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Hebrew verb · H7523

רָצַח

ratsachraw-tsakh'

to murder

47 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: râtsach

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H7523is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 13 of 39
    Old Testament books
  • 30
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · H7523

properly, to dash in pieces, i.e. kill (a human being), especially to murder

The King James renders it: put to death, kill, (man-) slay(-er), murder(-er).

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

ratsach is rendered "to murder". It stands 47 times in the Hebrew text, across thirteen books.

  • Twenty of the uses stand in Numbers, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Exodus 20:13You shall not murder.
  • The Greek text spells it thirty different ways.

The first use

You shall not murder.

Exodus 20:13תִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח׃ ס

The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.

Where the word stands

Twenty of the word's forty-seven uses are in Numbers.

The other 26 Old Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • the killer21
  • a killer8
  • they murder2
  • you must murder2
  • ¿ have you murdered1
  • a murderer1
  • and he will kill1
  • and he will kill him1
  • and murdering1
  • he will kill1
  • I will be killed1
  • killer1

and 6 more, 47 uses in all

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

רָצַץratsatsto crushUses19
רָצַדratsadto watch with envyUses1
רָצַעratsato boreUses1
רָצַףratsaphto fitUses1

The words it stands beside

All 47, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

30 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • הָרֹצֵ֔חַ6
  • הָרֹצֵ֑חַ4
  • רֹצֵ֣חַֽ4
  • הָרֹצֵֽחַ׃3
  • הָרֹצֵ֖חַ2
  • הָרֹצֵ֗חַ2
  • רוֹצֵ֗חַ2
  • רֹצֵ֔חַ2
  • אֵֽרָצֵֽחַ׃1
  • הַֽמְרַצֵּ֤חַ1
  • הַנִּרְצָחָ֖ה1
  • הָרוֹצֵ֗חַ1

and 18 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • the definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singular21HTd/Vqrmsa
  • verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singular10HVqrmsa
  • verb · intensive (piel), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine plural2HVpi3mp
  • verb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 2nd person masculine singular2HVqi2ms
  • verb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singular2HVqi3ms
  • conjunction (“and”) + verb · simple (qal), infinitive absolute1HC/Vqaa
  • Hc/Vqq3ms1Hc/Vqq3ms
  • Hc/Vqq3ms/Sp3ms1Hc/Vqq3ms/Sp3ms
  • the definite article (“the”) + verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), participle · feminine singular1HTd/VNrfsa
  • the definite article (“the”) + verb · intensive (piel), participle · masculine singular1HTd/Vprmsa
  • question particle + verb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 2nd person masculine singular1HTi/Vqp2ms
  • verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 1st person common singular1HVNi1cs

Exodus

one use
  • You shall not murder.

    Exodus 20:13

    • תִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח׃ סtretzachverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: you must murder

Numbers

twenty uses
  • Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. In addition to these, give the Levites forty-two other cities.

    Numbers 35:6

    • הָרֹצֵ֑חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.

    Numbers 35:11

    • רֹצֵ֔חַrotzeachverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: a killer
  • You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.

    Numbers 35:12

    • הָרֹצֵ֔חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

    Numbers 35:16

    • רֹצֵ֣חַֽrotzeachverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: a killer
    • הָרֹצֵֽחַ׃harotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

    Numbers 35:17

    • רֹצֵ֣חַֽrotzeachverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: a killer
    • הָרֹצֵֽחַ׃harotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • If anyone has in his hand a deadly object of wood, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.

    Numbers 35:18

    • רֹצֵ֣חַֽrotzeachverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: a killer
    • הָרֹצֵֽחַ׃harotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.

    Numbers 35:19

    • הָרֹצֵ֑חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds the murderer, he is to kill him.

    Numbers 35:21

    • רֹצֵ֣חַֽrotzeachverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: a killer
    • הָרֹצֵ֖חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

    Numbers 35:25

    • הָרֹצֵ֗חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • But if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled

    Numbers 35:26

    • הָרֹצֵ֑חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed

    Numbers 35:27

    • וְרָצַ֞חveratzachHc/Vqq3mstagged: and he will kill
    • הָ֣רֹצֵ֔חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • because the manslayer must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may he return to the land he owns.

