Bible Dictionary
FOURFOLD
Fourfold means four times the amount. In the cited passages it describes an extreme restitution for theft, while other laws required double restitution, an added fifth, or equal repayment.
Definition
Fourfold means four times the amount. In the cited biblical contexts it describes a severe form of restitution for theft, greater than the double repayment or added fifth required in other cases.
Biblical Usage
David declares that the stolen lamb should be restored fourfold, and Zacchaeus promises fourfold restoration for wrongful exaction. The fourfold repayment is identified as the extreme penalty imposed by the law for theft.
Historical Background
The supplied material compares several forms of restitution: double repayment in some cases, an additional fifth in others, an equal amount in another case, and fourfold repayment as the extreme penalty.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>for-fold:</p><p>Occurs but twice in English Versions: 2Sa 12:6, "He shall restore the lamb fourfold"; and Lu 19:8 the King James Version, "If I have wrongfully exacted ought .... I restore fourfold." From this statement of Zaccheus we are to understand that fourfold the amount of that which was stolen was the restoration the law required of a thief. This was the extreme penalty the law imposed. In some cases double the amount was to be restored (Ex 22:4,7); in others, a fifth of its value was added to the thing restored (Le 6:5); still again, an amount equal to that taken was to be restored (1Sa 12:3).</p>