Words the Bible translates as desire
English uses one word here. The Bible uses 25 words, and they do not mean the same thing. Each is listed with what it actually means, most frequent first.
- thelōθέλωto will: to want, wish, or be disposed toward something, ranging from casual desire to deliberate purpose
- boulomaiβούλομαιto will, wish, or intend: to settle on what one wants, often as a considered choice or firm purpose.
- epithumiaἐπιθυμίαa strong desire: an intense reaching of the heart toward something, which is good or evil depending on what it reaches for
- thelēmaθέλημαwill: what someone has decided shall be, whether a purpose, a desire, or a command
- ḥaphetsחָפֵץto find pleasure in something, so that you want it and lean toward it
+1 more meaning
- to bend or make stiff (said of an animal's tail)
- epithumeōἐπιθυμέωto set one's heart on something and reach for it with strong desire
- ḥephetsחֵפֶץdesire: what a person wants, wishes for, or values
+3 more meanings
- delight: the glad pleasure a person takes in someone or something
- purpose: a settled intention that one carries out, especially God's sovereign will
- matter: an affair, business, or thing one is occupied with
- eudokiaεὐδοκίαgood pleasure: a freely chosen, gracious will or heartfelt desire directed toward what is good
- epizēteōἐπιζητέωto seek a definite thing: to go after some particular person, thing, or answer that one wants, has lost, or has a claim to
- avahאָוָהto long for: to set the heart and appetite on something one wants
- ḥamadחָמַדto 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
- ḥemdahחֶמְדָּהdesire, and the precious or delightful thing that desire fixes on
- ta'avahתַּאֲוָהdesire, longing, craving: the whole person's reaching out for what it wants (and sometimes the wanted thing itself).
- havvahהַוָּהgreedy craving: a grasping, self-serving desire, almost always the wicked's
+1 more meaning
- destruction: engulfing ruin, whether a disaster that swallows a victim or the deadly harm people scheme against one another
- maḥmadמַחְמָדa treasure: what or whom someone holds dear, valued for the longing it draws rather than for any price it would fetch
- be'aבְּעָאto be after something: to search for it, or to ask the one who can give it.
- ḥaphetsחָפֵץdrawn toward something with pleasure or desire: delighting in it, wanting it, or being willing to do it
- ḥashaqחָשַׁקto set one's heart on someone or something: to be bound to in a strong, chosen attachment, whether love, desire, or longing.
+1 more meaning
- to fasten or furnish with bands: to join the tabernacle pillars with silver connecting bands.
- avvahאַוָּהdesire, wish: what someone wants, nearly always in the set phrase "the desire of your soul," meaning as much and as freely as you please.
- ḥesheqחֵשֶׁקdesirenot studied yet
- teshuqahתְּשׁוּקָהa strong, exclusive turning of one person or force toward another, an orientation that fixes attention and longing on its object
- mishalahמִשְׁאָלָהa petition: a specific thing asked of God, which he grants
- katastrēniaōκαταστρηνιάωto desirenot studied yet
- aviyyonahאֲבִיּוֹנָהthe caperberry: the small berry of the caper bush, eaten in the ancient world to sharpen the appetite and long thought to stir desire
- ma'avayמַאֲוַיdesirenot studied yet
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Every English meaning beginning with D is on its letter page, and the whole index starts at Browse.