Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

• Ephesians 4:28
• Matthew 19:16-19

Key OT Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 19:14
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 24:7
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 20:13
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 21:16
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 21:37-22:3
  Click to retrieve Exodus 21:37-22:3
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 22:6
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 5:21-24
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 19:11-13
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 25:42
  Jewish Commentary

Supportive NT Scriptures

• Luke 19:8
• Romans 13:9

Supportive OT Scriptures

• Jeremiah 7:9-11
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 30:8-9
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 62:11
  Jewish Commentary

Bible verses copyright: PUBLIC DOMAIN except in the United Kingdom, where a Crown Copyright applies to printing the KJV. See http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/queens-printers-patent

Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

Stealing is taking from someone, that to which the taker has no right. One who steals is called a thief. Robbery is similar in that there is an unlawful taking, but it is more severe in that the taking is by force. One who commits robbery is called a robber. The prohibition against stealing is one of the Ten Commandments; stealing and committing robbery are dealt with in separate Scriptures. One might ask why Psalm 62:11(10) calls extortion robbery, since there is no apparent force employed. The answer is that the kind of force which elevates stealing to robbery does not have to be physical force. Coercion and threats are a form of force, in that they achieve their end by evoking fear. It is similar with Leviticus 19:13 , which calls delaying the payment of wages not only theft, but robbery. That is because the employer, in delaying payment to his worker, improperly exercises coercive power he has over his worker - a form of force. Stealing and robbery are not only technical sins, but are also moral ones in that the perpetrator is willing to harm another individual. This intentional causing of harm to another automatically violates Leviticus 19:18 : ... love your neighbor as yourself ... as well as a plethora of other Scriptures commanding that we love (and therefore not harm) others. If one is caught stealing, he must pay restitution and, under certain circumstances, must pay several times the restitution. The higher goal, however, is for the thief or robber to experience a heart-change and be moved to repentance even if he is not caught. Zakkai the tax collector is an example of such a man when, touched by the Spirit in Luke 19:8 , blurts out to Yeshua: Here, Lord, I am giving half of all I own to the poor; and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much. Yeshua responds in verse 9 : Today salvation has come to this house, inasmuch as this man too is a son of Avraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost. This same need for heartfelt repentance is expressed in Ephesians 4:28 which instructs the thief to stop stealing and, instead, to earn honest money that he can "share with those in need". A noted writer Jay E. Adams asks rhetorically: "When is a thief not a thief? When he stops stealing?" 1 Then he answers his own question: "No, if the only thing a thief has done is to stop stealing, he remains a thief who, at the moment, is not stealing." Adams goes on to explain that it takes a repentant change of heart for a thief to become an honest man; only then is he no longer a thief. 1. Jay E. Adams, "The Christian Counselor's Manual", p. 178, (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1973).

Classical commentators

Maimonides, Meir, and HaChinuch treat their respective mitzvot similarly to one another. They command against stealing or robbing, and discuss the amount of restitution that is required under various circumstances. They do not, however, address theft and robbery in terms of their inherent immorality, or suggest that there is a requirement that the offender repent. There is an unusual application (by all three classical commentators) of the Exodus 20 Scriptures that prohibit stealing in that they do not discuss them in connection with the stealing of property, but rather regarding kidnapping - the stealing of people - and, in particular, Jewish people. This is strange, not only because the immorality of kidnapping human beings is self-evident, but also because Exodus 21:16 and Deuteronomy 24:7 that specifically prohibit kidnapping are not dealt with in any of the classical mitzvah compilations.

Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

Source and License

Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

Volume 1 & 2 | Volume 3

License: CC BY-ND 4.0 (Attribution required, NoDerivatives). CC BY-ND 4.0

Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.

Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

Copyright note: Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2