Rob
Rob.
I. The following are the Heb. and Gr. words rendered by this and its derivatives in the A.V.:
1. Rob:
(1) בָּזִז (Sept. διαρπάζω; Vulg. depopulor); (2) גָּזִל (ἀφαιρέω; violenter aufero); (3) עוּד, "return," "repeat;" hence in Pi. to surround, circumvent (Ps 119:61; περιπλακῆναι; circumplecti),usually affirm,reiterate assertions (Gesen. Thesaur. p. 997); (4) קָבִע, "cover," "hide" (πτερνίζω; affigo [Gesen. Thesaur. p. 1190]); (5) שָׁסָה (διαρπάζω; diripio);
(6) שָׁסִס, same as last (προνομεύω; depredor); (7) גָּנִב (κλέπτω; furor; A.V. "steal"); (8) συλάω, to strip. SEE STEALING.
2. Robber:
(1) בּוזֵז, part. from בָּזִז, "rob" (προνομεύων; vastans); (2) פָּרַיוֹ, part. of פָּרִוֹ, "break" (λοιμός; latro); Mic 2:13, "breaker;" (3) צִמַּים, Job 18:9 (διψῶντες; sitis. Targum, with A.V., has "robbers;" but it is most commonly rendered as Sept. Job 5:5, sitientes); (4) שֹׁדֵד (ληστής; latro), from שָׁדִד, "waste;" (5) שֹׁסֶה (ἐχθρός; deripiens; A.V. "spoiler"); (6) גִּנָּב (κλέπτης; fur; A.V. "thief"); (7) λῃσστής. SEE THIEF.
3. Robbery:
(1) גָּזֵל (ἁρπαγή, ἁρπάγματα; rapinoe); (2) פֶּרֶק, from פָּרִק, '"break" (ἀδικία; dilaceratio); (3) שֹׁד, from שָׁדִד, "waste" (ὄλεθρος; rapinoe); (4) שָׁלָל (προνομή; proeda; A.V. "prey," "spoil;" (5) ἁρπαγμός. SEE THEFT.
II. Whether in the larger sense of plunder or the more limited sense of theft systematically organized, robbery has ever been one of the principal employments of the nomad tribes of the East. From the time of Ishmael to the present day, the Bedouin has been a "wild man" and a robber by trade; and to carry out his objects successfully, so far from being esteemed disgraceful, is regarded as in the highest degree creditable (Ge 16:12; Burckhardt, Notes on Bed. 1, 137, 17). An instance of an enterprise of a truly Bedouin character, but distinguished by the exceptional features belonging to its principal actor, is seen in the night foray of David (1Sa 26:6-12), with which, also, we may fairly compare Homer, Il. K. 204, etc. Predatory inroads on a large scale are seen in the incursions of the Sabaeans and Chaldaeans on the property of Job (Job 1:15,17), the revenge coupled with plunder of Simeon and Levi (Ge 34:28-29), the reprisals of the Hebrews upon the Midianites (Nu 31:32-54), and the frequent and often prolonged invasions of "spoilers" upon the Israelites, together with their reprisals, during the period of the Judges and Kings (Jg 2:14; Jg 6:3-4; 1Sa 11; 1Sa 15; 2Sa 8:10; 2Ki 5:2; 1Ch 5:10,18-22). Individual instances, indicating an unsettled state of the country during the same period, are seen in the "liers- in-wait" of the men of Shechem (Jg 9:25), and the mountain retreats of David in the cave of Adullam, the hill of Hachilah, and the wilderness of Maon, and his abode in Ziklag invaded and plundered in like manner by the Amalekites (1Sa 22:1-2; 1Sa 23:19-25; 1Sa 26:1; 1Sa 27:6-10; 1Sa 30:1). SEE WAIT, LIER-IN-.
Similar disorder in the country, complained of more than once by the prophets (Ho 4:2; Ho 6:9; Mic 2:8), continued more or less through Maccabaean down to Roman times, favored by the corrupt administration of some of the Roman governors in accepting money in redemption of punishment, produced those formidable bands of robbers so easily collected and with so much difficulty subdued who found shelter in the caves of Palestine and Syria, and who infested the country. even in the time of our Lord, almost to the very gates of Jerusalem (Lu 10:30; Ac 5:36-37; Ac 21:38). SEE BARABBAS; SEE CAVE; SEE JUDAS OF GALILEE. In the later history, also, of the country the robbers, or sicarii, together with their leader, John of Gischala, played a conspicuous part (Josephus, War, 4, 2, 1; 3, 4; 7, 2). In Asia Minor, likewise, the native tribes gave the Roman government much trouble, so that the roads were often unsafe for travelers (2Co 11:26). SEE SPOIL.
