Definition and Nature:
Homicide, in the context of biblical teaching, refers to the unlawful and intentional taking of human life. Felonious homicide, commonly known as murder, is distinguished by its premeditated and malicious nature. The Bible consistently condemns murder as a grave sin, reflecting the sanctity of human life created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

Biblical Prohibition:
The prohibition against murder is explicitly stated in the Ten Commandments: "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13). This commandment underscores the inviolability of human life and the moral order established by God. The act of murder is seen as a direct violation of God's law and an affront to His sovereignty.

Old Testament Context:
In the Old Testament, the gravity of murder is emphasized through various laws and narratives. Genesis 4 recounts the first murder, where Cain kills his brother Abel out of jealousy. God confronts Cain, saying, "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground" (Genesis 4:10). This passage highlights the seriousness of murder and the divine awareness of such acts.

The Mosaic Law further delineates the consequences of murder. Numbers 35:16-21 outlines the distinction between murder and manslaughter, prescribing capital punishment for intentional murder: "If anyone strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death" (Numbers 35:16). This legal framework reflects the principle of retributive justice.

New Testament Teachings:
In the New Testament, Jesus expands on the commandment against murder, addressing the heart's intentions. In the Sermon on the Mount, He teaches, "You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment" (Matthew 5:21-22). Here, Jesus emphasizes that harboring anger and hatred is akin to murder in God's eyes, pointing to the internalization of the law.

The apostle John reiterates this teaching, stating, "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer" (1 John 3:15). This underscores the New Testament's focus on the transformation of the heart and the call to love one another.

Theological Implications:
Murder is not only a violation of human law but also a transgression against divine law. It disrupts the moral order and reflects the fallen nature of humanity. The Bible presents murder as a manifestation of sin that requires repentance and divine forgiveness. The redemptive work of Christ offers hope for those who have committed such acts, emphasizing the possibility of forgiveness and transformation through faith.

Murder in the Broader Biblical Narrative:
Throughout Scripture, murder is depicted as a consequence of sin and rebellion against God. The account of David and Bathsheba illustrates the destructive power of sin, as David orchestrates the murder of Uriah to conceal his adultery (2 Samuel 11). Despite his grievous sin, David's subsequent repentance and God's forgiveness highlight the possibility of redemption.

Conclusion:
The biblical perspective on murder is clear and unequivocal. It is a sin that violates the sanctity of life and the moral order established by God. The Bible calls for justice, repentance, and transformation, emphasizing the need for a heart aligned with God's will.Genesis 4:9-12
And the LORD said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
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Genesis 9:5,6
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
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Genesis 49:7
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
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Exodus 20:13
You shall not kill.
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Exodus 21:29-32
But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it has been testified to his owner, and he has not kept him in, but that he has killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
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Numbers 35:16-22,30,31
And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
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Deuteronomy 5:17
You shall not kill.
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Deuteronomy 17:6
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
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Deuteronomy 21:1-9
If one be found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who has slain him:
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Deuteronomy 22:8
When you build a new house, then you shall make a battlement for your roof, that you bring not blood on your house, if any man fall from there.
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Deuteronomy 27:24,25
Cursed be he that smites his neighbor secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.
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1 Kings 21:19
And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus said the LORD, Have you killed, and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus said the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours.
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2 Chronicles 24:22
Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look on it, and require it.
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Job 24:1-25
Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?
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Psalm 5:6
You shall destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
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Psalm 9:12
When he makes inquisition for blood, he remembers them: he forgets not the cry of the humble.
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Psalm 10:2
The wicked in his pride does persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
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Psalm 26:9,10
Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
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Psalm 37:32
The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him.
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Psalm 38:12
They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
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Psalm 55:23
But you, O God, shall bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in you.
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Psalm 94:3
LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
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Proverbs 1:11,12,15,16
If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privately for the innocent without cause:
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Proverbs 6:16,17
These six things does the LORD hate: yes, seven are an abomination to him:
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Proverbs 12:6
The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
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Proverbs 28:17
A man that does violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.
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Isaiah 26:21
For, behold, the LORD comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
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Isaiah 59:3,7
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perverseness.
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Jeremiah 2:34
Also in your skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but on all these.
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Jeremiah 7:9,10
Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you know not;
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Jeremiah 19:4
Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it to other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;
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Jeremiah 22:3
Thus said the LORD; Execute you judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
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Ezekiel 22:9
In you are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in you they eat on the mountains: in the middle of you they commit lewdness.
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Ezekiel 35:6
Therefore, as I live, said the Lord GOD, I will prepare you to blood, and blood shall pursue you: since you have not hated blood, even blood shall pursue you.
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Hosea 1:4
And the LORD said to him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
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Hosea 4:1-3
Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel: for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
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Habakkuk 2:10,12
You have consulted shame to your house by cutting off many people, and have sinned against your soul.
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Matthew 5:21,22
You have heard that it was said of them of old time, You shall not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
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Matthew 15:19
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
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Matthew 19:18
He said to him, Which? Jesus said, You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
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Mark 7:21
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
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Mark 10:19
You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor your father and mother.
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Luke 18:20
You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother.
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Romans 13:9
For this, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
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1 Timothy 1:9
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for murderers,
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James 2:11
For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if you commit no adultery, yet if you kill, you are become a transgressor of the law.
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1 Peter 4:15
But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
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1 John 3:12,15
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And why slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
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Revelation 9:21
Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
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Revelation 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
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Revelation 22:15
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and makes a lie.
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Why is "You shall not murder" in the Ten Commandments? | GotQuestions.org

What is an avenger of blood in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Homicide: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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