Bible dictionaries
Theft
What Bible dictionaries say about “Theft”, one article after the other.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary & Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
Theft - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
Punished by restitution, the proportions of which are noted in 2 Sam. 12:6. If the thief could not pay the fine, he was to be sold to a Hebrew master till he could pay (Ex. 22:1-4). A night-thief might be smitten till he died, and there would be no blood-guiltiness for him (22:2). A man-stealer was to be put to death (21:16). All theft is forbidden (Ex. 20:15; 21:16; Lev. 19:11; Deut. 5:19; 24:7; Ps. 50:18; Zech. 5:3; Matt. 19:18; Rom. 13:9; Eph. 4:28; 1 Pet. 4:15).
Theft - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)
THEFT, n. The act of stealing. In law, the private, unlawful, felonious taking of another person's goods or movables, with an intent to steal them. To constitute theft, the taking must be in private or without the owner's knowledge, and it must be unlawful or felonious, that is, it must be with a design to deprive the owner of his property privately and against his will. Theft differs from robbery, as the latter is a violent taking from the person, and of course not private.
1. The thing stolen. Exo 22.
THEFT'-BOTE, n. In law, the receiving of a man's goods again from a thief; or a compensation for them, by way of composition, and to prevent the prosecution of the thief. This in England subjects a person to a heavy fine, as by this means the punishment of the criminal is prevented.
Matthew George Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary; Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language (1828)
The article in Easton + Webster 1828International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE 1915)
See CRIMES; PUNISHMENTS.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia — James Orr, general editor and contributors; CrossWire SWORD module ISBE 2.2
The article in ISBE 1915