If they saw him pursuing another to kill him, the knife in

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Mekhilta Tractate Kaspa 3:9

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 15, 2025

If they saw him pursuing another to kill him, the knife in his hand, and they said to him: Be it known to you that he is a son of the covenant, and the Torah writes "and a clean one and a righteous one you shall not kill," and (Genesis 9:6) "The spiller of the blood of a man, by man shall his blood be spilled," and he said "I know, and even so!" And the witnesses averted their eyes (for a moment and afterwards they found him (the victim) in the death throes, the knife dripping blood in the hand of the murderer—I might think that he is liable (to execution); it is, therefore, written "and a clean one and a righteous one you shall not kill."

Themes

Torah Divine justice Covenant Death

Biblical References

Genesis 9:6

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