This came up in a recent discussion.
Let us start by looking at this verse:
If the woman miscarries, the man gets fined. If the woman is herself harmed, then the man pays, life for life, etc. The implication is that the unborn child is not considered a human, and so does not warrant the man paying the "price" he would otherwise.
See also here:
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/arti...in-jewish-law/
http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/Fo.../judaism1.html
So when does life start?
A month after birth?
An argument can be made that you only become a person a month after birth.
In Judaism in Jesus' time a baby was not considered a person until it was a month old:
See also:
This was presumably because it was all to common for babies to die in the first few weeks of life.
At birth
Nevertheless, the point at which life starts is when a baby takes a breath. In Biblical times breath and life were intimately connected. For a starting point, look at the Brown-Driver-Briggs definition of the Hebrew word "nephesh" on Bible Hub:
http://biblehub.com/hebrew/5315.htm
Also consider these verses:
(in Hebrew, the word here translated as "spirit" is the same one that elsewhere is "breath")
I appreciate most of these are about when life ends, but even then they show the connection between breath and life - so much so that the Proverbs verse has the word for breath translated as spirit. Note in particular the last one in Ezekiel when God specifically says he will put breath into a body and that will make it come to life. And of course in Genesis, it was putting breath in Adam that brought him to life.
The Bible does state for us when a baby is considered alive, but it does make clear that life and breath are essentially one and the same, and the clear implication is that life begins when God gives the new born its first breath.
Let us start by looking at this verse:
If the woman miscarries, the man gets fined. If the woman is herself harmed, then the man pays, life for life, etc. The implication is that the unborn child is not considered a human, and so does not warrant the man paying the "price" he would otherwise.
See also here:
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/arti...in-jewish-law/
http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/Fo.../judaism1.html
So when does life start?
A month after birth?
An argument can be made that you only become a person a month after birth.
In Judaism in Jesus' time a baby was not considered a person until it was a month old:
We do not mourn for fetuses, and anything which does not live for 30 days, we do not mourn for it.
- Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Mourning 1:6
- Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Mourning 1:6
This was presumably because it was all to common for babies to die in the first few weeks of life.
At birth
Nevertheless, the point at which life starts is when a baby takes a breath. In Biblical times breath and life were intimately connected. For a starting point, look at the Brown-Driver-Briggs definition of the Hebrew word "nephesh" on Bible Hub:
http://biblehub.com/hebrew/5315.htm
1 = that which breathes, the breathing substance or being = ψυχή, anima, the soul, the inner being of man ...
2 The נפשׁ becomes a living being: by God's breathing נשׁמת חיים into the nostrils of its בשׂר; of man Genesis 2:7 (J) ...
2 The נפשׁ becomes a living being: by God's breathing נשׁמת חיים into the nostrils of its בשׂר; of man Genesis 2:7 (J) ...
Acts 17:25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 34:14-15 If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, all humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.
Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 7:22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
Proverbs 20:27 The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one's inmost being.
Isaiah 42:5 This is what God the LORD says-- the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
Revelation 11:11 But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them.
Psalm 104:29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
Ezekiel 37:5-6 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"
The Bible does state for us when a baby is considered alive, but it does make clear that life and breath are essentially one and the same, and the clear implication is that life begins when God gives the new born its first breath.
Comment