"THOU shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:13) covers a wider field than is indicated in the technical sense of murder, the premeditated slaying of a human being.
The earliest Biblical mention of such an act appears in the allegorical account of Cain's mortal attack upon his brother, Abel. In the allegory a menacing background of evil thought is shown as precipitating violence and destruction.
These two young men are pictured as living in a pastoral environment. Cain, the elder, raised crops, while his brother turned his attention to the keeping of sheep. There is no mention of any contention between them, until each brought an offering to the Lord. Abel's offering of some lambs was accepted, while that of Cain, who presented the produce of his fields, was apparently ignored. Whatever the reason for this rejection, anger and resentment flared up in Cain's thought, and he slew Abel (see Gen. 4:8)—an act leading swiftly to stern rebuke and perpetual banishment ordained by the very God whose favor Cain had sought to receive.
Among the prophetic writings of the Old Testament there are indications that the wanton destruction denounced in the sixth commandment was not necessarily limited in its application to the slaying of human beings, for we are reminded that "he that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man" (Isa. 66: 3). Moreover an earlier passage in this same great book condemns in God's name the uncalled-for sacrifice of other animals (see Isa. 1:11).
In his Sermon on the Mount, Christ Jesus showed not only his acquaintance with the sixth commandment but also his desire to give it full support. He had no hesitation in quoting specifically the Mosaic demand, "Thou shalt not kill" (Matt. 5:21), but proceeded to broaden its meaning by assuring his audience that unbridled anger is as reprehensible as the physical commission of murder, which all too often follows anger, as in the case of Cain's rash act.
The wise and discerning thought of the Master regarding the sixth and other commandments is clearly shown in his repeated use of the phrase, "But I say unto you" (Matt. 5:22, 28, 32, etc.), which constituted a challenge to his hearers and also an introduction to his own deep interpretation of the commandments and of other portions of the Hebrew law.
According to the familiar rendering found in the King James Version of Matthew 5:22, Jesus would have his followers remember that "whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment"; but it is noteworthy that in the Greek the words "without a cause" are not represented in the earliest and most important manuscripts now available to us. May it not be that this excuse was inserted by a later copyist, seeking to escape the Master's unqualified indication that anger toward another is as dangerous as physical violence or even murder?
Explaining further his interpretation of the sixth commandment, Jesus saw it as condemning the use of contemptuous, unkind, or scurrilous words, which in their turn might well produce murderous deeds. It is clear that he thought that prompt and complete reconciliation would go far toward avoiding the murderous attacks against which Moses warned the people of his day (cf. Matt. 5:23, 24).
The Apostle Paul brought out yet another aspect of the sixth commandment in the reminder that "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" (II Cor. 3:6), thus echoing the Master's thought that what purports to be literal obedience to law is often tantamount to the destruction of its intent (cf. Mark 7:6-13).
