חָמַד
châmad · H2530 · Hebrew · 30 occurrences
Meanings
-
to desire, to want to have
Process by which humans or deities experience an eager desire for a person or object
ExamplesExodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Exodus 34:24 “For I will drive out nations from you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 5:21 ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male slave or his female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’
-
desirable
The state in which objects have such a high quality that they provoke in others the desire to possess them
ExamplesGenesis 2:9 Out of the ground the LORD God caused every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
Proverbs 21:20 There is precious treasure and oil in the home of the wise, But a foolish person swallows it up.
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desirable
The state in which events have such a high quality that they provoke in others the desire to be involved in them
ExamplesPsalm 19:10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold; Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
How it’s used In 11 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
16 occurrences in 11 groups
- Not stated: you (one person) 5
- Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
11 occurrences in 16 groups
- Other words · 16 groups that occur once or twice (17) 17
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
6 occurrences in 6 groups
- בin/on/with+ לֵבָבheart, mind 1
- בin/on/with+ עָלָהto go up 1
- בin/on/with+ צֵלshadow, shade 1
- לto/for+ יָשַׁבto dwell, to live, to sit 1
- לto/for+ שָׂכַלto have insight, to be wise, to prosper 1
- לto/for+ הֶםthem 1
With adverbsAdverbs
6 occurrences in 2 groups
- לֹאnot 5
- אַלnot, do not 1
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
4 occurrences in 3 groups
- הוּhis 2
- מִצְרַיִםEgypt 1
- הֶםtheir 1
Named alongside itApposition
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- כְּלִיvessel, utensil, weapon 1
- בֶּגֶדgarment, clothes 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- יַעַלto benefit 1
What is done to itIt is the object
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- מָסָהto melt 1
- רָאָהto see 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אַתָּהyou 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 1 groups
- בin/on/with 4
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
4 occurrences in 3 groups
- אִישׁman, person, each 2
- כְּלִיvessel, utensil, weapon 1
- לֶחֶםbread, food 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 5 words
- אָוָה ʼâvâh · H183 · to crave, to desire, to long for
- Both words overlap substantially in range, with senses such as covet, desire and lust.
- נָעֵם nâʻêm · H5276 · to be lovely, to be pleasant, to be sweet
- Both lexemes describe aesthetic pleasantness and desirability: חָמַד includes senses of "pleasant" and "delight," and נָעֵם includes senses of "be pleasant" and "be delight," both able to describe something as pleasant or desirable.
- חָשַׁק châshaq · H2836 · to connect with a rod, to love, to desire
- Both lexemes occupy genuine desire/wish semantic space ("covet, desire, delight" vs. "have a delight, desire, long, set in love"), suggesting real near-synonymy rather than mere correlation.
- בָּצַע bâtsaʻ · H1214 · to cut off, to break off, to complete
- בָּצַע (bâtsaʻ, H1214) is polysemous (cutting off, finishing, gaining greedily, coveting), while חָמַד (châmad, H2530) centers on desiring, coveting, and delighting; the two overlap in the sense of coveting or desiring.
- יָאַב yâʼab · H2968 · to desire, to long for
- יָאַב (yâʼab, H2968) has only 1 occurrence and glosses simply as "long" (a desire verb), while חָמַד (châmad, H2530) is a well-attested desire/covet verb with 30 occurrences.
In the other Testament 2 words
- ἐπιθυμέω epithyméō · G1937 · to long for, to desire very much, to covet
- Greek ἐπιθυμέω specifically denotes the internal act of desiring or longing for something (rightfully or wrongfully), serving as the standard LXX rendering for Hebrew חָמַד's core sense of coveting or desiring, particularly in legal/ethical contexts like the Decalogue prohibitions.
- ἐπιθυμία epithymía · G1939 · longing for, desire, coveting
- Greek ἐπιθυμία (epithumia) specifically denotes subjective desire or craving (especially forbidden longing), while Hebrew חָמַד (chamad) encompasses both the internal act of coveting and the objective quality of desirability in the thing itself.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Wish002004002001001
- The word denotes desiring or coveting something, as in Exodus 20:17's prohibition against coveting a neighbor's house, wife, or possessions.
