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In the Old Testament's Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve. One day Cain and Abel made sacrifices to the Lord to worship and thank him. Cain, however, grew jealous and angry when God favored his brother's offering instead of his own. In a jealous rage, Cain killed his brother Abel with a rock.

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In Genesis 4:23, Lamech, a descendent of Cain, announces to his two wives, Adah and Zillah, that he has killed a man in revenge for striking him. Lamech, boastful and selfish, clearly shared Cain's anger, violence, and arrogance.

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In the Hebrew Bible, Sennacherib was one of the most powerful Assyrian kings. After destroying Babylon, Sennacherib and his troops depart for the city of Nineveh. But caught in a web of conspiracy, the king's two sons betray their father, stabbing him in the back as he prays before a pagan idol. His death saves the Israelites from Assyrian occupation.

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In 1 Kings 16:8-14, King Elah, son of Baasha, is killed by his own charioteer, Zimri. Succeeding him as monarch, Zimri then kills off Baasha's entire family.

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Accounts of the life of Athaliah are to be found in 2 Kings 8:16–11:16 and 2 Chronicles 22:10–23:15 in the Hebrew Bible. Seizing the throne of Judah after King Ahaziah's death, Athaliah slaughters the entire royal family and all possible claimants to the throne.

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According to the Book of Kings of the Hebrew Bible, Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, king of Israel, persuades her husband to abandon the Lord and persecute her enemies. But family enemy Jeru plots Jezebel's death. She's thrown from a window and her corpse is trampled by a horse. Jezebel's remains are then devoured by dogs.

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Pekahiah became king of Israel in Samaria. A vain and sinful monarch, Pekahiah's reign was short lived. He was murdered by Pekah ben Remaliah, one of his own chief military officers, assisted by no less than 50 guards. Pekah is then crowned, but he, too, is assassinated for his sins, as described in 2 Kings 15: 23-31.

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The Bible depicts Uriah the Hittite as a fierce warrior, an elite soldier in the army of King David. But while he fights on the battlefield, David sleeps with Uriah's wife, impregnating her. The sneaky monarch hopes he can pass the child off as Uriah's, but when this fails, David effectively has him murdered by proxy, ordering all of Uriah's comrades to abandon him in the midst of battle, thus leaving him at the mercy of the opposing army (2 Samuel 11:15).

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Abner was the cousin of Israel's first king, Saul, and the commander of Saul's army (1 Samuel 14:50). But Abner was hated by General Joab because he had killed Joab's brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon. Seeking payback, Joab pulled him aside under the pretext of a private conversation and stabbed Abner in the stomach, killing him.

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The brutal slaying of King Eglon by the Israelite judge Ehud is one of the most disgusting murders described in the Bible. Requesting an audience with the obese monarch on the pretext that God has sent him a message, Ehud plunges a sword into Eglon's belly and disembowels him. The blade is left in his body, to be enveloped by bloodied fat (Judges 3:20-31).

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According to the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, the Assyrian general Holofernes was seduced by the beautiful Judith as the biblical city of Bethulia buckled under siege. Desperate to save Bethulia, Judith, assisted by her maid, entered the camp of Holofernes, seduced him, and got him drunk before beheading him.

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The murder of John the Baptist is one of the most discussed killings in the Bible. Imprisoned for criticizing Herod Antipas' divorce and subsequent second marriage to his sister-in-law Herodias, John the Baptist was beheaded at the request of Herodias, who was consumed with rage after being exposed to such public humiliation.

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The episode of the Levite's concubine is a biblical narrative in Judges 19–29. It concerns a Levite (Levites are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi) and his concubine, who are attacked by a mob. The concubine later dies from her injuries. The Levite dismembers her body and presents the remains to the other tribes of Israel. Outraged by the incident, the Levites pillage and massacre the city of Jabesh-Gilead.

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According to the Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible, Naboth was murdered by the scheming Jezebel so that her husband Ahab could possess his vineyard.

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As was the fate of so many kings of Israel, Nadab met a gruesome and untimely end, in this instance slain by one of his own captains, Baasha. Having crowned himself king, Baasha followed a familiar murderous routine by putting to death the rest of the royal family (1 Kings 14:20, 15:25–29).

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Pekah was murdered by Hoshea ben Elah but only after reigning as king for an impressive 20 years—a lifetime, in fact, given the dangers that came with the job. Hoshea became the last king of the kingdom of Israel. The story of Pekah is found in 2 Kings 15:25-37.

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Many ask whether Jesus Christ sacrificed himself or was murdered. According to the canonical gospels, Jesus was arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin (assembly) and then sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally crucified by the Romans.

Sources: (Bible Odyssey) (BibleGateway) (Biblecourses) (Britannica)

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Shallum's reign as king of Israel lasted just one month. It began in violence and ended the same way. He murdered to become king, and another killed him to replace him—Menahem, who became known as the King of Terror.

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There are a total of 18 men in the Bible with the name Shimei, all Israelites and all found in the Old Testament. But it's the Shimei in 2 Samuel 16:5-7 that curses and chases King David out by stoning and shouting at him. Shimei seemingly survived this episode, only to be killed later by Solomon at the behest of a vengeful David.

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Actually, stoning was a favored method of murder in the Bible. Zechariah met his end this way, stoned to death after condemning both King Jehoash and the people for their rebellion against God (2 Chronicles 24:20).

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A particularly savage biblical murder is that of Sisera, commander of the Canaanite army. He is killed by Jael, who hammers a tent peg into his temple while he sleeps. Sisera dies instantly (Judges 4: 1-23).

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In the New Testament, Barabbas is a "notorious prisoner" mentioned in all four Gospels who was chosen by the crowd, over Jesus Christ, to be released by Pontius Pilate in a customary pardon before the feast of Passover. He makes this list because while certainly a killer himself, Barabbas' liberty hastens the Bible's most infamous murder—that of Christ himself.

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The Book of Samuel also describes Joab's own grisly end, his death ordered by King David after finding out that it was Joab's men who'd killed Absalom, even though his son had revolted against him. Joab died at the hand of Benaiah, himself acting under the direction of Solomon, another one of the king's many sons.

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The act of murder is prevalent in the Bible. Numerous biblical stories speak of gruesome killings and brutal rampages, many truly savage and barbaric in nature. In fact, violence, sin, and death are recurring themes throughout all versions of the Bible, and there are countless examples of homicide found within its pages. But what are the most notorious murders described in its collection of religious texts and scriptures?

Click through and discover the most infamous killings in the Bible.

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Vengeful Absalom doesn't meet a pleasant end either. According to the Book of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible, Absalom was murdered at the Battle of the Wood of Ephraim while taking part in a revolt against his father, King David. After getting his hair caught in the branches of an oak tree, Absalom is killed by several javelins to the heart thrown with deadly accuracy by royal troops under the command of General Joab.

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In the biblical account (2 Samuel 4:5), Ish-Bosheth, the second son of Saul, is murdered by two of his own men, Rekab and Baanah. Abner, the captain of Saul's army, had proclaimed Ish-Bosheth king over Israel, a move that angered the sitting monarch, King David. It is David who orders Ish-Bosheth's beheading. But more blood is spilled when he promptly has Rekab and Baanah executed and their hands and feet cut off.

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In the Hebrew Bible, Amnon was the oldest son of King David and heir apparent to the throne of Israel. That is until he was assassinated on the orders of his half brother Absalom to avenge the assault by Amnon of Absalom's sister Tamar.