Thief

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Thief ( κλέπτης).—Thieves are mentioned in the following passages of the Gospels, besides several others where Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 substitutes ‘robber’ as the equivalent of λῃστής. See Robber. 1.  Matthew 6:19-20 =  Luke 12:23. Christ’s disciples should have their treasure where thieves do not break (lit. ‘dig’) through and steal. Eastern houses, being commonly of mud or sun-dried brick, are easily broken into; cf.  Exodus 22:2,  Job 24:16,  Ezekiel 12:5;  Ezekiel 7:2 .  Matthew 24:43 =  Luke 12:39. The unexpectedness of Christ’s coming is compared to that of a thief’s entry. This figure seems to have greatly impressed the Apostles; it is echoed several times in the NT ( 1 Thessalonians 5:2, (4),  2 Peter 3:10,  Revelation 3:3;  Revelation 16:15). 3.  John 10:1;  John 10:8;  John 10:10. False and self-seeking teachers—whether false Christs, or, more probably, Pharisees—are compared to thieves and robbers. 4.  John 12:6. Judas ‘was a thief, and having the bag’ (lit. ‘box’) ‘took away what was put therein’ (Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885).

Harold Smith.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. (ληστής) 'robber, bandit.' Used by the Lord in reference to those who bought and sold in the temple.  Matthew 21:13;  Mark 11:17;  Luke 19:46 . In the parable of the Good Samaritan the traveller fell among robbers.  Luke 10:30,36 . When the Lord was arrested He asked if they had come out as against a robber.  Matthew 26:55;  Mark 14:48;  Luke 22:52 . The two malefactors crucified with the Lord were also men of this character.  Matthew 27:38,44;  Mark 15:27 . The same Greek word is translated 'robber' in the A.V. in  John 10:1,8;  John 18 : 40;  2 Corinthians 11:26 .

2. κλέπτης, 'thief.' Those who break through and steal secretly.  Matthew 6:19,20 . This is the word employed in the expression "as a thief in the night," to which the unexpected coming of the Lord to the world is compared.  1 Thessalonians 5:2,4;  2 Peter 3:10;  Revelation 3:3; etc. It is applied to Judas.  John 12:6 . The word 'thief' in the A.V. is always this word except in the passages quoted under No. 1.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Luke 10:30 (c) No doubt these wicked men represent the ungodly world which continually seeks to take away everything we have and return to us nothing but trouble.

• the world welcomes the prize fighter who is winning, but has no use for him when he is losing.
• the world loves the company of the rich while he can give, but has no use for him when his riches are gone and he has become poor.
• the world wants the actress who is vivacious, interesting and beautiful. They have no use for her when the beauty has faded, and her skill has ceased.
• the world has nothing permanent to give, but is always active in taking what we have. Barabbas was a thief, and he represents this wicked world. Christ is a giver, and will always enrich us.

 John 10:1 (b) By this picture we see a symbol of the wicked, religious leaders of the world who would take away from GOD's people their peace, their faith, their time and their money by false teachings.

 Revelation 3:3 (a) This type is used by the Lord to describe the manner of His coming. It is not a reference to His character, for He is holy and pure. It refers only to the fact that He will come at a time when He is not expected, and in a way that no one understands.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

Among the Hebrews theft was not punished with death: "Men do not despise a thief if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry. But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house,"  Proverbs 6:30-31 . The law allowed the killing of a night- robber, because it was supposed his intention was to murder as well as to rob,  Exodus 22:2 . It condemned a common thief to make double restitution,  Exodus 22:4 . If he stole an ox he was to restore it fivefold; if a sheep, only fourfold,  Exodus 22:1;  2 Samuel 12:6 . But if the animal that was stolen was found alive in his house he only rendered the double of it. If he did not make restitution, they seized what was in his house, put it up to sale, and even sold the person himself if he had not wherewithal to make satisfaction,  Exodus 22:3 .

King James Dictionary

THIEF, n. plu. thieves.

1. One who secretly, unlawfully and feloniously takes the goods or personal property of another. The thief takes the property of another privately the robber by open force. 2. One who takes the property of another wrongfully, either secretly or by violence.  Job 30 3. One who seduces by false doctrine.  John 10 . 4. One who makes it his business to cheat and defraud as a den of thieves.  Matthew 21 . 5. An excrescence in the snuff of a candle.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) A waster in the snuff of a candle.

(2): ( n.) One who steals; one who commits theft or larceny. See Theft.

