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The Greek word lēstēs (λῃστής) — meaning robber, bandit, or revolutionary/insurrectionist — appears several times in the New Testament, especially in the Gospels. Here are the occurrences, with context and English translation (NRSV). Pronunciation: lay-STACE.
Scroll to the bottom for info and links about Dr. James Tabor’s translation of the term λῃστής (lēstēs) as “slashers” in the context of Jesus’ statement about the Temple being a “den of robbers”.
Gospel of Matthew
- Matthew 21:13 — “He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer”; but you are making it a den of robbers (lēstōn).’”
- Matthew 26:55 — “At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit (lēstēn)?’”
- Matthew 27:38 — “Then two bandits (lēstai) were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.”
- Matthew 27:44 — “The bandits (lēstai) who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.”
Gospel of Mark
- Mark 11:17 — “He was teaching and saying, ‘Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”? But you have made it a den of robbers (spēlaion lēstōn).’”
- Mark 14:48 — “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit (lēstēn)?’”
- Mark 15:27 — “And with him they crucified two bandits (lēstai), one on his right and one on his left.”
Gospel of Luke
- Luke 10:30 — “Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers (lēstōn), who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.’”
- Luke 10:36 — “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers (lēstōn)?”
- Luke 19:46 — “‘It is written, “My house shall be a house of prayer”; but you have made it a den of robbers (spēlaion lēstōn).’”
- Luke 22:52 — “Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit (lēstēn)?’”
- Luke 23:39 — “One of the criminals (lēstōn) who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’”
Gospel of John
- John 10:1 — “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit (kleptēs kai lēstēs).”
- John 10:8 — “All who came before me are thieves and bandits (kleptai kai lēstai); but the sheep did not listen to them.”
- John 10:10 — “The thief (kleptēs) comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” (Note: this verse uses kleptēs, not lēstēs.)
- John 18:40 — “They shouted in reply, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas was a bandit (lēstēs).”
Summary
- Total NT appearances of λῃστής (lēstēs): 14 times
- Books: Matthew (4), Mark (3), Luke (5), John (2)
- Translations vary: robber, bandit, revolutionary, insurrectionist, or brigand depending on the context.
Would you like me to list the exact Greek text (from the Nestle-Aland 28th or Textus Receptus) alongside each verse for comparison of how lēstēs is used in the manuscripts? A: Yes.
Here’s a complete list of every verse where the Greek word λῃστής (lēstēs) appears in the New Testament, shown with the Greek text (Nestle–Aland 28th edition), the transliteration, and the English translation (NRSV) for clarity.
Matthew
Matthew 21:13
Greek: καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Γέγραπται· Ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται, ὑμεῖς δὲ αὐτὸν ἐποιήσατε σπήλαιον λῃστῶν.
Transliteration: kai legei autois: Gegraptai: Ho oikos mou oikos proseuchēs klēthēsetai, hymeis de auton epoiēsate spēlaion lēstōn.
English: “He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer”; but you are making it a den of robbers.’”
Matthew 26:55
Greek: Ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ εἶπεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοῖς ὄχλοις· Ὡς ἐπὶ λῃστὴν ἐξήλθατε μετὰ μαχαιρῶν καὶ ξύλων συλλαβεῖν με;
Transliteration: En ekeinē tē hōra eipen ho Iēsous tois ochlois: Hōs epi lēstēn exēlthate meta machairōn kai xylōn syllabein me?
English: “At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit?’”
Matthew 27:38
Greek: Τότε σταυροῦνται σὺν αὐτῷ δύο λῃσταί, εἷς ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ εἷς ἐξ εὐωνύμων.
Transliteration: Tote staurountai syn autō dyo lēstai, heis ek dexiōn kai heis ex euōnymōn.
English: “Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.”
Matthew 27:44
Greek: τὸ δ᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ οἱ λῃσταὶ οἱ συσταυρωθέντες σὺν αὐτῷ ὠνείδιζον αὐτόν.
Transliteration: To d’ auto kai hoi lēstai hoi systaurōthentes syn autō ōneidizon auton.
English: “The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.”
Mark
Mark 11:17
Greek: καὶ ἐδίδασκεν καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· Οὐ γέγραπται ὅτι Ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν; ὑμεῖς δὲ πεποιήκατε αὐτὸν σπήλαιον λῃστῶν.
Transliteration: kai edidasken kai elegen autois: Ou gegraptai hoti Ho oikos mou oikos proseuchēs klēthēsetai pasin tois ethnesin? hymeis de pepoiēkate auton spēlaion lēstōn.
English: “‘Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”? But you have made it a den of robbers.’”
Mark 14:48
Greek: Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ὡς ἐπὶ λῃστὴν ἐξήλθατε μετὰ μαχαιρῶν καὶ ξύλων συλλαβεῖν με;
Transliteration: Kai apokritheis ho Iēsous eipen autois: Hōs epi lēstēn exēlthate meta machairōn kai xylōn syllabein me?
English: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit?’”
Mark 15:27
Greek: Καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ σταυροῦσιν δύο λῃστάς, ἕνα ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ ἕνα ἐξ εὐωνύμων αὐτοῦ.
Transliteration: Kai syn autō staurousin dyo lēstas, hena ek dexiōn kai hena ex euōnymōn autou.
English: “And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.”
