Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:17)1
The Tenth Commandment is found twice in both the Old and New Testaments: Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21, and Romans 7:9 and 13:9.
Although the wording in Exodus 20:17 and Deuteronomy 5:21 is virtually identical, Exodus 20 employs only one Hebrew word to express the sin of covetousness, whereas Deuteronomy 5 uses two etymologically unrelated words to express the same sin. In Exodus 20:17, “covet” is translated twice from chamad, however, in Deuteronomy 5:21, “covet” is translated from avah:
Neither shalt thou desire [chamad] thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet [avah] thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s. (Deuteronomy 5:21)
A closer look at these two words will provide a clearer understanding of their meaning.
Chamad is defined as follows:
…a primitive root; to delight in.2as a verb: 1) to desire, to covet, to take pleasure in, to delight in, a) (Qal) to desire, b) (Niphal) to be desirable, c) (Piel) to delight greatly, to desire greatly as a feminine noun: 2) desirableness, preciousness.3
Desire, delight in … but also covet, lust after….4
In addition to “covet,” the King James Version translated chamad as “pleasant,” “desire,” “precious,” “beauty,” “lust,” “delectable,” and “greatly beloved.”
Avah is defined as follows:
…a primitive root; to wish for.5…to desire, to incline, to covet, to wait longingly, to wish, to sigh, to want, to be greedy, to prefer.6
…desire, long, lust, covet, wait longingly, wish, sigh, crave, want, be greedy, prefer.7
In addition to “desire,” the King James Version translated avah as “lust,” “longs,” and “longing.”
Because Exodus 20:17 and Deuteronomy 5:21 use both words interchangeably to express the concept of covetousness, it is not surprising that chamad and avah, although unrelated etymologically, have similar meanings.
Neither chamad or avah implies anything inherently evil. Both Hebrew words can be employed to express a sin or to express a desire for something. Neither word necessarily implies Tenth Commandment transgression. Covetousness depends upon motivation and the person or object that is coveted.
When Moses used chamad in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, the desire or lust is directed at what belongs to someone else and is clearly evil. When chamad is directed at the gold and silver of idols in Deuteronomy 7:25, it is evil as well. In Proverbs 6:28, where chamad is translated as “lust” for a woman other than one’s wife, it also denotes evil.
On the other hand, we also find passages where chamad is clearly used in a righteous sense:
The law of YHWH8 is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of YHWH is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of YHWH are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of YHWH is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of YHWH is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of YHWH are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:7-10)
Yahweh9 wants us to covet His law, His commandments, statutes, and judgments. The blessings from wisdom are also something to be coveted:
There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise…. (Proverbs 21:20)
In Daniel 10:11, Daniel is said to be “a man greatly beloved,” that is, a man coveted by Yahweh.
In Genesis 2:9 and 3:6, chamad is translated “pleasant” in the phrases referring to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fact that this tree was desirable did not make it evil. Yahweh intended it to be desirable. The evil that ensued occurred when Adam and Eve sinned by partaking of what had been forbidden.
Avah is used in similar fashion. It connotes wickedness in Deuteronomy 5:21, Numbers 11:4, Psalm 106:14, and Proverbs 21:10 and 23:3. In other locations, it is employed in a good and righteous sense. For example, 2 Samuel 23:15 declares that David longed (avaw) for a drink of water from Bethlehem’s well. His longing (his covetousness) for Bethlehem’s water was not ungodly. In Isaiah 26:9, we are told the prophet Isaiah desired (coveted) Yahweh. Psalm 132:13 informs us that Yahweh desired, or coveted, Zion.
Both chamad and avaw are morally neutral words. The same is true for the Greek word epithumeo, translated “covet” in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that it was a good thing to covet the office of a bishop or overseer:
This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. (1 Timothy 3:1)
In Galatians 5, epithumeo is used in both a negative and a positive fashion:
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other…. (Galatians 5:17)
The New American Standard Bible translates this verse, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another….” In other words, if epithumeo is according to the flesh, it is evil, and if according to the Spirit, it is good.
Like lying and bribery, covetousness can sometimes be righteous.10 It depends upon the motive and its intended purpose. If for strictly self-serving purposes with no regard for another person’s possessions, Tenth Commandment covetousness is ungodly.
