Thou shalt not steal

"Thou shalt not steal" (Biblical Hebrew: לֹא תִּגְנֹב, romanized: Lōʾ tig̲nōb̲) is one of the Ten Commandments^[1]^[2]^[3] of the Jewish Torah (known to Christians as the first five books of the Old Testament), which are widely understood as moral imperatives by legal scholars, Jewish scholars, Catholic scholars, and Post-Reformation scholars.^[4]^[3]^[5]^[6]^[7]

"Steal" in this commandment has traditionally been interpreted by Jewish commentaries to refer to the stealing of an actual human being, that is, to kidnap.^[8]^[9] With this understanding, a contextual translation of the commandment in Jewish tradition would more accurately be rendered as "Thou shalt not kidnap". Kidnapping would then constitute a capital offence and thus merit its inclusion among the Ten Commandments.

Nevertheless, this commandment has come to be interpreted, especially in non-Jewish traditions, as the unauthorized taking of private property (stealing or theft), which is a wrongful action already prohibited elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible that does not ordinarily incur the death penalty.

^ Exodus 20:1–21
^ Deuteronomy 5:1–23
^ ^a ^b "Ten Commandments". New Bible Dictionary (2nd ed.). Onter-varsity Press. 1982. pp. 1174–1175.
^ Posner, Richard A. (2008). How Judges Think. Harvard University Press. p. 322.
^ Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed. (July 1997). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Vol. H–I. CrossAmerica Books. p. 117. ISBN 978-1568654140.
^ Williams, J. Rodman (1996). Renewal theology: systematic theology from a charismatic perspective. Zondervan Academic. p. 240. ISBN 978-0310209140.
^ Jersild, Paul T. (1991). Making moral decisions: a Christian approach to personal and social ethics. Fortress Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0800624712.
^ Talmud, b. Sanhedrin 86a
^ Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Fishbane, Michael, eds. (2004). The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford University Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-0195297515.

[1] Exodus 20:1–21

[2] Deuteronomy 5:1–23

[10commandments-3] "Ten Commandments". New Bible Dictionary (2nd ed.). Onter-varsity Press. 1982. pp. 1174–1175.

[4] Posner, Richard A. (2008). How Judges Think. Harvard University Press. p. 322.

[5] Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed. (July 1997). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Vol. H–I. CrossAmerica Books. p. 117. ISBN 978-1568654140.

[6] Williams, J. Rodman (1996). Renewal theology: systematic theology from a charismatic perspective. Zondervan Academic. p. 240. ISBN 978-0310209140.

[7] Jersild, Paul T. (1991). Making moral decisions: a Christian approach to personal and social ethics. Fortress Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0800624712.

[8] Talmud, b. Sanhedrin 86a

[9] Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Fishbane, Michael, eds. (2004). The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford University Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-0195297515.

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