"The principle of private ownership of property is woven throughout the Scriptures. Two events took place during the exodus from Egypt that illustrate the biblical notion of personal property. The first occurred at Mount Sinai with the formulation of the Ten Commandments. The eighth commandment reads, 'You shall not steal.' Though a relatively simple commandment, it is deemed important enough by God to be elevated to the top ten precepts that establish the foundation of Israel's society. . .What is unusual--indeed, extraordinary--about Israel's Decalogue is the content of the tenth commandment, 'You shall not covet.. . .' How many architects of constitutional law would incorporate into their ten most axiomatic precepts a prohibition of inner lust for another person's property? . . . Coveting and love are incompatible. -- Pages 20-21
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