Direct Divine Sanction, the Prohibition of Bloodshed, and the Individual as Image of God in Classical Rabbinic Literature

This essay explores classical rabbinic literature’s understanding of the prohibition of bloodshed alongside its understanding that “the image of God” corresponds to the physically embodied individual. This conception generates radical implications so that, apart from the narrow instance of a direct aggressor with intent to kill or rape, it is never legitimate to cause the death of any person, even in pursuit of a supposed “greater good.” While notions of war and execution are retained in principle, the requirement of direct divine sanction for such actions neutralizes them in practice, removing them from the domain of human judgment and justification.