Thievery punishable by death

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Solparvus

Puritan Board Senior
I've been noticing lately that by the Word of God and even in society, thievery is a very high sin. Reading through some recent narratives in "The Shorter Catechism Illustrated," I noticed that thievery was at times punished by execution. John MacArthur noted on Proverbs 6:30-31 that the recompense demanded for discoverd thievery are among the stricter laws in the Old Testament law. He pays back seven times what he stole.

It doesn't seem to be the same case in the Western world today. What's the underlying principle on why so much would be demanded back of a thief? I've just never seen this kind of strictness for thievery.
 
Could it be that when justice is slow or watered down criminals are emboldened?

Ecclesiastes 8:11 Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

If the dread of consequences is removed there are not enough police or soldiers in the land to keep order.
 
Another possible explanation involves taking the times and economic culture into account.

In the 19th century, to steal a man's horse was often, in effect, to render that man defenseless,
or stranded, and or without means of support and livelihood.

In a similar way, kidnapping is still today punishable by death in many places, precisely because
the kidnapper takes the kidnapped person's very life into their hands.

Or at a more basic level, to steal a man's wages might leave him unable to feed his family,
pay for medical care or pay his taxes. Any of these might end in death for some
 
Only kidnapping was the form of theft that could be punished by death in the OT, in lieu of an animal sacrifice.

"Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death. (Exodus 21:16)

"If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. (Deuteronomy 24:7, ESV)

And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally[or in ignorance], to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him." (Num 15:28-31, ESV)

The elders would decide in consultation with the priests whether the crime was presumptious enough for the perpetrator to be denied a sacrifice and to suffer the death penalty in permanent "cutting off" (i.e. permanent excommunication).

All other cases of simple theft were dealt with by restoration and restitution, sometimes multiple.

Poythress in his "The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses" (which is an answer to theonomy that doesn't go quite far enough In my humble opinion) says that the word "sevenfold" in Proverbs 6:30-31 is "in context, a metaphorical way of expressing the completeness of the penalty rather than its literal quantitative proportion" (p130) because it conflicts with the law, which says that payment by the thief must be double, fourfold or fivefold depending on the circumstances.

Poythress also says, "Proverbs 6:30-31 is therefore most naturally interpreted as an observation about the realities of actual life, not a leagal statute specifying what ought to be done. In particular v.30 does not match the character of a case law, since the language about not despising appears to be a description of actual life ("men do not despise") or possibly a prohibition to any arbitrary listener ("do not despise"), but is technically irrelevant to the judicial decision of the judge."
 
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The death penalty for burglary was still on the books (but unusable because of liberal rulings from the Warren court) when I started practicing law in Georgia. I haven't done criminal law for years, so I don't know if they've changed that. I don't think theft was included.
 
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