Discussion at Against The Grain refers.
Dear W,
The second half of the article
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/001102_ThouShaltNotMurder.html which you linked to makes a numbe rof points :-
1.
"the Vulgate (as that translation is designated) employs the Latin verb occidere which has the sense of "kill" rather than "murder."". As this originates in St Jeromes original translation into Latin, it does appear to establish a meaning of "kill" as in the Catholic Tradition.
The article concludes :-
The fact remains, however, that even the Jewish translators were not unanimous in maintaining a consistent distinctions between the various Hebrew roots.
Don Isaac Abravanel and others noted that ratsah is employed in Numbers 35:27-30 both when dealing with an authorized case of blood vengeance, and with capital punishment--neither of which falls under the legal category of murder.
In fact, some distinguished Jewish philosophers believed that "thou shalt not kill" is a perfectly accurate rendering of the sixth commandment. Maimonides, for example, wrote that all cases of killing human beings involve violations of the command, even if the violation happens to be overridden by other mitigating factors. It has been suggested that this tradition underlies the virtual elimination of capital punishment in Rabbinic law.
Viewed from this perspective, we may appreciate that the translation "thou shalt not kill" was not the result of simple ignorance on the side of Jerome or the King James English translators. Rather, it reflects their legitimate determination to reflect accurately the broader range of meanings of the Hebrew root.The use of ratsah in Numbers 35:27-30 appears pretty conclusive - establishing that the Herbew uses the same word for the fifth commandment as in its law allowing the death penalty - both are refered to as ratsah.
Sorry, haven't had time yet to read the other articles.
God Bless
Chris
