How has Wikipedia's Thou shalt not steal article changed?

In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it "sometimes interpreted to apply more narrowly to the “stealing” of a person". Today it says "one of the ten commandments of the jewish torah". We saved the article's opening at 5 moments between 2010 and 2025, and every claim links the exact revision.

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How Wikipedia rewrote the Thou shalt not steal article

The opening as it read in 2010

You shall not steal is one of the Ten Commandments , which are widely understood as moral imperatives by legal scholars, Jewish scholars, Catholic scholars, and Post-Reformation scholars.¹ The book of Exodus describes the Ten Commandments as being spoken by God to Moses, inscribed on two stone tablets by the finger of God, and later written on tablets by Moses. Though usually understood to prohibit the unauthorized taking of private property, this commandment is sometimes interpreted to apply more narrowly to the “stealing” of a person (kidnapping) or “stealing” of sex (rape). In either case, there is ample evidence to conclude that the unauthorized taking of private property was prohibited in ancient Jewish cultures and that stealing and greed were considered grave evils in early Christian cultures. The book of 1 Corinthians asserts that thieves, swindlers, and the greedy will be excluded from the kingdom of God as sure as adulterers, idolators, and the sexual immoral, but that those who leave these sins behind can be sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus: Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. — 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV) The command against stealing is seen as a natural consequence of the command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” The prohibition against desiring forbidden things is also seen as a moral imperative for the individual to exercise control over the thoughts of his mind and the desires of his heart.²

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 363916950.

The opening as it stood in 2015 7 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

" Thou shalt not steal " is one of the Ten Commandments of the Torah , which are widely understood as moral imperatives by legal scholars, Jewish scholars, Catholic scholars, and Post-Reformation scholars. "Steal" in this commandment has traditionally been interpreted by Jewish commentaries to refer to the stealing of an actual human being, that is, to kidnapping . With this understanding, a contextual translation of the commandment in Jewish tradition would more accurately be reflected as " Thou shalt not kidnap ", with kidnapping being a capital offence and thus included among the Ten Commandments. Nevertheless, and especially in non-Jewish traditions, the commandment has come to commonly and colloquially be understood or interpreted to prohibit the unauthorized taking of private property, or theft , which is a wrongful action that does not ordinarily incur the death penalty and is prohibited elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 667861251.

The opening as it stood in 2020

One of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:15) This article is about the Commandment. " Thou shalt not steal " is one of the Ten Commandments of the Jewish Torah (known to Christians as the first five books of the Old Testament ), which are widely understood as moral imperatives by legal scholars, Jewish scholars, Catholic scholars, and Post-Reformation scholars. "Steal" in this commandment has traditionally been interpreted by Jewish commentaries to refer to the stealing of an actual human being, that is, to kidnapping , including human trafficking . With this understanding, a contextual translation of the commandment in Jewish tradition would more accurately be rendered as " Thou shalt not kidnap ". Kidnapping would then constitute a capital offence and thus merit its inclusion among the Ten Commandments. Nevertheless, this commandment has come to be interpreted, especially in non-Jewish traditions, as the unauthorized taking of private property (stealing or theft ), which is a wrongful action already prohibited elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible that does not ordinarily incur the death penalty.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 959434287.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023

One of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:15) This article is about the Commandment. " Thou shalt not steal " ( ) is one of the Ten Commandments of the Jewish Torah (known to Christians as the first five books of the Old Testament ), which are widely understood as moral imperatives by legal scholars, Jewish scholars, Catholic scholars, and Post-Reformation scholars. "Steal" in this commandment has traditionally been interpreted by Jewish commentaries to refer to the stealing of an actual human being, that is, to kidnap . With this understanding, a contextual translation of the commandment in Jewish tradition would more accurately be rendered as " Thou shalt not kidnap ". Kidnapping would then constitute a capital offence and thus merit its inclusion among the Ten Commandments. Nevertheless, this commandment has come to be interpreted, especially in non-Jewish traditions, as the unauthorized taking of private property (stealing or theft ), which is a wrongful action already prohibited elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible that does not ordinarily incur the death penalty. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia . Renewal theology: systematic theology from a charismatic perspective . Making moral decisions: a Christian approach to personal and social ethics .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1175788606.

The opening as it stood in 2025

One of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:15) This article is about the Commandment in the Torah/Bible. " Thou shalt not steal " ( Biblical Hebrew : לֹא תִּגְנֹב , romanized: Lōʾ tig̲nōb̲ ) is one of the Ten Commandments of the Jewish Torah (known to Christians as the first five books of the Old Testament ), which are widely understood as moral imperatives by legal scholars, Jewish scholars, Catholic scholars, and Post-Reformation scholars. "Steal" in this commandment has traditionally been interpreted by Jewish commentaries to refer to the stealing of an actual human being, that is, to kidnap . With this understanding, a contextual translation of the commandment in Jewish tradition would more accurately be rendered as " Thou shalt not kidnap ". Kidnapping would then constitute a capital offence and thus merit its inclusion among the Ten Commandments. Nevertheless, this commandment has come to be interpreted, especially in non-Jewish traditions, as the unauthorized taking of private property (stealing or theft ), which is a wrongful action already prohibited elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible that does not ordinarily incur the death penalty. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia . Renewal theology: systematic theology from a charismatic perspective . Making moral decisions: a Christian approach to personal and social ethics .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1287135759. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.

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