Exodus 20:15 -- Steal Slaves?

[ReFLeX]

From religioustolerance.org

8th Commandment; Verse 15 "Thou shalt not steal."

"...this Commandment has been interpreted to refer to only one kind of theft; namely, to someone who kidnaps a person, forces him or her to work for him, and then sells him or her into slavery. This, like the previous prohibitions mentioned in the verse, murder and adultery, is a Capital Crime; that is, punishable by the death-penalty." 2 Since slavery has now been abolished in North America, this commandment is no longer applicable.

In modern times, the commandment is interpreted to mean the stealing of any piece of property. This is not directly related to its original meaning.

The Westminster Larger Catechism includes: "The covetousness; inordinate prizing and affecting worldly goods... envying at the prosperity of others; as likewise idleness, prodigality, wasteful gaming..."

I can't find any other source for the veracity of the slave reference. There are thousands of words written about stealing in general, how can they have forgotten the original meaning? I know about the confusion about which commandments are the supposed genuine ones, but, as these are the most well known, what of this interpretation?

 

[stamenflicker]

I can't find any other source for the veracity of the slave reference. There are thousands of words written about stealing in general, how can they have forgotten the original meaning? I know about the confusion about which commandments are the supposed genuine ones, but, as these are the most well known, what of this interpretation?

I'm not sure of your question exactly; however I will say that the interpretation of the commandment provided on the site is a pretty narrow one and excludes a good deal of ancient literature on the commandment such as the Midrash and even much of the rest of the Bible itself.

I like this interpretation:

In a similar manner, the Talmudic observation that the words in the Ten Commandments refer to buying slaves, does not mean that the injunction not to steal was not issued at Sinai. The basis for this rabbinic observation lies in the fact that both murder and sexual immorality that are mentioned here together with theft carry a death penalty; the only form of theft that carries such a penalty, is the theft of humans for sale.

from http://www.besr.org/dvartorah/tamari/yisro.html

Stealing is also considered in some Midrash texts as withholding goods from the poor:

http://www.torah.org/learning/beyond-pshat/5763/bechukosai.html

and here:

In Leviticus Rabbah the question is asked: who is a thief? The midrash answers: a thief is one who does not do the mitzvah of peot [corners], leaving the corners of our field unplowed so that the poor may come and glean from them. Interestingly, the midrash asserts that those who fail to do this mitzvah are not simply guilty of being uncharitable; rather, they are guilty of breaking the eighth commandment. Underlying this midrash is the rationale that ultimately all property is God's. Rabbi Richard Levy writes in his essay on the eighth commandment, "Theft is wrong, a priori, because it takes from others and it takes from God, who has ordained a method for distributing Divine bounty. The Holy One apportions the land and wealth that belong to God to individuals who are commanded to share it with God's agents, the poor." The commandment against stealing is thus not simply a protection of private property; it is also a cry to share God's bounty in this world.

from http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=1434&pge_prg_id=14946&pge_id=1148

Hope that helps,

Flick

 

[Johnny Pneumatic]

The Bible justifies slavery here:
Genesis 9:18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
9:19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
9:23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
9:24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
9:25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
9:26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
9:27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.