Define

• Hebrew:

  • ta’ăwâ (תַּאֲוָה) – “desire, craving, lust” (often evil when misdirected) (See Exodus 15:9; Numbers 11:4, 34; Psalm 106:14; 140:8; Proverbs 6:25; 11:6; 13:19)
  • ḥāmad (חָמַד) – “to desire, covet” (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21; Proverbs 6:25)
  • nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ) – “soul, desire, appetite” (Deuteronomy 12:20; Psalm 10:3; Proverbs 21:10)
  • yēṣer (יֵצֶר) – “inclination, desire” (often evil; Genesis 6:5; 8:21)

• Greek:

  • epithymia (ἐπιθυμία) – “desire, craving, lust” (neutral or evil depending on object) (See James 1:14–15; Mark 4:19; Romans 1:24; 7:7–8; Galatians 5:16–17; 1 Peter 1:14; 1 John 2:16–17)
    • Always evil in context
    • Not mere desire, but misordered craving that opposes God’s will.
    • God does not tempt with epithymia (James 1:13); it arises from within the heart
  • epithymeō (ἐπιθυμέω) – “to desire, lust after” (verb; Matthew 5:28; James 4:2)
  • hēdonē (ἡδονή) – “pleasure, sensual desire” (James 4:1, 3; Titus 3:3)
  • orexis (ὄρεξις) – “craving, appetite” (Romans 1:27)

Related words

Additional Info

• Genesis 3:6 (woman saw fruit desirable (ta’ăwâ)
• Numbers 11:4 (ta’ăwâ) → craving in wilderness → death
• 1 John 2:16 (“lust of the flesh… eyes… pride”)
• Romans 7:7 (“I had not known lust (epithymia) except the law said…”)
• Matthew 5:28 (KJV): “…whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her (epithymēsai) hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” The 10th Commandment (lō’ taḥmōd – “Thou shalt not covet”; Exodus 20:17) to the heart.
• Proverbs 6:25 “Lust not (ḥāmad) after her beauty in thine heart”

Connections