StrongerBible

ḥamad

חָמַד

HebrewH2530“covet, desirable, ...”

Appears 25 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 2:9Gen 3:6Exo 20:17 (2×)Exo 34:24Deu 5:21Deu 7:25Jos 7:212Ch 20:25Ezr 8:27Job 20:20Psa 19:10(11)Psa 39:11(12)Psa 68:16(17)Pro 1:22Pro 6:25Pro 12:12Pro 21:20Sng 2:3Isa 1:29Isa 44:9Isa 53:2Dan 11:38Dan 11:43Mic 2:2
Root family
Word studyResearch-gradekhaw-MADverb

What ḥamad means

to find something desirable and want it, a wanting that can run all the way from quiet delight to a craving that reaches out to take

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintyStrong

This one verb covers a whole movement of the heart, not a single fixed feeling. At its root it means to look at something, judge it attractive, and want it. Where the wanting stops depends entirely on the object and the setting. Sometimes it is pure delight:

  • a tree that is lovely to look at
  • God's law prized more than gold
  • a beloved's shade enjoyed at leisure

Sometimes it is the dangerous wanting the Ten Commandments forbid, the desire for what belongs to a neighbor that does not rest until it has seized it.

The Bible's most famous uses sit at that grasping end. Achan saw the spoil, wanted it, and took it. The prophet Micah condemns the powerful who want fields and then steal them. This is why scholars argue about the tenth commandment: the word names desire, but a desire so often paired with verbs of taking that it is hard to draw a clean line between wanting a thing and moving to grab it.

Yet the same word can be entirely innocent or even good. It describes what makes Eden's trees beautiful, what makes God's commands more precious than fine gold, and the simple pleasure of resting in the shade of someone you love. The senses below sort these uses out, but they belong to one word precisely because Hebrew did not separate the seeing, the wanting, and the reaching the way English does.

From the act of wanting, the word also grew a set of noun-like forms for the things wanted: prized possessions, choice treasures, the valuables a person or a nation most hates to lose.

Nuances

1ato covet: to want what belongs to another so strongly that the desire presses toward seizing it
Exo 20:17 (2×)Exo 34:24Deu 5:21Deu 7:25Jos 7:21Mic 2:2
1bto desire, to set one's longing on something, whether a wrongful craving or an ordinary or even godly wanting, without necessarily moving to take
Psa 68:16(17)Pro 1:22Pro 6:25Pro 12:12Isa 1:29
1cdesirable, lovely to look at: having the quality that draws the eye and stirs longing
Gen 2:9Gen 3:6Psa 19:10(11)Pro 21:20Isa 53:2
1dto take settled, sustained delight in something good
Sng 2:3
1ea precious thing, a treasure: an object so desired it is prized and hoarded
2Ch 20:25Ezr 8:27Job 20:20Psa 39:11(12)Isa 44:9Dan 11:38Dan 11:43

What scholars say about ḥamad

The dominant modern reading, traced from Herrmann (1927) through Stamm and especially Moran (1967) to Childs, Weinfeld, Tigay, and Miller, treats חמד as an integrated arc from evaluative seeing to desire to acquisition rather than either a pure inner emotion or a bare physical seizure; the verb regularly pairs with verbs of taking (Josh 7:21 חמד + לקח, Mic 2:2 חמד + גזל, Exod 34:24). A pure-desire minority (Benno Jacob, Bernard Jackson, Ibn Ezra) holds that the separate verb of acquisition proves חמד alone does not mean seize, and Prov 6:25 (בלבבך, in your heart) is the strongest text locating it purely within. Text-critically, Crawford and Ulrich argue the doubled חמד of the Samaritan Pentateuch, 4QDeut-n, the Nash Papyrus, Peshitta, and LXX is older than MT Deut 5:21's switch to אוה, so a sharp חמד/אוה distinction may rest on a late scribal stratum. Comparative Semitics (Mayer/Wallis in TDOT, Kerr) reconstructs a proto-meaning to find pleasing, take delight in, which Northwest Semitic specialized toward desire and Arabic toward praise. The nominal forms (חמודות, מחמד) shift diachronically from concrete treasure toward the late honorific man of preciousness in Daniel.