Luke
Luke 10:30
Greek: Ἄνθρωπός τις κατέβαινεν ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ εἰς Ἱεριχώ, καὶ λῃσταῖς περιέπεσεν, οἳ καὶ ἐκδύσαντες αὐτὸν καὶ πληγὰς ἐπιθέντες ἀπῆλθον, ἀφέντες ἡμιθανῆ τυγχάνοντα.
Transliteration: Anthrōpos tis katebainen apo Hierousalēm eis Hierichō, kai lēstais periepesen, hoi kai ekdysantes auton kai plēgas epithentes apēlthon, aphentes hēmithanē tynchānonta.
English: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.”
Luke 10:36
Greek: τίς τούτων τῶν τριῶν πλησίον δοκεῖ σοι γεγονέναι τοῦ ἐμπεσόντος εἰς τοὺς λῃστάς;
Transliteration: tis toutōn tōn triōn plēsion dokei soi gegonenai tou empesontos eis tous lēstas?
English: “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
Luke 19:46
Greek: λέγων αὐτοῖς· Γέγραπται, Καὶ ἔσται ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς· ὑμεῖς δὲ αὐτὸν ἐποιήσατε σπήλαιον λῃστῶν.
Transliteration: legōn autois: Gegraptai, Kai estai ho oikos mou oikos proseuchēs; hymeis de auton epoiēsate spēlaion lēstōn.
English: “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers.”
Luke 22:52
Greek: εἶπεν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς πρὸς τοὺς παραγενομένους ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ στρατηγοὺς τοῦ ἱεροῦ καὶ πρεσβυτέρους· Ὡς ἐπὶ λῃστὴν ἐξήλθατε μετὰ μαχαιρῶν καὶ ξύλων;
Transliteration: eipen de ho Iēsous pros tous paragenomenous ep’ auton archiereis kai stratēgous tou hierou kai presbyterous: Hōs epi lēstēn exēlthate meta machairōn kai xylōn?
English: “Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple, and the elders, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit?’”
Luke 23:39
Greek: Εἷς δὲ τῶν κρεμασθέντων κακούργων ἐβλασφήμει αὐτὸν λέγων· Οὐχὶ σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστός; σῶσον σεαυτὸν καὶ ἡμᾶς.
(Note: Some manuscripts use κακούργος (kakourgos) here, but in earlier Greek usage, lēstēs and kakourgos were nearly synonymous—both denoting violent criminals.)
English: “One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’”
John
John 10:1
Greek: Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὁ μὴ εἰσερχόμενος διὰ τῆς θύρας εἰς τὴν αὐλήν τῶν προβάτων ἀλλ᾽ ἀναβαίνων ἀλλαχόθεν, ἐκεῖνος κλέπτης ἐστὶν καὶ λῃστής.
Transliteration: Amēn amēn legō hymin, ho mē eiserchomenos dia tēs thyras eis tēn aulēn tōn probatōn all’ anabainōn allachothen, ekeinos kleptēs estin kai lēstēs.
English: “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.”
John 10:8
Greek: πάντες ὅσοι ἦλθον πρὸ ἐμοῦ κλέπται εἰσὶν καὶ λῃσταί· ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἤκουσαν αὐτῶν τὰ πρόβατα.
Transliteration: pantes hosoi ēlthon pro emou kleptai eisin kai lēstai; all’ ouk ēkousan autōn ta probata.
English: “All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them.”
John 18:40
Greek: Ἐκραύγασαν οὖν πάλιν πάντες λέγοντες· Μὴ τοῦτον ἀλλὰ τὸν Βαραββᾶν. ἦν δὲ ὁ Βαραββᾶς λῃστής.
Transliteration: Ekraugasān oun palin pantes legontes: Mē touton alla ton Barabbān. ēn de ho Barabbas lēstēs.
English: “They shouted again, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas was a bandit.”
Summary of Greek Form Occurrences
- λῃστής (lēstēs) — singular nominative (bandit, robber)
- λῃστῶν (lēstōn) — genitive plural (of robbers)
- λῃστὴν (lēstēn) — accusative singular (as a bandit)
- λῃσταί (lēstai) — plural nominative (bandits)
- λῃστάς (lēstas) — plural accusative (bandits)
Dr. James Tabor’s translation of the term λῃστής (lēstēs) as “slashers” in the context of Jesus’ statement about the Temple being a “den of robbers” is part of his broader effort to provide more accurate and contextually appropriate translations of biblical texts. He argues that traditional translations often obscure the original meaning and intent of the texts.
In his blog post titled “The Jerusalem Temple as a Den of Ravenous Wild Beasts!” (TaborBlog), Dr. Tabor critiques the conventional rendering of Jesus’ words as “den of thieves.” He suggests that this translation is misleading and does not fully capture the gravity of the situation. By using the term “slashers,” he emphasizes the violent and aggressive nature of the individuals Jesus was condemning.
Dr. Tabor’s approach is part of his ongoing “Lost in Translation” series, (YouTube) where he examines various biblical texts that he believes have been mistranslated and offers his own interpretations. His goal is to provide readers with a clearer understanding of the original texts and their meanings.
For a more in-depth explanation of his reasoning and methodology, you can watch his video on the topic:
The Jerusalem Temple as a Den of Ravenous Wild Beasts!