The sin of covetousness is usually the root or prime cause of violating the other Nine Commandments. For this reason, the Tenth Commandment may very well be the most important of the last six Commandments.
Covetousness is a heart sin. It is usually at the core of the willful or intentional sins, acted upon with our mouths, eyes, hands, and feet:
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:23-27)
The New American Standard Bible translates verse 23 as “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Young’s Literal Translation translates it “Above every charge keep thy heart, for out of it [are] the outgoings of life.”
Covetousness, lust, and greed (all Tenth Commandment violations) are sins for which we can be condemned without any additional action. In Colossians 3:5-6, Paul lists covetousness as one of the sins for which “the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience.” He identified covetousness as idolatry, which is most often nothing more than a sin of the heart:
Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of YHWH came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart…. (Ezekiel 14:1-3)
Idols of the heart are usually manifested as some form of covetousness, greed, or lust.
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)
Most people consider this statement by Yeshua11 (Jesus’ given Hebrew name) to be either a new law or a New Covenant augmentation of the Seventh Commandment “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Neither interpretation is correct. Yeshua could no more add to Yahweh’s laws than He could take away from them:
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. (Deuteronomy 12:32)I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it…. (Ecclesiastes 3:14)
Earlier in Matthew 5, Yeshua declared, “Think not that I am come to destroy [add to or take away from] the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:17-18)
Furthermore, Yeshua’s declaration in Matthew 5 – although recorded in the New Testament – occurred during the Old Covenant. Matthew 5:28 is Yeshua’s rendition of the Tenth Commandment. It is neither new nor an augmentation of the old.
In Matthew 5, Yeshua was addressing the sins of the scribes and Pharisees, who hardly kept the letter of the law, let alone the spirit, and whose chief sins were of the heart:
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (Matthew 23:23-38)
In short, Yeshua condemned them for their heart sins. This is why our hearts are required when we come to Yahweh for salvation and why we must love Yahweh our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds (Matthew 22:37). Yahweh does not want us merely performing His will by rote. He wants our hearts:
Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart…. (Ephesians 6:6)And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God…. (2 Thessalonians 3:5)
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.... (2 Timothy 2:22)
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts…. (1 Peter 3:15)
Yahweh covets that our hearts covet Him. Thou shalt not covet except to covet Yahweh, His Kingdom, and His laws.
1. All Scripture is quoted from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Portions of Scripture have been omitted for brevity. If you have any questions regarding a passage, please open your Bible and study the text to ensure it has been properly used.
2. James Strong, “Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary,” The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, s.v. chamad (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990) p. 40.
3. Francis Brown, et al., The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon, s.v. chamad, The Online Bible Thayer’s Greek Lexicon and Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, (Ontario, Canada.: Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1993).
4. chamad, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, (Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, 1980).
5. Strong, “Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary,” The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, s.v. avah, p. 9.
6. Brown, et al., The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon, s.v. avah, The Online Bible Thayer’s Greek Lexicon and Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, (Ontario, Canada.: Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1993).
7. avah, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, (Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, 1980).
8. Where the Tetragrammaton – the four Hebrew characters transliterated “YHWH” and representing the personal name of God – has been unlawfully rendered the LORD or GOD in Scripture, I have taken the liberty to correct this error by inserting YHWH where appropriate. For a more thorough explanation concerning the use of the names of God, “The Third Commandment” may be read online, or the book Thou shalt not take the name of YHWH thy God in vain may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363, for a suggested $4 donation.*
9. Yahweh is the personal Hebrew name of the God of the Bible. “The Third Commandment,” a more thorough explanation concerning the use of the names of God, may be read online, or the book Thou shalt not take the name of YHWH thy God in vain may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363, for a suggested $4 donation.*
10. For a more thorough explanation concerning righteous lying and bribery, “The Ninth Commandment” may be read online.
11. Yeshua is the English transliteration of our Savior’s given Hebrew name. For a more thorough explanation concerning the use of the names of God, “The Third Commandment” may be read online, or the book Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh thy God in vain may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363, for a suggested $4 donation.*
*We are admonished in Matthew 10:8 “freely ye have received, freely give.” Although there is a suggested price for our books, we do not sell them. In keeping with 2 Corinthians 9:7, this ministry is supported by freewill offerings. If you cannot afford the suggested price, inform us of your situation, and we will be pleased to provide you with whatever you need for whatever you can send.