Do Not Steal

The eighth commandment simply reads, “Do not steal” (Exod 20:15). Given the succinctness of this law, it may be tempting to conclude this moral precept is easy to observe, yet experience tells us we always want more than we have. Interestingly, this commandment contains no direct object—that is, man is not told what not to steal. The implication being that we are inclined to steal many different things.

Under the Old Testament civil law the penalty for violating the eighth commandment ranged from various forms of restitution to death of the perpetrator (cf. Exod 21:16; 22:1–15); yet, in the New Testament the cost of breaking this moral law is revealed to be even higher, as Paul taught that neither “thieves, greedy people . . . or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom” (1 Cor 6:10). The magnitude of these penalties invites the question, “What, precisely, is prohibited by the eighth commandment?” Interestingly, within the Jewish tradition, this law was understood mainly to forbid kidnapping, for the Hebrew word translated “steal” in this verse can also be translated “kidnap” (cf. Exod 21:16; Deut. 24:7; 1 Tim 1:10). Yet, as even the rabbis understood, this law extends far beyond the stealing of another human being. So, while kidnapping may be the worst kind of stealing, the eighth commandment prohibits the misappropriation of anything over which man is a steward. Keep reading