Exodus 20:15 — Word Study
WLCלֹ֣֖א תִּֿגְנֹֽ֔ב׃ ס
BSAYou shall notlôʼ [do not take the property of another, absolutely] stealgânab▸ [take something secretly, deceive to obtain]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| לֹ֣֖א | not | Particle |
| תִּֿגְנֹֽ֔ב׃ ס | you must steal | Verb, Qal, imperfect second person masculine singular |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | You shall not steal. |
| KJV | Thou shalt not steal. |
| ASV | Thou shalt not steal. |
| YLT | 'Thou dost not steal. |
| WEB | “You shall not steal. |
| BBE | Do not take the property of another. |
All translations agree on the prohibition of stealing here.
A single command with a clear prohibition, emphasizing the importance of respecting others' property.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbגָּנַב
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Exodus 20:15
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Ten Commandmentsgenerated
Exodus 20:15 is part of the moral law given to the Israelites, which includes various prohibitions aimed at maintaining social order and respect among individuals. This command specifically addresses the act of stealing, highlighting the importance of integrity and ownership in community life. It follows commands regarding adultery and false witness, reinforcing a framework of ethical behavior.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exodus 21:16 | Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession. |
| 2 | Leviticus 6:1–7 | And the LORD said to Moses, |
| 3 | Leviticus 19:11–13 | You must not steal. You must not lie or deceive one another. |
| 4 | Deuteronomy 24:7 | If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you. |
| 5 | Deuteronomy 25:13–16 | You shall not have two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 21 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — תִּֿגְנֹֽב, tige.Nogenerated
The verb גָּנַב (ganab) means to steal, indicating the act of taking something secretly or by deception. This verb is in the imperfect tense, second person masculine singular, suggesting a command directed at individuals, emphasizing personal responsibility in the act of stealing.
The root of גָּנַב carries a sense of stealth and secrecy, which is crucial to understanding the nature of theft. The command not only forbids the act but also implies a deeper moral obligation to respect others' belongings.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
All translations agree on the prohibition of stealing in this verse.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of this command is straightforward, with a single finite verb תִּֿגְנֹֽב (you shall steal) governed by the negation לֹ֣֖א (not). This simple command form emphasizes clarity and directness in the prohibition.
The command's brevity reflects the style of the Ten Commandments, where each directive is succinct yet powerful, making the moral instruction easily memorable.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates תִּֿגְנֹֽב as κλέψεις (klepseis), which also means to steal. This choice maintains the original meaning while adapting it to Greek, showing a consistent understanding of the moral imperative against theft.
The use of κλέψεις aligns with the Greek understanding of theft, emphasizing the act of taking unlawfully, similar to the Hebrew context.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Exodus 20:15 states a clear command: do not steal. This means you should not take anything that belongs to someone else without permission. This command is part of a larger set of rules given to guide the behavior of the Israelites, ensuring respect for one another's property.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
To steal means to take something that does not belong to you, often in secret or through deception.
Stealing is prohibited because it violates trust and respect for others' property, which is essential for a functioning community.
This command complements others that promote honesty and integrity, such as those against adultery and false witness.
The consequences of stealing can include legal penalties, loss of trust, and social consequences within the community.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways can I ensure I respect the property of others?
- How do I respond when I see someone stealing?
- What are some examples of stealing that might not be immediately obvious?
- How can I promote honesty and integrity in my community?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
The Apostolic Constitutions quote this command to illustrate the seriousness of theft, referencing the punishment of Achan for stealing in Israel.
"You shall not steal:" [Exodus 20:15] for Achan, when he had stolen in Israel at Jericho, was stoned to death;Early Church Fathers on Exodus 20 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Exodus 20:15 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThou shall not steal. Which is to take away another man's property by force or fraud, without the knowledge, and against the will of the owner thereof.
Read John Gill on Exodus 20 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not steal. This refers to the act of theft-the secret purloining or abstraction of any property belonging to another.
Read Robert Jamieson on Exodus 20 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Biblei.e. Either by deceit or violence, or without his knowledge and consent, take away another man’ s goods, ; but, on the contrary, shalt preserve and increase them, as need requires, and occasion is offered.
Read Matthew Poole on Exodus 20 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsExodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.Ver. 15. Thou shalt not steal,] i.e., Not rob or wrong another, either by force or fraud Basil chargeth the devil as a thief of the truth, in that he had decked his crows with her feathers. And it was of the devil surely that she had learned her answer, who, being charged by her mistress for stealing her linens, and other things which she found in her trunk, said, that she stole them not: and when she was asked, How came they to be laid and locked up there? did not you do this? No, said she, it was not I, but sin that dwelleth in me. επιβοληκαιεπιβουλη. - Naz. Light for Smoke, p. 85.
