Theft

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Κλοπή (Strong'S #2829 — Noun Feminine — klope — klop-ay' )

akin to klepto, "to steal," is used in the plural in  Matthew 15:19;  Mark 7:22 .

2: Κλέμμα (Strong'S #2809 — Noun Neuter — klemma — klem'-mah )

"a thing stolen," and so, "a theft," is used in the plural in  Revelation 9:21 . In the Sept.,  Genesis 31:39;  Exodus 22:3,4 .

Charles Buck Theological Dictionary

The taking away the property of another without his knowledge or consent. This is not only a sin against our neighbour, but a direct violation of that part of the decalogue, which says, "Thou shalt not steal." This law requires justice, truth, and faithfulness in all our dealings with men; to owe no man any thing, but to give to all their dues; to be true to all engagements, promises, and contracts; and to be faithful in whatever is committed to our care and trust. It forbids all unjust ways of increasing our own and hurting our neighbour's substance by using false balances and measures; by over-reaching and circumventing in trade and commerce; by taking away by force or fraud the goods, persons, and properties of men; by borrowing and not paying again; by oppression, extortion, and unlawful usury. It may include in it also, what is very seldom called by this name, 1: e. the robbing of ourselves and families, by neglecting our callings, or imprudent management thereof; lending larger sums of money than our circumstances will bear, when there is no prospect of payment; by being profuse and excessive in our expenses; indulging unlawful pleasures, and thereby reducing our families to poverty; or even, on the other hand, by laying up a great deal for the time to come, while our families are left to starve, or reduced to the greatest inconvenience and distress.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

 Exodus 20:15   Proverbs 22:22 , under the Mosaic law, was punished by exacting a double or a quadruple restitution, which was secured if necessary by the sale of the goods or services of the thief to the requisite amount,  Exodus 22:1-8,23   2 Samuel 12:6   Proverbs 6:30,31   Luke 19:8 . A night-robber might lawfully be slain in the act; and a man-stealer was to be punished by death,  Exodus 21:16   22:2 .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 2 Samuel 12:6 Exodus 22:1-4 Exodus 20:15 21:16 Leviticus 19:11 Deuteronomy 5:19 24:7 Psalm 50:18 Zechariah 5:3 Matthew 19:18 Romans 13:9 Ephesians 4:28 1 Peter 4:15

King James Dictionary

THEFT, n. The act of stealing. In law, the private, unlawful, felonious taking of another person's goods or movables, with an intent to steal them. To constitute theft, the taking must be in private or without the owner's knowledge, and it must be unlawful or felonious, that is, it must be with a design to deprive the owner of his property privately and against his will. Theft differs from robbery, as the latter is a violent taking from the person, and of course not private.

1. The thing stolen.  Exodus 22

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) The thing stolen.

(2): ( n.) The act of stealing; specifically, the felonious taking and removing of personal property, with an intent to deprive the rightful owner of the same; larceny.

Holman Bible Dictionary

EthicsTen Commandments TorahLaw

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

THEFT . See Crimes and Punishments, § 6 .

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

See Stealing.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( גְּנֵבָה , Κλέμμα or Κλοπή ) is treated in the Mosaic code in its widest bearings ( Exodus 22:1 sq;), especially when accompanied by burglary or the abruption of animals (Josephus, Ant. 16 :1, 1; Philo, Opp. 2, 336). If the stolen property had already been sold or rendered useless, the thief was required to make fivefold restitution in cases of horned cattle (comp.  2 Samuel 12:6; Philo, Opp. 2, 337), or fourfold in case of sheep or goats; but only twofold in case the living animal was restored. But the statute likewise included the stealing of inanimate articles, as silver and gold (Josephus, Ant. 4:8,27). The prominence given to the former kind of theft is explainable on the ground of the pastoral character of the Hebrews (comp. Justin. 2:2; Walther, Gesch. d. rom. Rechts, p. 807; Sachs. Criminal Codex, art. 226; Marezoll, Criminal-Codex, p. 388). Any other kind of property might easily be found and recovered, and hence its theft was punished by its simple restoration, with a fifth part of the value added for loss of use (5:22 sq.;  Leviticus 6:3 sq.). Rabbinical legislation on this point may be seen in the Mishna (Baba Metsiuh, 2). From  Proverbs 6:30, Michaelis infers a sevenfold restitution in Solomon's time, but the passage probably speaks only in round numbers. On the ancient Greek laws, see Potter, Antiq. 1, 364 sq.; and on that of the twelve tables, Adam, Romans Antiq. 1, 426; Abegg, Strasfrechtswiss. p. 449; or generally Gellitus, 11:18; on that of the modern Arabs, see Wellsted, Travels, 1, 287; on the Talmudic, see Otho, Lex. Rabb. p. 253. The Rabbinical interpretations of the law are given in the Mishna, Baba Kamma, 7 sq. If the burglar suffered a fatal wound in the act by night, the act was regarded as a justifiable homicide ( Exodus 22:2). So likewise in Solon's laws (Demosth. Timocr. p. 736) and among the ancient Romans (Heinecc. Antiq. Jur. Romans IV, 1, 3, 499), as well as Germans (Hanke, Gesch. d. deutsch. Peinl. Rechts, p. 99). Kidnapping (plagium) of a free Israelite was a capital crime ( Exodus 21:16;  Deuteronomy 24:7), punishable with strangulation ( Sanhedr. 11 :1); and was an act to which a long line of defenseless sea-coast like Palestine was peculiarly liable from piracy. A similar penalty prevailed among the ancient Greeks (Xenoph. Memor. 1, 2, 62; Demosth. Philipp. p. 53) and Romans after Constantine (see Marezoll, Criminalrecht, p. 370; Reim, Criminalr. d. Romans p. 390); comp. Philo, Opp. 2, 338. See generally Michaelis, Mos. Recht, 6:66 sq., 83 sq. (See Steal).