bible, the verse reads entirely different from the KJV. For your benefit, I have listed all three versions so you can compare. As you can see, the word naqaph means to surround or circulate. However, even in the KJV, the word is used in relation to sacrifices.

Isaiah 29:1 (KJV)
Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! Add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

Isaiah 29:1 (NKJV)
Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! Add year to year; let the feasts come around.

Isaiah 29:1 (Interlinear Bible)
Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David camped. Add year on year; let feasts run their circle.

Another word that was translated slaughter as it pertains to sacrifices is shechiytah (7821). This sacrifice refers to the Passover sacrifice that traditionally performed by the head of the household. However, on this occasion, due to the uncleanness of the people, the Levites performed the function of the sacrificing for the people. I believe this is the distinction that is to be learned from the usage of this particular word. This word carries the connotation of deep, acknowledged shame along with it, as well as a willing heart.

2 Chronicles 30:17 (NKJV)
For there were many in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves; therefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord.

Leaving the most intriguing sacrificial word for last, the word shachat (7819) is interestingly enough used many times to refer not only to animal sacrifice but also for human sacrifice. Used seventy eight times, the first use of the word is found in Genesis 22:10, where Abraham is about to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God.

Genesis 22:10 (NKJV)
And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

As well as this verse, others such as in Ezekiel (below) pertain to the sacrificing children to false gods. Of course, there are many times it is used for the sacrificing of animals and such for the feasts of God, such as in Leviticus.

Ezekiel 16:21 (NKJV)
That you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?

Another use of this word shachat is used symbolically as it pertains to sacrificing enemies through battle to fulfill God's word, like those mentioned in First and Second Kings as shown here.

1 Kings 18:40 (NKJV)
And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!" So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.

2 Kings 10:7 (NKJV)
So it was, when the letter cam to them, that they (Samaritans, by order of Jehu) took the king's sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

Before leaving this word, we need to keep in mind that throughout each of these verses, the underlying theme of sacrifice remains whether symbolically or not.

Further study remains as to why there are so many distinctions pertaining to sacrifices. I have only uncovered a few and hopefully, someone reading this will continue where I have left off.

Moving now to another classification of death, we can find numerous verses pertaining to battle or war. One of the words most commonly and exclusively used for this purpose is the word chalal (2491) used eighty times. However, there are certain verses like Zephaniah 2:12 in which the battle is being waged by God himself. The fact remains however; it is used in the context of war.

Zephaniah 2:12 (NKJV)
"You Ethiopians also, You shall be slain by My sword."

By far, the most used word for death in the Bible is the word muwth (4191). This word is used over three hundred and fifty times. This word is predominantly used to refer to death by law, judgement or by God himself, natural or not. Scattered throughout its use are peculiar verses, some of which we will look at here.

The first of these verses is Genesis 37:18, where Joseph was coming to see his brothers just prior to them throwing him in the pit.

Genesis 37:18 (NKJV)
Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.

Of course, we know that Joseph was never killed by his brothers and perhaps this is why the word muwth is used here. If Joseph would have been killed, there might not have been any salvation to Hebrews during the coming drought. Only if God himself willed Joseph to die here, would he have been killed. Therefore, by God's judgement, Joseph was spared death. If Joseph would have been killed, the word used for kill would most certainly have been ratsach (7523), the word we will eventually get to in this study. I would argue that considering the result, God allowed the use of muwth to tell those hearing the story for the first time would be able to foresee the result of his brother's planning. We have to remember that for a long time, these stories were passed down by oral communication only. Those hearing would have certainly understood the meaning of the word.

In the story of Exodus, we can see another tale with a similar result, the birth of Moses. In Exodus 1:16, we are told that Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill the male Hebrew babies. Of course, we know that as in the story of Joseph, Moses too was not killed. This also would have been ratsach, i.e. murder, if the midwives had done what they were told to do. This further reinforces my earlier thought that the story's plot is being given away early.

Exodus 1:16 (NKJV)
And he said, "When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live."

There are many more such instances, and I want to encourage you to look them and study them for yourselves. I couldn't possibly cover each verse that seems a bit strange in a short essay such as this one. The key is reading the scriptures in the proper context.

Another word used to describe death or killing is the word harag (2026), used one hundred and forty five times. Of all the words that I researched for this study, I was unable to perceive a pattern for the usage of this word. From what I can tell, harag is used in a general sense across all classifications of death. It can be found as premeditated murder in Genesis 27:41, killing in the heat of anger in Exodus 2:14, pertaining to animals in Leviticus 20:15, by law in Leviticus 20:16, and in battle in Joshua 8:24. In the English language, most of our words cover all contextual uses and this word appears to be similar.

Genesis 27:41 (NKJV)
So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my farther are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

Exodus 2:14 (NKJV)
Then he said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?"

Leviticus 20:15 (NKJV)
If a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death (muwth, see above), and you shall kill the animal.

Leviticus 20:16 (NKJV)
If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death (muwth). Their blood is upon them.

Joshua 8:24 (NKJV)
And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and it with the edge of the sword.

Another word only used three times in the Bible for denoting death is the word qatal (6991). In each of these verses, there is a sense of unexpected death, which seems to be reason for this word. In the first verse it is used, Job 13:15, Job is still trying to figure out why all the things happening to him are happening. In his mind, he is blameless, and thus, thinks that if God lets him to die, it would be unexpected.

The second time it is used, Job 24:14, Job uses it to describe a murderer who murders the poor and needy. The poor and needy are the least likely to be murdered since they: one, are usually in a situation that makes them feeble or two, having nothing by which to gain by killing them.

The last time it is used, is in Psalms 139:19. In this verse, David is saying that he wishes God would kill the wicked, but does not expect him to do so.

Job 13:15 (NKJV)
Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.

Job 24:14 (NKJV)
The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief.

Psalms 139:19 (NKJV)
Oh, that You would slay the wicked O God!

The final two words I would like to discuss are the two words that are almost exclusively used for murder, the only difference being degree of violence. These words are nakah (5221) and ratsach (7523). Nakah means "to strike" and ratsach means "to dash to pieces." Both result in murder, however, it is clear to me from reading the associated verses, that the two are not equal. Ratsach is the word found in the Holy Commandment (Exodus 20:13) and is the most severe. The punishment for either in this life is death, but I have to wonder and speculate whether the penalty in the afterlife is equal. I am guessing it is not, but like I said, that is just speculation. Nakah is used sometimes, as in Numbers 25:14, as judgement for certain sin, whereas ratsach is not. Ratsach is premeditated and violent!

Exodus 20:13 (NKJV)
You shall not murder.

Numbers 25:14 (NKJV)
Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father's house among the Simeonites.

We have now come full circle and I hope that this study has cleared some of your misconceptions about death in the Bible. Now that I'm finished, I can say without hesitation, that YES, I do support the death penalty, and am not violating the commandment of God by doing so. Although I am sure there are those that do not and will not distinguish between the various means of killing, I will put my trust in God and not worry about what they think about my beliefs or me. I suggest you do the same.