KIDNAPPING (MANSTEALING)

kid'-nap-ing The term itself occurs only in the New Testament andrapodistes ="manstealer") in 1 Timothy 1:10. The crime was directly forbidden in the Hebrew law (Exodus 21:16; Deuteronomy 24:7), and was made punishable with death.

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.