Murcot, John, an English divine of some note, was born near the opening of the 17th century, and was educated at the University of Oxford. He wrote largely, and yet but little is known of his personal his- tory. He died in 1G54. His most important writings were collected and published as Theolo(j. Treatises (1G57, 4to). Wood, in his A thenm Oxon., speaks of jMurcot as characterized by "a forward, prating, and pragmatical l)recision." Tliomas Manton held him highly in esteem, and speaks of him thus as a preacher: "It were pity that the sermons coming from such a warm, aflfection- ate spirit should die away with the breath in which they were uttered : as his fruit remaineth (I hope) in the hearts of many that heard him, so is it wrapt up in these papers to preserve it from perishing and forgetful- ness." See Allibone, Diet. Brit, and A mer. A uth. s. v.
Murder (properly bliJT', which, however, is render- ed ••.•"laughter" in the Autli. Ver., from ?^)7, to "kill," 0iiro(_ \ The criminal law of the Israelites naturalh' rei(i'^iiiscd the distinction between wilful murder and accidental or justiliabjp homicide (Xmnl). xxv, IG sq.), although in the legislative language itself the word ni£"i is used for both kinds of manslaughter (see es- pecially Numb, xxv, 2G; Deut. xix, 3, etc.). Murder was invarial)ly visited with capital punishment (Lev. xxiv. 17; comp. (icn. ix, 0), without the possibility of expiation. Mere homicide (the act of ^ti nsp
njrJa, Numb. XXXV, 15, or "^^33 w>;n-nx n^h
r^'l, Deut. iv,42) was, however, liable to a forfeiture of life according to all ancient national observances. — Wi- ner, ii, 105. (See EwaU, Alterlhiimer des ]'. Israel, p. llG-104.) See Blood -uevkngk. The principle on wliich the act of taking the life of a human being was regarded by the Almighty as a capital offence is stated on its highest groinid as an outrage— Pliilo calls it sac- rilege—on the likeness of (iod in man, to be punished even when caused by an animal ((ien. ix, 5, G, with Bcrthcau's note; sec also John viii, 44; 1 John iii, 12, 15; Philo, Be Spec, Ler/. iii, 15, vol. ii, p. 313). Its
I secondary or social ground ap])ears to be implied in the , direction to replenish the earth which immediately follows (Gen. ix, 7). The exemption of Cain from capital punishment may thus be regarded by anticipa- tion as founded on the social ground either of expedi- ency or of example (Gen. iv, 12, 15). The postdiluvian command, eidarged and infringed by the practice of blood-revenge, which it seems to some extent to sanc- tion, was limited by the Law of Closes, which, while it protected the accidental homicide, delined with ad- ditional strictness the crime of murder. It prohibited compensation or reprieve of the murderer, or his protec- tion if he took refuge in the refuge-city, or even at the altar of Jehovah, a principle which finds an eminent il- lustration in the case of Joab (Exod. xxi, Vi, 14; Lev. xxiv, 17, 21 ; Numb, xxxv, IG, 18, 21, 31 ; Deut. xix, 1 1, 13; 2 Sam. xvii, 25; xx, 10; 1 Kings ii, 5, 6, 31 ; see Pliilo, I. c. ; Michaelis, On Laws of Moses, § 132). Blood- shed even in warfare was held to involve pollution (Numb, xxxv, 33, 34; Deut. xxi, 1, !); 1 Cliron. xxviii, 3). Philo says that the attempt to murder deserves punishment squally with actual perpetration; and the Mishna, that a mortal blow intended for another is punishable with death; but no express legislation on this subject is found in the Law (Philo, I. c; Mishna, Sanh. ix, 2).
No special mention is made in the I-aw (a) of child- murder, (6) of parricide, nor (r) of taking life by poison, but its animus is sufficiently obvious in all these cases (Exod. xxi, 15, 17; 1 Tim. i, 9; Matt, xv, 4), and the third may perhaps be specially intended under the pro- hibition of witchcraft (Exod. xxii, 18; see Joseph. Ant. iv, 8, 34; Philo, Be Spec. Leg. iii, 17, vol. ii, p. 315).
It is not certain whether a master who killed his slave was punished with death (Exod. xxi, 20; Knobel, ad loc). In Egypt the murder of a slave was punish- able with death as an example afortioH in the case of a freeman; and parricide was punished with burning; but child-murder, though regarded as an odious crime, was not punished with death (Diod. Sic. i, 77). The Greeks also, or at least the Athenians, protected the life of the slave (Miilier, Borians, iii, 3, § 4 ; Wilkinson, /Inc. £V/. ii, 208, 209).
No punishment is mentioned for suicide attempted (comp. 1 Sam. xxxi, 4 sq. ; 1 Kings xvi, 18; Matt, xxvii, 5; see 2 Mace, xiv, 41 sq.), nor does any special restriction appear to have attached to the property of the suicide (2 Sam. xvii, 23) ; yet Josephus says ( War, iii, 8, 5) that suicide was dealt with as crime by the Jews,
Striking a pregnant woman so as to cause abortion was punished by a fine; but if it caused her death it was punishable with death (Exod. xxi, 23; Joseph. .4«/'. iv, 8, 33).
If an animal known to be vicious caused the death of any one, not only was the animal destroyed, bm the owner also, if he had taken no steps to restrain it, was held guiltv of murder (Exod. xxi, 29, 31 ; see Michaelis, § 274, vol." iv, p. 234-5).