Digest of Biblical Civil Law

If a starving man steals food and is caught, restitution must be "sevenfold" (Prov. 6:30-31). This idiomatic Hebrew expression means that the full restitution prescribed by the law—whatever the multiple (Exo. 22:1; Exo. 22:4, 7; Lev. 5:14-16; 6:1-5; 22:14; Num. 5:5-8)—must be paid, and the thief's crisis excuses neither his crime nor the imposition of a lesser penalty by a judge.
- E. Calvin Beisner, Justice and Poverty: Two Views Contrasted, 9, at http://www.ecalvinbeisner.com/freearticles/Justpoor.pdf.