Read John Trapp on Exodus 20 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(15) Thou shalt not steal.—Our third duty towards our neighbour is to respect his right to his property. The framers of Utopias, both ancient and modern, have imagined communities in which private property should not exist. But such a condition of things has never yet been realised in practice. In the laws of all known States private property has been recognised, and social order has been, in a great measure, based upon it. Here, again, law has but embodied natural instinct. The savage who hammers out a flint knife by repeated blows with a pebble, labouring long, and undergoing pain in the process, feels that the implement which he has made is his own, and that his right to it is…
Read Charles John Ellicott on Exodus 20 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleTHE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT Against stealing and dishonesty. Verse 15. Thou shalt not steal.] All rapine and theft are forbidden by this precept; as well national and commercial wrongs as petty larceny, highway robberies, and private stealing: even the taking advantage of a seller's or buyer's ignorance, to give the one less and make the other pay more for a commodity than its worth, is a breach of this sacred law. All withholding of rights and doing of wrongs are against the spirit of it. But the word is principally applicable to clandestine stealing, though it may undoubtedly include all political injustice and private wrongs. And consequently all kidnapping, crimping, and slave-dealing are…
Read AdamClarke on Exodus 20 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges15. The eighth commandment. The rights of private property to be respected. Cf. in H Leviticus 19:11. For penalties for stealing, see Exodus 21:16, Exodus 22:1. It is hardly necessary to quote from the prophets passages illustrative of these duties: but Hosea 4:2, Jeremiah 7:9 are particularly worth referring to.
Read Cambridge on Exodus 20 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the BibleTHE EIGHTH , Exodus 20:15. 15. Thou shalt not steal — Next to the rights of life and person stands the right of property.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Exodus 20 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
You shall not steal.
“You shall not steal.
You shall not steal.
“You shall not steal.
Tyndale line
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not steale.
Strictly literal
Thou shalt not steal.
'Thou dost not steal.
You do not steal.
Thou shalt not steal.
You must not steal from anyone.
From the Latin
Thou shalt not steal.
Simplified
You must not steal.
Do not take the property of another.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text is supported by the Samaritan Pentateuch, which agrees word for word with the command לא תגנב. The Septuagint matches two of the words from the Hebrew, showing a consistent understanding across these ancient witnesses.
לֹ֣֖א תִּֿגְנֹֽ֔ב׃ ס
2 of the 2 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
לא תגנב
Agrees with the Masoretic Text here, word for word.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Exodus 20:15
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
לֹא (lo') is a Hebrew word meaning 'not' or 'no.' It serves as a simple negation and can imply absence or prohibition. The word can also be used in various contexts, often combined with other particles for emphasis or clarification. Its Aramaic equivalent is לָא (la), which also means 'not.'
לֹא or לוֹא adv. not
base
H3808 לֹא or לוֹא not
3808 lo' lo
or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle;
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often
used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else,
ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never,
no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out
of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, +
of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.
לֹא (lo) — not.
1) not, no
1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition)
1b) not (with modifier-negation)
1c) nothing (subst)
1d) without (with particle)
1e) before (of time)
Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)
Part — ParticleHTn
גָּנַב (ganab) is a Hebrew verb meaning to steal. It encompasses various forms, including stealing, being stolen, and going by stealth. The entries indicate its use in different grammatical aspects, such as Qal, Niphal, Piel, Pual, and Hithpael, which cover both the act of stealing and the state of being stolen.
[גָּנַב] vb. steal
Qal steal
Niph. be stolen
Pi. steal away (trans.)
Pu. be stolen away
Hithp. go by stealth, syeal away
base
H1589 גָּנַב steal
1589 ganab gaw-nab'
a primitive root; to thieve (literally or figuratively); by
implication, to deceive:--carry away, X indeed, secretly
bring, steal (away), get by stealth.
גָּנַב (ga.nav) — to steal.
1) to steal, steal away, carry away
1a) (Qal) to steal
1b) (Niphal) to be stolen
1c) (Piel) to steal away
1d)(Pual) to be stolen away, be brought by stealth
1e) (Hithpael) to go by stealth, steal away
V-Qal-Imperf-2ms — Verb · Qal · imperfect second person masculine singularHVqi2ms