I remember reading and hearing in an ethics class that the original inscription of the ten commandments actually states something to the effect of “Thou shall not kill another Hebrew who practices the faith.” I’ve tried googling it but I can’t seem to find anything about it, except for the distinction that the Hebrew bible actually says “murder” instead of “kill” and that justified killing is okay.
Where did you take this ethics class, and who presented that item as being true?
It sounds disturbingly like an item from one of the many anti-semitic tracts circulating on the Internet that “expose the truth of the Talmud”. See The Talmud Exposed.
I remember reading it in an ethics book I had for a class last semester. I don’t have the book with me anymore or I would dig it out and read the actual wording of the book, but I wondered if there was any other evidence that the earliest translation was something along those lines. This is related to a debate I’m currently having with a friend. My initial reaction wasn’t that it was anti-semitic, and it wasn’t being used in that fashion. It was more along the lines of “The bible has been translated many many times and we can see the change in meaning by this example of what the original Hebrew version says…” or something.
The original Hebrew text is still available and widely used by Jews. It plainly says “Lo Tirtzach”, which can be translated at “you shall not kill” or “you shall not murder”. There is no asterisk with a note saying that it only applies to observant Jews.
IANJ (I Am Not Jewish), but as I understand it, the word used refers to killing in anger or for personal gain, as opposed to killing in self-defense, or in the context of a judicial execution. Thus, “You shall not murder” would be an accurate translation.
The original commandment is exactly two words in Hebrew: (essentially) “Don’t murder!” (Lo Tirtzakh)
It is universal. In fact, it is considered one of the seven “Noahide commandments” that should apply to every person, Jewish or not (the other 606 commandments do, in fact, apply to Jews only)
This is what I understood too. I’ve also seen this explanation as justifying killing during war. Personally, I’m not so sure it always could - but I guess “self-defense” can be stretched a long way when you’re in a war.