- Good002001001031
- The word describes something as pleasing or desirable in quality, as in Genesis 2:9's tree that was pleasing to the sight, and Genesis 3:6's tree that was a delight to the eyes.
- Right002001003013
- The word can describe the finest or choicest of a set of possessions, as in Genesis 27:15's reference to Esau's best garments kept in the house.
Word family 5 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2530. chamad חָמַד verb desire, take pleasure in (Aramaic חֲמַד (not in Syriac); Arabic…
חָמַד verb desire, take pleasure in (Aramaic חֲמַד (not in Syriac); Arabic praise, eulogize, appove of; Sabean חמדם in gratitude [praise] there-for DHMZMG 1875, 595; 1876, 686) —
Qal Perfect ׳ח Psa 68:17; Pro 12:12; חָֽמְדוּ Pro 1:22; וְחָֽמְדוּ consecutive Mic 2:2; חֲמַדְתֶּם Isa 1:29; Imperfect יַחְמֹד Exo 34:24; Exo 34:2masculine singular תַּחְמֹד Exo 20:16 (twice in verse) + 3t. (including Pro 6:25 jussive); suffix וָאֶחְמְדֵם Jos 7:21; וְנֶחְמְדֵ֫הוּ Isa 53:2; Passive participle חֲמוּדוֺ Psa 39:12; Job 20:20, חֲמוּדֵיהֶם Isa 44:9; — desire:
a. in bad sense of inordinate, ungoverned, selfish desire, followed by accusative Exo 20:17 (twice in verse) (E) = Deu 5:18 (Deu 5:18 b has תִּתְאַוֶּה), Exo 34:24 (JE) Deu 7:25; Jos 7:21 (JE) Mic 2:2; Pro 12:12; of lustful desire Pro 6:25.
b. = take pleasure in, of idolatrous tendency Isa 1:29, so participle plural חֲמוּדֵיהֵם Isa 44:9 their delightful things (things in which they delight, see also Isa 44:11 and BevJPhoenician xvii. 1888. p. 126); חָֽמְדוּ לָצוֺן לֵצִים Pro 1:22 how long do scorners delight in scoring.
c. less often in good sense, said of God א חָמַד ׳הָהָר לְשִׁבְתּוֺ, poetic Psa 68:17; object the suffering servant of ׳י, Isa 53:2 no beauty in him, that we should desire him (choose him, be drawn toward him); passive participle collective חֲמוּדוֺ Psa 39:12 his desired things, i. e. chosen, choice, desirable (see Niph`al); so probably Job 20:20.
Niph`al Participle נֶחְמָד Gen 2:9 Gen 2:2t.; הַנֶּחֱמָדִים Psa 19:11; — desirable: לְמַרְאֶה נ ׳עץ Gen 2:9, ׳נ לְהַשְׂכִּיל Gen 3:6, ׳הַנֶּח מִזָּהָב Psa 19:11 which are more desirable than gold; נֶחְמָד אוֺצָר Pro 21:20 desirable, i.e. costly treasure.
Pi`el Perfect1singular delight greatly ח ׳בְּצִלּוֺ וְיָשַׁ֫בְתִּי Son 2:3 in his shadow I greatly delighted and sate, i.e. sate with great delight.
[חֲמוּדָה] noun feminine desirableness, preciousness — Plural absolute חֲמוּדוֺת Dan 9:23; חֲמוּדֹת Ezra 8:37; חֲמֻדוֺת2Ch 20:25 2Ch 20:4t.; חֲמֻדֹת Gen 27:15; construct חֲמֻדוֺת Dan 11:43; — desirable, choice things i.e. garments Gen 27:15 (|| בגדים); compare Dan 11:38 (|| יקרה אבן), Dan 11:43 (מִצְרַיִם חֲמֻדוֺת); = precious things Ezr 8:27 (as gold); ח ׳כלי2Ch 20:25; ח ׳לֶחֶם Deu 10:3; of man only ׳אִישׁחֿ Dan 10:11, Dan 10:19, and, without ׳ח אָ֫תָּה אישׁ, Dan 9:23 thou art a precious treasure (on construction see Dr§ 189, 2; see Bev and compare negative חמד Isa 53:2).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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