Eighth Commandment: Thou shalt not steal
Text – Exodus 20:15
Hebrew:
לֹא תִּגְנֹב
Literal translation:
You shall not steal.
Linguistic and grammatical analysis
·
לֹא (lo):
– Absolute negative particle: “No”.
·
תִּגְנֹב (tig'nov): –
Imperfect verb , second person singular.
– Root: גָּנַב (ganáv) = to steal, to rob, to take secretly what
is not yours .
This verb is used for both theft of
objects and theft of people (kidnapping), depending
on the context.
What type
of theft does this commandment refer to?
In the law of Moses, there were different
types of theft , with clear consequences:
A. Theft of material
goods
– Simple theft: Exodus 22:1–4 –
Restitution was required double, quadruple, or quintuple.
B. Kidnapping (robbery
of persons)
– Exodus 21:16:
“Whoever steals a person and sells him, or if he
is found in his possession, he shall be put to death .”
This was considered a
capital crime (like slave trafficking or human trafficking).
C. Fraud or deception
– Leviticus 19:13:
“You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor
rob him …”
Here the theft can be economic,
labor or contractual .
Therefore,
the commandment is not limited to physical theft with the hand ,
but includes:
·
Fraud
·
Corruption
·
Salary
withholding
· Extortion
· Economic manipulation
Jesus and theft: the heart of the thief
Jesus, although he does not
repeat this commandment verbatim in the Sermon on the Mount, teaches the same
principle when he speaks of:
·
The love of
money as a root of all evil (Luke 12:15)
·
Covetousness
as idolatry (Luke 12:21; Col. 3:5)
·
The need for
faithfulness in little things (Luke 16:10)
He also said:
John
10:10
“The thief comes only to steal, kill, and
destroy...”
Here theft is a symbol of
the actions of Satan , who steals what does not belong to him: souls,
truth, the glory of God.
✨ Spiritual dimension of
the commandment
The commandment can also be
understood spiritually as a warning against:
Stealing
from God
“Will a man rob God?... in tithes and offerings
you have robbed me” – Malachi 3:8
– Withhold what belongs to God:
time, gratitude, honor, commitment, etc.
Steal
honor or truth
– To lie or deceive for personal
gain.
– To defame or steal reputation.
Stealing
from the poor
– Not helping the needy when you
can is, in the spirit of the law, theft disguised as indifference (cf.
Proverbs 14:31).
Modern application
This commandment calls us to live
with:
·
Economic
and labor integrity
– Do not defraud or mislead with prices, weights, promises, or services.
·
Social
Justice
– Denounce systems that oppress the weak or enrich the powerful through legal
loopholes.
·
Spiritual
Responsibility
– Do not steal time from God or manipulate faith for personal gain.
Spiritual
summary of the commandment
|
Level |
Application |
|
Literal |
Do not take
other people's property |
|
Civil |
Restitution and
economic justice |
|
Spiritual |
Do not defraud,
do not deceive, do not oppress |
|
Prophetic |
Satan is the
thief; the Messiah returns what was stolen. |
|
Staff |
Living with
transparency and contentment |
GOING DEEPER
1. Malachi's
message is directed primarily to priests (religious leaders)
Malachi
2:1
“Now therefore, O priests , this
commandment is for you.”
From the beginning it is clear
that he is not speaking to the people in general , but to
the spiritual leaders who served as mediators between God and the nation .
And what does God say about them?
·
They
turned aside from the path (Mal. 2:8)
·
They
caused many to stumble at the law
·
They
corrupted the covenant of Levi
·
They
were partial to each other
·
And
therefore they were made contemptible before the people (Mal.
2:9)
This reflects a
corruption of the priesthood , not necessarily a failure of the
people.
2. God
accuses them of stealing, oppressing and defrauding the weakest
Malachi
3:5
“And I will be a swift witness against... those
who defraud the hired worker, the widow, and the orphan of their wages ,
and those who deprive the stranger of his rights, and who do not fear
me ,” says YHVH.
This is clear:
·
Stealing is
not just taking material things, but not paying what is fair ,
withholding resources , or managing with favoritism .
·
Instead of
caring for the needy, the priests were complicit in oppression .
·
It is a direct
violation of the eighth commandment , the law of love ,
and the covenant of Levi , whose duty was to instruct and
serve (Mal. 2:7–8).
3. The
tithe, misinterpreted and manipulated by the leaders of then… and now
Let's see:
A. The
tithe was not money
·
It was grain,
wine, oil, livestock (Deut. 14:22–29; 26:12–13).
·
It was
stored in warehouses (storehouses, granaries), not
temples or safes .
B. Wage
earners did not tithe
·
The tithe
was agricultural and livestock , from what was produced by the
land that God gave as inheritance .
·
Therefore
the day laborer, the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner did not tithe
— they received from the tithe .
C. Every
three years, money was collected for the needy.
·
The “third
year of tithing” was for the Levites, orphans, widows, and foreigners
to eat (Deut. 14:28–29).
·
It was a social
distribution, not a priestly accumulation .
4. “Bring
the tithes into the storehouse” – Malachi 3:10, misapplied today
This verse does not
justify charging the modern wage earner money weekly .
Malachi
3:10
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse ,
that there may be food in my house…”
✅ “Food” = literal
provision for priests, Levites, and the needy.
✅ The purpose was to sustain the spiritual function of the people ,
not to enrich the priest .
⚠ ️ Today many religious leaders use it out of context
, to:
·
Justify mandatory
collection of money .
·
Demanding
tithes from employees when the law does not permit it .
·
Accumulating
goods and wages for themselves without distributing to the needy or
to those who work in God's work .
5. Comparison between the biblical model and the distorted modern model
|
Biblical principle |
Modern distortion |
|
The tithe was
in kind (grain, livestock, etc.) |
The tithe is
demanded in money |
|
He went to the
storehouse to support Levites, orphans, widows, foreigners |
Go to the
pastor, temple or exclusive “vision” of the leader |
|
Wage earners
and the poor did not tithe |
Tithe is
required up to the minimum wage |
|
The priests
received only the tithe of the tithe |
Today leaders take
over everything |
|
God denounces
the priest who oppresses |
Today the
people are blamed for “robbing God” |
✨ Conclusion
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