Schaff's Bible Dictionary
ROBBERS OF CHURCHES. See Churches, Robbers of. ROB'BERY is one of the chronic troubles in Palestine, where the Bedouin of to-day are robbers. The O.T. reveals a similar state of things during the period of the Judges, when might was right. Some of the inhabitants were "liers in wait," who robbed "all that came along that way." Jud 9:25. Hosea and Micah, by a few touches, paint a sad picture of pillage and robbery in the northern kingdom in their
day. The Romans did not improve matters, but rather made them worse; and incidental notices in the N.T. prove the insecurity of person and property in Palestine in the first century. Luke 10:30; John 18:40; Acts 5:36-37; Josh 21:38; 2 Cor 11:26. The "thieves" between whom our Lord was crucified were highway robbers. Matt 27:38. One of the usual camping-places, a day's journey north of Jerusalem, is called the "Fountain of the Robbers."