Stealing Leads to Murder

By Khen Lim

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Significant voices of academic theologians including examples like the German Old Testament scholar Albrecht Alt who wrote Das Verbot des Diebstahls im Dekalog in 1953 would testify that the Eighth Commandment was originally meant to be an express demand against the stealing of people; in other words, it better refers to abductions and slaveries and therefore, would be more in line with the Talmudic interpretations found in Sanhedrin 86a, which says, “you shall not kidnap.”

The word in Hebrew for ‘steal’ within the right context is ‘gneva’ or as the NAS refers to as ganab (pronounced as gaw-nab’). In the use of Exodus 20:15, the Hebrew verb becomes לֹ֣֖א תִּֿגְנֹֽ֔ב׃ ס meaning “You shall not steal.”

The Hebrew Bible possesses some prohibitions of stealing and offers descriptions of negative consequences for this sin. In the Genesis 31 narrative, we read of Rachel having stolen some household goods from her own father Laban and then fled with her husband Jacob and their children. Laban then hotly pursues Jacob to recover the stolen goods and had wanted to inflict harm on him. 

However Rachel concealed the stolen items and emerged unscathed and of course, undetected. Exodus 21:16 and Deuteronomy 24:7 apply the same Hebrew word to the act of kidnapping (or stealing of a fellow human) in which the punishment was nothing less than the death penalty.

Punishment becomes an issue when the word ‘steal’ is taken in reference to the unauthorised pilfering of someone’s material possessions. Restitution is possible but so was death under certain circumstances. In Exodus 22, killing a thief breaking into a home has no bearing of “bloodguilt” if it takes place at night wherein the family might be in fear of greater harm.

In Leviticus, stealing covers not just robbing but also in the context of loving one’s neighbour as oneself. The prohibition extends to also include deception (dealing falsely), partaking in fraudulence in matters of trade and negotiations. Wages owed to a hired worker is also considered stealing. Neighbourly oppression is also included wherein one should deal fairly and frankly amongst one another.

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Proverbs contrasts the response of a victim of thievery in the name of hunger to one akin to a jealous husband’s reaction to adultery (6:29-35). Here the victim does not despise the thief because he was hungry although restitution must still be made. On the other hand, a jealous husband will accept no compensation and will repay the adulterer with wounds and dishonour, not sparing when his fury takes revenge.

The Jewish interpretation of stealing can be viewed from 613 Mitzvot or commandments. Here we view not just a prohibition of stealing but also a number of other commandments relating to the protection of private property and administration of justice:

-         Not to steal money stealthily (Lev 19:11)

-         Dishing out punitive measures against the thief (Ex 21:37)

-         Ensuring scales and weights are accurate (Lev 19:35-36)

-         Not owning imprecise scales even if they are not in use (Deut 25:13)

-         Avoiding shifting a boundary marker to steal one’s property (Deut 19:14)

-         No kidnapping (Ex 20:13)

-         No open robbery (Lev 19:13)

-         Non-payment of overdue wages or failure to settle debts (Lev 19:13)

-         Avoid coveting or scheming to acquire other’s possessions (Ex 20:14)

-         Have no desire for other’s possessions (Deut 5:18)

-         Returning of stolen goods or their value (Lev 5:23)

-         Return of a lost object (Deut 22:1)

-         Exercising of law against the one who assaults another or damages his property (Ex 21:8)

[Ref: Sefer Hamitz (Maimonides)

In fact Maimonides considered stealing to be merely one step from covetous desire to the next, murder. In other words, stealing is the outward extension of the expression of what happens when we desire someone else’s property. Once stealing becomes a habitual condition, murder seems to be the next in progression.

“Desire leads to coveting, and coveting leads to stealing. For if the owner (of the covetous object) does not wish to sell, even though he is offered a good price and is entreated to accept, the person (who covets the object) will come to steal it, as it is written (Mikha 2:2) (Micah 2:2), ‘They covet fields and (then) steals them.’ And if the owner approaches him with a view to reclaiming his money or preventing the theft, then he will come to murder. Go and learn from the example of Achav (Ahab) and Navot (Naboth).” – Maimonides

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Maimonides’ mention of Ahab and Naboth alludes to the narrative in 1 Kings 21 when Israel’s King Ahab was trying to convince Naboth the Jezreelite to sell him the vineyard, which was adjacent to his palace. Ahab had wanted the vineyard so he could turn it into a vegetable patch, but he refused all offers, saying, “The Lord forbids that I should give up to you what I have inherited from my fathers!” (1 Kgs 21:4) 

Unhappy with his reluctance, Ahab’s wife Jezebel schemed by writing letters falsifying in Ahab’s name to the elders and nobles in Naboth’s town, instructing them to organise two scoundrels to bear false witness against Naboth, claiming that he’d cursed God and the king. Naboth was stoned to death, as a result and Ahab seized his vineyard. The narrative ends with God being angry with Ahab followed by the prophet Elijah’s proclamation of judgement on the king and his wife, Jezebel.