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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadInternational Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Lust
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(5 Hebrew and 5 Greek words are so rendered, namely: (1) × ×¤×©×, nephesh, (2) ש×רירוּת, sherı̄ruÌ„th, (3) תּ×וה, ta'ăwaÌ„h, (4) חמד, hÌ£aÌ„madh, (5) ×וה, 'aÌ„waÌ„h; (1) ἐπιθυμιÌα, epithumıÌa, (2) ἡδονηÌ, heÌ„doneÌ„Ì, (3) ἐπιποθεÌω, epipotheÌoÌ„, (4) ὀÌÏεξις, oÌrexis, (5) παÌθος, paÌthos): The word both as verb and as substantive has a good and a bad meaning. It probably meant at first a strong desire, a craving, abnormal appetite, not only for physical but for spiritual satisfaction. It has come, however, to be confined in its use almost entirely to the bad sense. Some old translations are not accepted now, the word being used in connections which at present seem almost irreverent. Shades of meaning are learned from an examination of the Hebrew and Greek originals.
1. The Old Testament Use:
The substantive and verbs are: (1) Nephesh, in and translated “desireâ€; “My desire shall be satisfiedâ€; “by asking food according to their desire.†A strong but not sensual sense. (2) Sherı̄ruÌ„th, meaning “obstinacy,†evil imagination. Yahweh said (), “I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart,†a willful self-satisfaction. (3) Ta'ăwaÌ„h, “a delight†“a longing satisfaction,†and so it came to mean “sinful pleasure.†Translated in , “that which they desired,†intensely longed for, referring to Yahweh's provision of food in the wilderness. Also in concerning “flesh to eat†it is said the multitude “lusted exceedingly†i.e. “craved eagerly. (4) HÌ£aÌ„madh, the verb meaning “to delight in,†“greatly belove,†“covet,†probably for evil purposes. The young man is warned against the evil woman (): “Lust not after her beauty.†Here the bad sense is evident, for in the same connection are used such expressions as “harlot,†“adulteress,†“evil woman.†(5) 'AwaÌ„h, meaning “greatly to desire,†long after, with undue emphasis, with evil spirit though not perhaps with impure thought. In reference is made to a place called kÌ£ibhroÌ„th ha-ta'ăwaÌ„h, “the graves of lust, where “they buried the people that lusted.†also refers to the Israelites who “lusted exceedingly.†Translated in , “desire of thy soulâ€; ; , “thy soul desireth.†These Deuteronomy passages evidently mean lust only in the good sense.
2. The New Testament Use:
As in the Old Testament, so in the New Testament we find both meanings of the word. (1) Epithumia is used most frequently, and means a longing for the unlawful, hence, concupiscence, desire, lust. The following references hold the idea, not only of sinful desire known as “fleshly,†“worldly,†as opposed to “spiritual†“heavenly,†“the will of man†as opposed to “the will of God,†but also the sensual desire connected with adultery, fornication; verb in ; ; ; ; ; , , ; ; ; f; , ; . (2) HeÌ„doneÌ„, delight in sensuality, hence, wicked pleasures; translated in , “pleasuresâ€: “Your pleasures that war in your membersâ€; “Ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures†(the King James Version “lustâ€). (3) EpipotheoÌ„ means to crave intensely the wrong possession; translated in “long (the King James Version “lustethâ€) unto envying.†(4) Orexis, used in , from context evidently meaning “lust†in the worst sense; translated “lust.†(5) Pathos, meaning “passion†inordinate affection, with the idea in it of suffering; translated in “passion of lust.â€