Where scholars disagree about ḥamad

Whether the verb names an inner desire, a concrete act of acquisition, or a single movement that runs from one to the other. The question drives interpretation of the tenth commandment: does it forbid a feeling, a scheme, or a deed?

  • majorityIt names an integrated movement from evaluating and desiring toward taking, neither pure feeling nor bare seizure; the recurring pairing with verbs of taking and the divine guarantee that no one will desire the pilgrim's land (Exodus 34:24) show the verb reaching toward action.; William L. Moran, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 29 (1967): 543-554; Patrick D. Miller, The Ten Commandments (WJK, 2009); G. Mayer/G. Wallis, TDOT IV (1980), 452-461
  • minorityIt names inner desire alone; the regular separate verb of acquisition (take, seize) proves the word by itself does not mean to take, and Proverbs 6:25 locates the desire expressly in the heart.; Bernard S. Jackson, Hebrew Union College Annual 42 (1971); Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, C. A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon (1906), 326
In-depth research

This is a research paper, so it may be hard to read without scholarly background. It is useful if you want to dig even deeper into this word.

Sources

  • G. Mayer/G. Wallis, "חָמַד," in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. IV (Eerdmans, 1980), 452-461theological-dictionary
  • L. Koehler, W. Baumgartner, J. J. Stamm, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Brill, 1994-2000), s.v. חמדlexicon
  • Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, C. A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Clarendon, 1906), 326lexicon
  • Michael A. Grisanti, "חמד," in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, vol. 2 (Zondervan, 1997), 167-169theological-dictionary
  • William L. Moran, "The Conclusion of the Decalogue (Ex 20,17 = Dt 5,21)," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 29 (1967): 543-554article
  • J. J. Stamm with M. E. Andrew, The Ten Commandments in Recent Research, SBT 2/2 (SCM, 1967), 101-105monograph
  • Patrick D. Miller, The Ten Commandments, Interpretation (WJK, 2009)commentary
  • Brevard S. Childs, The Book of Exodus, OTL (Westminster, 1974), 427commentary
  • Sidnie White Crawford, "The All Souls Deuteronomy and the Decalogue," Journal of Biblical Literature 109/2 (1990): 193-206article
  • Bernard S. Jackson, "Liability for Mere Intention in Early Jewish Law," Hebrew Union College Annual 42 (1971)article
  • Samo Skralovnik, The Meaning and Interpretation of Desire in the Bible: The Semantic Study of ḥmd and ʾwh Word Fields (Lexington/Fortress Academic, 2022)monograph

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of חָמַד

qal imperfect 2ms

תַחְמֹד

Exo 20:17, Exo 20:17, Deu 5:21, Deu 7:25

f p absolute

חֲמֻדוֹת, חֲמוּדֹת

2Ch 20:25, Dan 11:38, Ezr 8:27

niphal participle m s absolute

נֶחְמָד

Gen 2:9, Gen 3:6, Pro 21:20

qal passive-participle m s construct

חֲמוּד

Job 20:20, Psa 39:11

qal perfect 3ms

חָמַד

Psa 68:16, Pro 12:12

f p construct

חֲמֻדוֹת

Dan 11:43

niphal participle m p absolute

נֶּחֱמָדִים

Psa 19:10

piel perfect 1cs

חִמַּדְתִּי

Sng 2:3

qal conjunctive-imperfect 1cp

וְנֶחְמְדֵ

Isa 53:2

qal consecutive-imperfect 1cs

וָאֶחְמְדֵ

Jos 7:21

qal consecutive-perfect 3cp

וְחָמְדוּ

Mic 2:2

qal imperfect 3ms

יַחְמֹד

Exo 34:24

qal jussive 2ms

תַּחְמֹד

Pro 6:25

qal passive-participle m p construct

חֲמוּדֵי

Isa 44:9

qal perfect 2mp

חֲמַדְתֶּם

Isa 1:29

qal perfect 3cp

חָמְדוּ

Pro 1:22