Holman Bible Dictionary

Ten Commandments TorahLaw

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( גִּנָּב , Κλέτης ). Among the Hebrews, the restitution that was required in case of theft was Double the amount taken ( Exodus 20:3-8). If a sheep, however, was stolen, and had been slain or sold, fourfold was required; or if an ox, a fivefold restitution was to be made. The reason of this distinction was that sheep, being kept in the desert, were more exposed than other animals to be stolen; and oxen, being so indispensably necessary in an agricultural community, could not be taken from their owners without great injury and peculiar aggravation ( Exodus 22:1). In case the thief was unable to make the restitution demanded by the law, he was sold, with his wife and children, into servitude ( Exodus 22:3;  2 Samuel 12:6;  2 Kings 4:1; comp.  Genesis 44:17). In later times, the fine is thought by some to have been increased ( Proverbs 6:30-31). ‘ Whoever slew a thief who was attempting to break a house at night, i.e. any hour before sunrise, was left unpunished, since he did not know but that the thief might have a design upon his life, and he was unable also, owing to the darkness, to identify and thereby bring him to justice ( Exodus 22:2). — (See Theft).

"Men do not despise a thief," says Solomon, "if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry. But if he be found, he shall-restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house" ( Proverbs 6:30-31). Bishop Hall is of opinion that Solomon, in this passage, does not so much extenuate the crime of theft as point out the greater criminality of adultery; but we have abundant evidence that theft, unaccompanied by violence, was viewed more leniently by ancient than by modern legislators. Wilkinson says, "The Egyptians held a singular custom respecting theft and burglary. Those who followed the profession of thief gave in their name to the chief of the robbers and agreed that he should be informed of everything they might thenceforward steal the moment it was in their possession. In consequence of this, the owner of the lost goods always applied by letter to the chief for their recovery; and having stated their quality and quantity, the day and hour when they were stolen, and other requisite particulars, the goods were identified, and on payment of one quarter of their value they were restored to the applicant in the same state as when taken from his house; for, being fully persuaded of the impracticability of putting an entire check to robbery, either by the dread of punishment or by any other method that could be adopted by the most vigilant police, they considered it more for the advantage of the community that a certain sacrifice should be made, in order to secure the restitution of the remainder, than that the law, by taking on itself to protect the citizen and discover the offender, should be the indirect cause of greater loss; and that the Egyptians, like the Indians, and, I may say, the modern inhabitants of the Nile, were very expert in the art of thieving we have abundant testimony from ancient authors" (Anc. Egyptians, 2, 216). (See Steal).

The criminals who were crucified with our Lord appear to have been, not "thieves" in the ordinary sense of the word, but rather public robbers or highwaymen ( Λῃστής is carefully distinguished from Κλέπτης ,  John 10:8), 1. . fellow-insurgents with Barabbas; for it is said that he "lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him in the city, who had committed murder in the insurrection" ( Mark 15:7). These malefactors, as bishop Maltby has well observed, "were not thieves who robbed all for Profit, but men who had taken up arms on a principle of resistance to the Roman oppression, and to what they thought an unlawful burden, the tribute-money; who made no scruple to rob all the Romans, and when engaged in these unlawful causes made less difference between Jews and Romans than they at first meant to do" ( Sermons [1819-22], vol. 1). (See Robber).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

thēf  : In the Old Testament the uniform translation (17 times) of גּנּב , gannābh , from gānabh , "steal," but gannābh is rather broader than the English "thief," and may even include a kidnapper (  Deuteronomy 24:7 ). In Apocrypha and the New Testament, the King James Version uses "thief" indifferently for κλέπτης , kléptēs , and ληστής , lēstḗs , but the Revised Version (British and American) always renders the latter word by "robber" (a great improvement), See Crimes . The figurative use of thief" as one coming without warning" (  Matthew 24:43 , etc.) needs no explanation.

The penitent thief ("robber," the Revised Version (British and American)   Mark 15:27;  Matthew 27:38 ,  Matthew 27:44; "malefactor,"  Luke 23:32 ,  Luke 23:39 ) was one of the two criminals crucified with Christ. According to Mark and Matthew, both of these joined in the crowd's mockery, but Luke tells that one of them reproached his fellow for the insults, acknowledged his own guilt, and begged Christ to remember him at the coming of the Kingdom. And Christ replied by promising more than was asked - immediate admission into Paradise. It should be noted that unusual moral courage was needed for the thief to make his request at such a time and under such circumstances, and that his case has little in common with certain sentimental "death-bed repentances."

To explain the repentance and the acknowledgment of Christ as Messiah, some previous acquaintance of the thief with Christ must be supposed, but all guesses as to time and place are of course useless. Later tradition abundantly filled the blanks and gave the penitent thief the name Titus or Dysmas. See Assassins; Barabbas .