经文研读
Exodus 20:15 — The Eighth Word: You Shall Not Steal
Exodus 20:15 is the eighth of the Ten Commandments, a brief prohibition against theft that anchors the protection of property within Israel's covenant with God.
经文
- 15.不 可 偷 盜 。Thou shalt not steal.
这段经文的意思
Exodus 20:15 reads, "Thou shalt not steal," a one-clause prohibition that sits as the eighth word in the Decalogue. Its brevity is matched by its reach: the verse forbids taking what belongs to another person, covering the act of theft itself rather than cataloguing its particular forms. Because the commandment addresses the overt act, its scope is broad enough to include covert misappropriation, not only violent robbery.
Within the structure of the Ten Commandments the verse follows the prohibitions against murder (v. 13) and adultery (v. 14). Read in that sequence, the eighth word extends the concern for the neighbor from the inviolability of life and family to the inviolability of property. Stealing is thus presented not as a commercial misdemeanor but as an assault on the neighbor's person and household, which property in the ancient covenant community sustained.
The verse is also framed by what precedes and follows it. Verses 12–17 form the second table of the law, duties toward other people that flow from the duties toward God in verses 3–11. The eighth word therefore belongs to a covenant ethic in which the neighbor's goods, like the neighbor's life and reputation (cf. v. 16), are placed under divine protection. The simple imperative presupposes a society in which the Lord has already assigned stewardship over what each person possesses.
背景
Exodus 20 records God speaking the Ten Commandments directly to Israel at Sinai after delivering them from Egypt (vv. 1–2). The commandments open with worship commands (vv. 3–11) and move to commands governing human relationships (vv. 12–17), after which the people react in fear to the theophany and ask Moses to mediate (vv. 18–21). The chapter closes with instructions for an altar (vv. 22–26).
Within that chapter, verse 15 stands inside the second table of the Decalogue and is paired with related prohibitions against murder, adultery, false witness, and coveting. The surrounding narrative stresses that these words come from heaven (v. 22) and form the covenant standard for a community already shaped by redemption from Egypt. The curated note identifies this block as "The Ten Commandments," which is the chapter heading supplied for the passage.
原文关键词
- H3808 The particle לֹא (lōʾ) is the simple absolute negation in Hebrew. In the Decalogue it carries the force of a binding prohibition, and its placement before the verb makes the command categorical rather than conditional.
- H1589 The verb גָּנַב (gānaḇ, here tiḡnōḇ) means "to steal" or "to thieve," and the supplied definition also notes its figurative use for deception. In Exodus 20:15 it governs the overt act of taking what belongs to another, leaving room to include both stealthy theft and the broader concept of illicit acquisition.
相关经文
- Romans 13:9 Paul groups "Do shalt not steal" with the other second-table commands and then sums them up in the positive command to love the neighbor. The eighth word is thus treated as one expression of the love commandment.
- Ephesians 4:28 The New Testament counterpart turns the prohibition into a constructive call: the former thief is to labor with his hands so that he may have something to give to those in need. The eighth word is reframed around honest work and generosity.
- Leviticus 19:11 Leviticus expands the eighth word by pairing it with prohibitions against dealing falsely and lying. Stealing is here tied directly to truthfulness in the covenant community, so that dishonesty of any kind becomes a violation of the same standard.
常见问题
Why is the prohibition against stealing so short compared with other commandments?
The brevity of verse 15 reflects the Hebrew style of the Decalogue, where each word is stated in concise form and expanded in later covenant laws such as Leviticus 19. The short formulation forbids the act itself, leaving room for detailed application elsewhere in the law and the prophets.
Does Exodus 20:15 forbid only theft of goods, or does it cover other forms of taking?
The verse itself addresses the act of stealing in general terms. The cross references show that the broader application is worked out elsewhere: Leviticus 19:13 addresses withholding a hired worker's wages, while Ephesians 4:28 contrasts honest labor with theft. The eighth word thus serves as the basic principle from which these specific cases are derived.
How does the eighth commandment relate to the rest of the second table?
Verses 13–17 form a sequence that moves from life (no murder), to family (no adultery), to property (no stealing), to reputation (no false witness), and finally to desire (no coveting). Stealing is the middle term that links the protection of the neighbor's person to the protection of what sustains daily life, and the cross reference in Romans 13:9 shows that the New Testament reads these commands together under the single heading of love for the neighbor.