Greek word · G3027

λῃστής

lēstēs

robber/rebel

A robber who uses violence: a highwayman, brigand or bandit (Luke 10:30, the men who beat the traveler). In first-century Judea it was also used for armed rebels and insurgents. Josephus regularly calls revolutionaries lēstai. John 10:1 uses both side by side.

Appears 15 times in 15 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

λῃστής, -οῦ, ὁ

(Ep. ληίς = λεία, booty), [in LXX for גְּדוּד, etc. ;]

a robber, brigand: Matthew 21:13 (LXX) Matthew 26:55 27:38, 44, Mark 11:17 14:48 15:27, Luke 10:30, 36 19:46 22:52, John 10:1, 8 18:40, 2 Corinthians 11:26.†

SYN.: κλέπτης, q.v (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Matthew 21:13

Range of meaning

A robber who uses violence: a highwayman, brigand or bandit (Luke 10:30, the men who beat the traveler). In first-century Judea it was also used for armed rebels and insurgents. Josephus regularly calls revolutionaries lēstai. It is a different word from κλέπτης (kleptēs), a thief who steals by stealth. John 10:1 uses both side by side.

Against the English

KJV "thieves" now suggests pickpockets, shoplifters or swindlers. "Robbers" (BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV) is closer. "Bandits" or "brigands" is closer still.

How it drifted

In Tyndale's and the KJV translators' English, "thief" covered a wide range of robbery; the KJV also calls the men crucified with Jesus "thieves". Modern usage has narrowed "thief" to stealing without violence, so the KJV wording now makes the offence sound smaller than it is.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint, Jeremiah 7:11 uses λῃστῶν for Hebrew paritsim, "violent men, burglars, ones who break in" (HALOT). In Josephus, lēstai covers Galilean brigands under Herod and later the insurgents of the 50s–60s CE (Jewish War 2.253–254). In Matthew, Jesus protests at his arrest, "Have you come out as against a lēstēs?" (26:55), and he is crucified between two lēstai (27:38). Barabbas is called a lēstēs in John 18:40.

From the study of John 10:1

Range of meaning

Robber, bandit, brigand: someone who seizes by force, usually armed and in bands, attacking travellers or raiding property (Luke 10:30). In first-century Judea it was also the regular word for armed insurgents and 'social bandits' who opposed Roman and aristocratic rule.

Against the English

'Robber' everywhere. Modern 'robber' can suggest a lone bank robber or mugger. The Greek suggests an armed raider, possibly one with a political or 'messianic' cause.

How it drifted

English 'robber' has narrowed to a criminal who takes money. It lost the band-of-raiders sense and the political sense the word had in Roman Judea.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus routinely calls Jewish rebel leaders and their followers lēstai (e.g. Jewish War 2.253–254; Antiquities 17.285, describing how many set themselves up as kings in the countryside). In the Gospels Barabbas is a lēstēs (John 18:40; Mark 15:7 links him with insurrection), Jesus is crucified between two lēstai (Mark 15:27), and he condemns the temple as a 'den of lēstai' (Mark 11:17, quoting Jer 7:11).

From the study of John 10:8

Range of meaning

A bandit or brigand: someone who robs by force, usually on the road or in raiding gangs. In Roman-era Judea it was also the standard term, especially in Josephus, for armed rebels and guerrilla leaders, whom the authorities treated as outlaws.

Against the English

Most English versions have 'robbers'. To a modern reader that suggests a mugger or someone holding up a bank. The Greek word suggests armed gangs in the hills, raiders, and, in Jesus' day, insurgents with political and sometimes messianic claims.

How it drifted

The English word 'robber' narrowed to mean a criminal who steals with force. It lost the ideas of outlaw bands and political insurrection that the Greek word carried in Roman Palestine.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus calls the Galilean rebel Hezekiah a 'bandit chief' (archilēstēs). He describes Judea after Herod's death as 'full of banditry', with men making themselves king (Antiquities 17.285). He repeatedly calls the revolutionaries of the 60s 'bandits'. In the Gospels: the 'den of bandits' in the temple (Mark 11:17, quoting Jeremiah 7:11); Jesus arrested 'as against a bandit' (Mark 14:48); the two men crucified with him (Mark 15:27); Barabbas, 'a bandit' (John 18:40).

Where it appears

Matthew · 4

  1. Matthew 21:13 λῃστῶν. of robbers.’

    And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

    Here: Violent robbers or brigands, not sneak-thieves. The same word is used for the men crucified beside Jesus (27:38) and for how he was arrested, "as against a bandit" (26:55).

  2. Matthew 26:55 λῃστὴν a robber

    At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me.

    Here: An armed bandit of the hills, the kind of violent outlaw (sometimes a rebel) you would need weapons and numbers to take. It is not a sneak thief.

  3. Matthew 27:38 λῃσταί, robbers,

    Two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right and the other on His left.

    Here: Not sneak thieves but men of violence: highway raiders or rebels outside the law. This is the same word Jesus used at his arrest ('Have you come out as against a lēstēs, with swords and clubs?', 26:55), so the authorities have now treated him exactly as he said.

  4. Matthew 27:44 λῃσταὶ robbers

    In the same way, even the robbers who were crucified with Him berated Him.

Mark · 3

  1. Mark 11:17 λῃστῶν.¶ of robbers.’

    Then Jesus began to teach them, and He declared, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

    Here: "Of bandits". Armed, violent robbers, not sneak thieves. In Jesus' time the word was also used for rebels. Mark uses it again for how Jesus is arrested (14:48) and for the two men crucified with him (15:27).

  2. Mark 14:48 λῃστὴν a robber

    Jesus asked the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw?

  3. Mark 15:27 λῃστάς, robbers,

    Along with Jesus, they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left.

Luke · 4

  1. Luke 10:30 λῃσταῖς robbers

    Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.

  2. Luke 10:36 λῃστάς; robbers?

    Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

  3. Luke 19:46 λῃστῶν. of robbers.’

    He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

    Here: Violent robbers: armed highwaymen or gang members, not sneak-thieves. The word comes from Jeremiah, where it translates Hebrew for "violent men." It names people who live by violence and plunder.

  4. Luke 22:52 λῃστὴν a robber

    Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against an outlaw?

John · 3

  1. John 10:1 λῃστής· a robber;

    “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

    Here: Not a burglar but an armed raider who takes by force. In Jesus' day the word was also used for armed rebels; John uses it for Barabbas (18:40).

  2. John 10:8 λῃσταί· robbers;

    All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

    Here: Violent raiders: highway bandits and armed gangs. In first-century Judea the word was also used for armed rebels. John uses it for Barabbas (18:40). Together with 'thieves' it covers both the sneaky and the violent ways of taking the flock.

  3. John 18:40 λῃστής.¶ an insurrectionist.

    “Not this man,” they shouted, “but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.)

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:26 λῃστῶν, of robbers,

    In my frequent journeys, I have been in danger from rivers and from bandits, in danger from my countrymen and from the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger on the sea and among false brothers,

    Here: Armed highway bandits, the gangs who preyed on travellers in remote country, like those in the parable of the Samaritan (Luke 10:30). Not a sneak thief.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.