In the original Hebrew papyrus texts that became Exodus 20:13
and Deuteronomy 5:17, the bible says, “You shall not murder.”
“
Thou shalt not kill” is the Old Testament Greek translation of “You
shall not murder” from the Hebrew texts. “Thou shalt not kill” can
in no way, shape, or form be linked to abortion. Yet Christians cherrypick
this passage and deliberately misrepresent the true meaning to propagandize
the “abortion is murder” fantasy.
The Hebrew word for murder used in the Ten Commandments is "lo tir a." The
Hebrew verb is also transliterated as retzach or ratzákh. Ratsakh means
destructive activity: "to break, to dash to pieces." It also means "to
slay, kill, or murder".
The context of “Retzach” means to kill a person outside of war,
such as murdering an unarmed person. So, for example, retzach means to murder
a neighbor over a dispute or kill a Sheppard to steal his sheep. You cannot
stretch the imagination enough to apply retzach to abortion. "Thou shalt
not kill" cannot be linked to a fetus or "unborn baby." It
simply DOES NOT translate.
Moreover, abortifacients were commonly used before, during,
and after the original manuscripts that became the Torah were written. Abortifacients
were also commonly used before, during, and after the original manuscripts
of the
Old Testament and the New Testament.
Mifepristone is an abortifacient. The Hebrew Bible clearly
defines when a person could be put to death for a crime: murder, incest, perjury
in a capital
murder trial, adultery, idolatry, bestiality, child sacrifice to
pagan
gods, cursing a parent, fortune-telling, and homosexuality. This
is a somewhat
detailed list. Physicians in every Mesopotamian city-state prescribed
abortifacients. So why was abortion not mentioned?
Abortifacients were commonly used. “Retzach” cannot and does not
translate to mean an abortion.
