“You shall not defile the land which I inhabit”
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| © אתר מרכז יצחק רבין לחקר ישראל |
The inclusion of the prohibition “You shall not commit murder” in the Ten Commandments means that any person who fails to observe this law has removed themselves from those who make a covenant with God. The missing aspects of the simple prohibition in the Ten Commandments were added by other statements in the Torah that provide grounds and exceptions. Thus, for example, the Torah explains that the reason for the prohibition against shedding blood is that all humans were created in God’s image: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man” (Genesis 9:6). Another reason is offered in the Torah portion Matot-Masa’i, noting that the spilt blood sullies the soil: “for blood pollutes the land” (Numbers 35:33), thus threatening the continued presence of God among Israel: “You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell” (Numbers 35:34).
The Torah goes out of its way to inculcate the principle of the sanctity of life among the People of Israel, rejecting widespread practices as it does so. Thus, for example, a ransom must not be accepted in place of the life of a murderer: “Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer” (Exodus 35:31) – contrary to common practice in the ancient East.
Like the Torah, the Prophets and Writings never tire of emphasizing their profound revulsion at murder. Thus, for example, the Prophet Ezekiel mocks those who stayed in the Land of Israel after the destruction of the Temple and claim ownership of the land. Among other offenses, he accuses them of bloodshed: “You eat with the blood, and lift your eyes up to your idols, and shed blood; and shall you possess the land? You stand upon your sword, you commit abomination, and you defile every one his neighbor’s wife; and shall you possess the land?” (Ezekiel 33”25-26). Note that the charge of bloodshed is leveled twice (“shed blood,” “stand upon your sword”) to emphasize the severity with which he viewed this phenomenon.
The author of Chronicles also expresses his opinion regarding bloodshed. The text finds it difficult to accept that King David, whom it regards as an ideal figure, was not permitted to build the Temple. While the Book of Samuel relates that a theological error on David’s part was responsible for this exclusion, and the Book of Kings states that it was due to David’s military concerns, the author of Chronicles explains that David did not build the Temple because he was a man of war who had spilled much blood: “You have shed blood abundantly, and have made great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed much blood upon the earth in My sight” (I Chronicles 22:8; see also 28:3). Note that Chronicles does not condemn David for the mere fact of the wars he waged (though see ibid., 16:9). However, there can be no war without bloodshed, and this is incompatible with building a house for God. Moreover, note that these comments do not relate to the murder of Jews, but to bloodshed during war (which may be justifiable) in which both Jews and Gentiles fell!
In the post-Biblical Jewish literature, extensions of the prohibition “You shall not commit murder” may be found in various directions, including rational grounds for the prohibition, opinions on its severity, and its extension.
In terms of the rationale, it is worth quoting the comment of Philo of Alexandria, who wrote in his essay “On the Ten Commandments:” “The second commandment is not to commit murder. For the nature that made man, the mildest of creatures, a social animal who lives together, called him to unity of hearts and cooperation. A person who kills a man must be well aware that he is breaking the laws and instructions of nature, which were made for the good and benefit of all. However, he must also be aware that he is guilty of usurping, since he has stolen the most sacred of God’s possessions.” According to Philo, man is a social creature by nature; accordingly, acts of homicide challenge cooperation among individuals. Moreover: an attack on a human is also an attack against the most sacred of God’s creations. A further argument is raised by Rabbi Saadya Gaon in his essay “The Chosen in Beliefs and Opinions” (3:2): “It is wise to prevent murder among humans so that chaos does not ensue and they destroy each other.” In other words, murder threatens the very existence of human society as a whole.
In terms of the severity of the offense, several sayings attributed to the Sages grant a surprising theological dimension to bloodshed. Thus, for example, Rabbi Akiva is quoted as having said that “anyone who sheds blood is considered to have lessened [God’s] image” (Genesis 34:14). Similarly, in Mechilta dRav Yishmael: “It is written ‘I am the Lord your God,’ and opposite ‘You shall not commit murder,’ implying that anyone who sheds blood is considered to have lessened the King’s image.” In other words: a homicidal attack on a creature made in God’s image is tantamount to an attack against the Creator himself.
As for the broad application of the prohibition “You shall not commit murder,” this is already seen in the well-known Mishna: “Thus man was created alone, to show that anyone who eliminates one soul is considered to have eliminated an entire world.” The language of the Mishna is unequivocal: anyone who kills, whatever the origins of the victim, “is considered to have eliminated an entire world.” Another type of extension is found in the interpretations on the Ten Commandments from sources in the Land of Israel, who extend the prohibition against murder to include those who assist murderers. “My people the children of Israel, be neither murderers, nor friends nor partners with murderers.” R. Avraham Even-Ezra takes another angle, arguing that “murderer” includes not only someone who commits murder with their own hands, but also someone who fails to prevent murder.
In light of these rulings, it is right and proper to condemn in the strongest terms those who confidentially confess understanding for the “distress” that led to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin by Yigal Amir and to the murder of dozens of Palestinian worshippers by Baruch Goldstein. They do not realize that such understanding is a double-edged sword, implying that we can also “understand” the distress of those from the other side who commit terror attacks. The wording of the categorical commandment “You shall not commit murder” seeks to avoid just such “understandings.” In our portion, the Torah opposes such understandings based on “love of the Land:” “You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, for blood shall defile the land.”
Prof. Rimon Kasher is a lecturer at Bar Ilan University in the Department of Bible Studies, and also serves as the Dean of Libraries at the university. One of his fields of research is the prophetic literature of the late First Temple and early Second Temple periods. He recently published a commentary on the Book of Ezekiel (two volumes) as part of the Bible for Israel series.