---
title: רָצַח — murder · The Tanakh dictionary
description: רָצַח (7523), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 47 times: murder. BDB 1906: vb. murder, slay Pi. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/7523.html)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/) / [ר](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1512-4.md)‎ / רָצַח‎

<!-- .hw dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
# רָצַח

<!-- .meta -->
«רָצַח» in the Tanakh dictionary: **murder** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Used:** 47 times · **Key:** 7523 · **BDB:** רָצַח

### Glosses

killer (16); the.killer (6); \[is\].a.killer (4)

### Meaning (OSHB)

murder [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1512/7523/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

vb. murder, slay Pi. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1512/7523/#m2)

<!-- fold -->
**The whole BDB entry:** vb. murder, slay (NH (rare, also in deriv.) = BH; cf. Arabic رَضَحَ, رَضَخَ break, bruise, crush);— Pf. 3 ms. consec. זְר׳ Nu 35:27, וּרְצָחוֹ Dt 22:26; 2 ms. (הֲ)רָצַחְתָּ 1 K 21:19; Impf. 3 ms. יִרְצַח Nu 35:30; Dt 4:42; 2 ms. (-צַח) תִּרְצָ֑ח Ex 20:13 = Dt 5:17; inf. abs. רָצֹחַ Ho 4:2; Je 7:9; Pt. act. רֹצֵחַ Dt 19:3 +, רוֹ׳ 4:42 +;—murder, slay, with premeditation, Ex 20:13 (E) = Dt 5:17; Ho 4:2; Je 7:9; 1 K 21:19 (all abs.); c. acc. pers. Dt 22:26, unawares Dt 4:42; slay as avenger Nu 35:27, 30 (P; ‖ הֵמִית v 19, 21); especially pt. as subst. = slayer, manslayer, without intent, Dt 4:42; 19:3, 4, 6; also in P: Nu 35:6, 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28; Jos 20:3, 5, 6; 21:13, 21, 27, 32, 26 (van d. H., Baer, v 33 Gi; all P); murderer, with intent, Nu 35:16(×2), 17(×2), 18(×2), 19, 21(×2), 30, 31; also Jb 24:14. Impf. 1 s. אֵרָצֵחַ Pr 22:13 I shall be slain; Pt. fs. as adj. אִשָּׁה הַנִּרְצָחָה Ju 20:4 the murdered woman. (intens.) murder, assassinate: 3 mpl. יְרַצְּחוּ Ho 6:9 (abs.), יְרַצֵּ֑חוּ ψ 94:6 (acc. pers., ‖ הָרַג); ψ 62:4 v. infr.; Pt. מְרַצֵּחַ, as subst. 2 K 6:32 murderer, assassin; pl. מְרַצְּחִים Is 1:21 assassins. Impf., 2 mpl. תְּרָצְּחוּ ψ 62:4, so Baer Gi, van d. H. תְּרָצְהוּ, but Ben Napht. Pi. תְּרַצְּחוּ (Baer 143), so Vrss Hup-Now De Che Bae al. ye murder (or batter, shatter).

<!-- .note -->
Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 39 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (2 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (2 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «רָצַח» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1512/7523/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Exodus 20:13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/EXO.20.13/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
לֹ֥֖אתִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח

*Word for word:* not you.must.murder

*JPS 1917:* Thou shalt not murder.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Deuteronomy 5:17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/DEU.5.17/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
לֹ֥֖אתִּֿרְצָֽח

*Word for word:* not you.must.murder

*JPS 1917:* Thou shalt not murder.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [רָצוֹן](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/7522.md)
- next →: [רֶצַח](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/7524.md)
- ↑ back to [ר](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1512-4.md)