The Two Crucified with Jesus

 

TWO PRELIMINARY POINTS

1.    Usual Word for Thieves: kleptia

The literal word for thief in the New Testament is kle,pthj kleptes {klep'-tace}; it's the root of the English work kleptomaniac. This word refers to one who sneaks in or steals stuff or cheats people out of stuff without using violence. Think of embezzlers, scammers, shoplifters, pickpockets, and cat burglars. Here is an example.

Matthew 6:19  ¹⁹ "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves (kleptia, plural of kleptes) break in and steal …”

 

Kleptia is not the word used to describe the men crucified with Jesus in the New Testament. Two different words are used for those individuals.

 

2.     Usual Punishment for Thieves: repay

The usual punishment for thieves by Roman Law was paying back the owner several times the amount stolen. On rare occasions a thief might be flogged, sold into slavery, or even executed, but not crucified. Crucifixion was strictly for slaves, violent outlaws, pirates, and insurrectionists.

 

MATTHEW AND MARK: lestas

Matthew and Mark use the same word to describe the two men crucified with Jesus: lestas. What does lestas mean? The NRSV choses to translate it as “bandits”:

 

^NRS Matthew 27:38 Then two bandits (lestas, plural of lestes) were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

 

^NRS Mark 15:27 And with him they crucified two bandits (lestas, plural of lestes), one on his right and one on his left.

Luke uses lestas in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In it, Jesus describes violent thugs who beat a man half to death for his belongings including his clothes:

^NRS Luke 10:30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers (lestas, plural of lestes), who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.”

The following two excellent Greek Lexicons do not define lestes as thief because lestes indicates the use of violence for robbery or revolution. Today, such a person might be called a mugger or insurrectionist.

 

Friberg Greek Lexicon

17295  lh|sth,j, ou/, o` (1) robber, bandit, highwayman, one who seizes by violence, in contrast to a thief (kle,pthj), who uses stealth (LU 10.30); (2) politically insurrectionist, revolutionary, rebel who favors the use of force (JN 18.40 – Barabbas)

 

UBS Lexicon

3757  lh|sth,j , ou/ m robber; insurrectionist

 

How do 25 English Bible versions translate lestas in Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:27?

·       robbers ASV DBY ESV LSV MRD NAS NIV NKJ RSV YLT 2001T         11

·       thieves BBE DRA GNV KJV PNT RWB TNT WEB                                      8

·       bandits NJB NRS                                                                                              2

·       outlaws CEB NET                                                                                            2

·       criminals NLT                                                                                                  1

·       revolutionaries NAB                                                                                         1

                                                                                                                         25

 Eleven English Bible versions translate lestas as robbers, which is permissible if it is understood that this kind of robbery includes violence.

 Likewise, translating lestas as bandits (as two did) or outlaws (as two did) is permissible if it is understood that banditry and outlawing include violence.

 One lonely version (New Living Translation) translated lestas as criminals, which is unnecessarily broad and probably chosen to match Luke’s term kakourgous, which is a broad term that means criminals. (Luke in next section)

 Tragically, eight English versions translate lestas as thieves, which is indefensible because 1) thieves were not crucified and 2) the word for thieves (kleptia) is not used to describe these men.

 Only the New American Bible chose revolutionaries. This is the best of the 25, in my opinion.

 Unfortunately, none of the 25 translations select the term “insurrectionists” even though 1) those are the kinds of people Rome would crucify, 2) that is also the charge against Jesus (claiming to be king is an act of insurrection in that it implies the threat of a violent overthrow) and 3) that insurrectionist is the clearest term provided by the lexicons above, in my opinion.

 

LUKE: kakourgous

Luke describes the two men crucified with Jesus as kakourgous {kak-oor'-goos}. What does kakourgous mean? The NRSV chose to translate it as criminals.

 

^NRS Luke 23:33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals (kakourgous, the plural of kakourgos) one on his right and one on his left.

Note Luke chose not to use the specific terms for thief (kleptia) or robber/insurrectionist (lestas). Both of the following lexicon definitions of kakourgos include the term criminal.

 

Friberg Greek Lexicon

14745  kakou/rgoj, on doing evil, villainous; substantively criminal, evildoer, villain (LU 23.32)

 

UBS Lexicon

3193  kakou/rgoj , ou m criminal 

 

How do 25 English Bible versions translate kakourgos in Luke 23:33?

·       criminals CEB ESV NAB NAS NET NIV NJB NKJ NLT NRS RSV 2001T           12

·       evildoers BBE GNV LSV PNT TNT YLT                                                                   6

·       malefactors ASV DBY KJV MRD RWB WEB                                                           6

·       robbers DRA                                                                                                                 1

                                                                                                                                    25

 Twelve English Bible versions translate kakourgous as criminals, and this is probably the best choice, in my opinion.

 Likewise, translating kakourgous as evildoers (as six did) or malefactors (as six did) are reasonable although rather outdated choices.

 One version stands alone having chosen to translate kakourgous as robbers (The Douay-Rheims American Edition, 1899), which is unjustifiably specific and probably selected to match Matthew’s and Mark’s term lestas, which does mean robbers.

Conclusion

1.     In the New Testament Gospels, the two men crucified with Jesus are not called thieves (kleptia).

2.     Luke refers to the two crucified men using the general term criminals (kakourgous).

3.     Not all criminals, however, were crucified by Rome. Thieves (kleptia), for example, are criminals who were not sentenced to crucifixion.

4.     Certain criminals were indeed crucified. Lestas—violent robbers or insurrectionists—were the specific type of criminal who would have been sentenced to crucifixion.

5.     Matthew and Mark refer to the two criminals as violent robbers or insurrectionists (lestas)—thus the reason they are hanging on either side of Jesus.

6.     Therefore, these two men were criminals, but not thieves. They were insurrectionists like Barabbas in John 18:40.

 

^NAB John 18:38b-40  [Pilate] again went out to [the Judeans] and said to them, "I find no guilt in him.  ³⁹ But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  ⁴⁰ They cried out again, "Not this one but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a revolutionary (lestes).