    Numbers 35:28

    • הָרֹצֵ֔חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness.

    Numbers 35:30

    • יִרְצַ֖חyirtzachverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: someone will kill
    • הָרֹצֵ֑חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.

    Numbers 35:31

    • רֹצֵ֔חַrotzeachverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: a killer

Deuteronomy

seven uses
  • to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:

    Deuteronomy 4:42

    • רוֹצֵ֗חַrotzeachverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: a killer
    • יִרְצַ֤חyirtzachverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he will kill
  • You shall not murder.

    Deuteronomy 5:17

    • תִּֿרְצָֽח׃ סtretzachverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: you must murder
  • You are to build roads for yourselves and divide into three regions the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that any manslayer can flee to these cities.

    Deuteronomy 19:3

    • רֹצֵֽחַ׃rotzeachverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: killer
  • Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him:

    Deuteronomy 19:4

    • הָרֹצֵ֔חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not intend any harm.

    Deuteronomy 19:6

    • הָרֹצֵ֗חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.

    Deuteronomy 22:26

    • וּרְצָח֣וֹuretzachoHc/Vqq3ms/Sp3mstagged: and he will kill him

Joshua

eight uses
  • so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

    Joshua 20:3

    • רוֹצֵ֔חַrotzeachverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: a killer
  • Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the manslayer into his hand, because that man killed his neighbor accidentally without prior malice.

    Joshua 20:5

    • הָרֹצֵ֖חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • He is to stay in that city until he stands trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest serving at that time. Then the manslayer may return to his own home in the city from which he fled.”

    Joshua 20:6

    • הָרוֹצֵ֗חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,

    Joshua 21:13

    • הָרֹצֵ֔חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • From the tribe of Ephraim they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,

    Joshua 21:21

    • הָרֹצֵ֛חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • This is what the Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah—two cities, together with their pasturelands.

    Joshua 21:27

    • הָרֹצֵ֔חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands.

    Joshua 21:32

    • הָֽרֹצֵ֗חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer
  • And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim,

    Joshua 21:38

    • הָרֹצֵ֔חַharotzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the killer

Judges

one use
  • So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night.

    Judges 20:4

    • הַנִּרְצָחָ֖הhanirtzachahthe definite article (“the”) + verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), participle · feminine singulartagged: the murdered

1 Kings

one use
  • Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

    1 Kings 21:19

    • הֲרָצַ֖חְתָּharatzachtaquestion particle + verb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: ¿ have you murdered

2 Kings

one use
  • Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”

    2 Kings 6:32

    • הַֽמְרַצֵּ֤חַhamratzeachthe definite article (“the”) + verb · intensive (piel), participle · masculine singulartagged: the murderer

Job

one use
  • When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.

    Job 24:14

    • רוֹצֵ֗חַrotzeachverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: a murderer

Psalms

two uses
  • How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you throw him down like a leaning wall or a tottering fence?

    Psalms 62:3

    • תְּרָצְּח֪וּteratzechuverb · intensive (piel), yiqtol (imperfect) · 2nd person masculine pluraltagged: you will be murdered
  • They kill the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.

    Psalms 94:6

    • יְרַצֵּֽחוּ׃yeratzechuverb · intensive (piel), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: they murder

Proverbs

one use
  • The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”

    Proverbs 22:13

    • אֵֽרָצֵֽחַ׃ʾeratzeachverb · passive or reflexive (niphal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 1st person common singulartagged: I will be killed

Isaiah

one use
  • See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!

    Isaiah 1:21

    • מְרַצְּחִֽים׃meratzechimverb · intensive (piel), participle · masculine pluraltagged: murderers

Jeremiah

one use
  • Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,

    Jeremiah 7:9

    • רָצֹ֙חַ֙ratzoachverb · simple (qal), infinitive absolutetagged: will you murder

Hosea

two uses
  • Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.

    Hosea 4:2

    • וְרָצֹ֥חַveratzoachconjunction (“and”) + verb · simple (qal), infinitive absolutetagged: and murdering
  • Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests; they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities.

    Hosea 6:9

    • יְרַצְּחוּ־yeratzechu-verb · intensive (piel), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: they murder

The letters

Where it leads

Studies that open this word1

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.

The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESH gloss (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →