Deuteronomy 19:14

"Thou shalt not move thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it."

"Which they of old time have set ..." Moses is here speaking of the landmarks that already existed in Canaan at the time he spoke and before Israel had even entered the land. Wright and others misunderstand the passage totally, affirming that "they of old time," is a reference to the early fathers of Israel who established landmarks when the land was divided, and that, therefore, this passage is "an indication that the author is living at a considerably later time,"[10] than the times of Moses. Such allegations are without any merit whatever. This verse is parallel to Deuteronomy 19:1-13, where the ancient customs of "blood revenge" are incorporated, with certain precautions, into the law of Israel. This verse means that, upon entering Canaan, the ancient landmarks already there will continue to be honored as recognized boundaries.

The big thing in this, of course, is the right of property. The collectivist deceivers of our generation have attempted to make mileage out of their lying cliche that, "We stress people rights versus property rights!" But the glaring truth is that there are never any PEOPLE rights unless also there are PROPERTY rights. Property is the ability to maintain and support life, and there has never been discovered by any human society any way to get rid of property rights. In the communist lands, property has been confiscated and monopolized by the state, but that does not get rid of PRIVATE PROPERTY. One may reduce private property to a slip of paper authorizing one to stand in line, change his address, receive food, or anything else, but then that piece of paper becomes private property, without which its owner cannot live. The true religion has always recognized the rights of private property, with the precautionary truth that all property is "owned" by the children of God as "stewards of God's grace," and that they are responsible for its use in some manner pleasing to God. The Decalogue clearly recognizes the right and the responsibility of private property.

The moving of "landmarks" envisioned in this verse refers to the stealing of another's land by moving the boundary, and, historically, all lands had established landmarks by which the transfer of lands from person to person and from generation to generation was protected. Moses was not here speaking of boundaries that would be set up for the first time by Israelites. As Alexander said, "The law here was given while Israel was yet outside of Canaan,[11] and "they of old time," cannot possibly refer to Israelites who would set up landmarks after entering the promised land.

"This kind of law was known to the Greeks, their landowners being protected by Zeus Horios; Latin landholders were protected by the Roman God Terminus, in whose honor the annual festival of Terminalia was held. The rights of private property and the passing of heritage are presupposed in Deuteronomy. But this right, in every age, is derived from society, and those who enjoy the right should never forget the duty to society which the possession of such rights imposes upon the owners of private property."[12]