The Hebrew word arbatayim (אַרְבַּעְתַּיִם) means fourfold — four times the amount. It is the dual form of arba (four). This term appears notably in Nathan's parable to David, where David condemns the rich man who stole a poor man's lamb to repay it 'fourfold.'
The fourfold restitution (arbatayim) that David unknowingly pronounced upon himself in Nathan's parable became a measure of divine justice. Zacchaeus, the tax collector transformed by Jesus's presence, spontaneously offered fourfold restitution to those he had defrauded — demonstrating that genuine repentance goes beyond the minimum. The arbatayim principle in Scripture reveals that God's justice is not merely remedial but restorative, making things more right than they were before.