What does חָמַד (chamad) mean in the Bible?
Ḥāmad occurs where something is desired, attractive or valued, but the object and action determine the moral evaluation. Genesis 2:9 describes the trees God gives as pleasing to the eye and good for food.
Hebrew · H2530
חָמַד
Ḥāmad occurs where something is desired, attractive or valued, but the object and action determine the moral evaluation. Genesis 2:9 describes the trees God gives as pleasing to the eye and good for food.
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חָמַדH2530
Pronunciationchamad
What does חָמַד (chamad) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for חָמַד (H2530) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2530?
The BSB source-word alignment has 23 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include covet (4), and the things they treasure (1), as precious as (1), chose (1), delight (1).
Where does חָמַד (chamad) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 2:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Proverbs (4), Exodus (3), Isaiah (3), Psalms (3).
What This Word Actually Means
Ḥāmad occurs where something is desired, attractive or valued, but the object and action determine the moral evaluation. Genesis 2:9 describes the trees God gives as pleasing to the eye and good for food. Genesis 3:6 places a desirable tree within the act of taking fruit against the stated command. The attractiveness itself cannot explain why one scene describes provision and the other disobedient taking.
Exodus 20:17 forbids coveting what belongs to a neighbor, whereas Psalm 19:10 values the Lord's judgments above abundant gold. The verb's range therefore includes prohibited desire and commendable valuation without treating all pleasure as evil or every desirable object as permission to acquire it. Teaching should identify what is wanted, whose property or instruction is involved and what the person does in response. A lexical label alone does not authorize possession, establish motives or determine the moral quality of every longing.
Passage contextCanonical parallel
How the Bible Uses It
Created attractiveness, forbidden taking, neighbor-coveting and precious divine instruction show different uses of desire and value. The passages evaluate the object, boundary and response rather than assigning one automatic moral status to every desirable thing.
- Gen.2.9
Out of the ground the Lord God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Lord grows trees pleasing to the eye and good for food within His garden provision. Their attractiveness is not presented as evil merely because they can be desired.
- Gen.3.6
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
Desirability appears before taking and eating the fruit despite the stated command. The narrative's moral issue requires the command and action, not attractiveness considered in isolation.
- Exod.20.17
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
The prohibited desire concerns the neighbor's household, relationships and property. The repeated belonging language gives the command a boundary that must remain visible.
- Ps.19.10
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
The Lord's judgments are valued above gold and likened to sweetness after praise of their truth. The comparison commends received instruction rather than coveting someone else's goods.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itcovet4×Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21, Deuteronomy 7:25
and the things they treasure1×Isaiah 44:9
as precious as1×Ezra 8:27
chose1×Psalms 68:16
delight1×Proverbs 1:22
desirable1×Genesis 3:6
desire1×Proverbs 12:12
highly precious1×Daniel 9:23
I coveted them1×Joshua 7:21
I delight1×Song Of Solomon 2:3
in which you have delighted1×Isaiah 1:29
lust1×Proverbs 6:25
Precious1×Proverbs 21:20
that is pleasing1×Genesis 2:9
that we should desire Him1×Isaiah 53:2
They are more precious1×Psalms 19:10
They covet1×Micah 2:2
what he holds dear1×Psalms 39:11
will covet1×Exodus 34:24
with his treasure1×Job 20:20
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 2:9נֶחְמָ֥דtothat is pleasingVerb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singularGenesis 3:6וְנֶחְמָ֤דtodesirableConjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singularExodus 20:17תַחְמֹ֖דtocovetVerb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singularExodus 20:17תַחְמֹ֞דtocovetVerb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singularExodus 34:24יַחְמֹ֥דtowill covetVerb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singularDeuteronomy 5:21תַחְמֹ֖דtocovetVerb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singularDeuteronomy 7:25תַחְמֹד֩tocovetVerb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singularJoshua 7:21וָֽאֶחְמְדֵ֖םtoI coveted themConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common singular | third person masculine pluralEzra 8:27חֲמוּדֹ֖תtoas precious asNoun - feminine pluralJob 20:20בַּ֝חֲמוּד֗וֹtowith his treasurePreposition-b, Article | Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 2:9
Aligned rows23
Books represented12
Genesis2Exodus3Deuteronomy2Joshua1Ezra1Job1Psalms3Proverbs4Song Of Solomon1Isaiah3Daniel1Micah1
Source forms
חָמַ֣ד2xḥā·maḏPsalms 68:16, Proverbs 12:12
תַחְמֹ֖ד2xṯaḥ·mōḏExodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21
בַּ֝חֲמוּד֗וֹ1xba·ḥă·mū·ḏōwJob 20:20
הַֽנֶּחֱמָדִ֗ים1xhan·ne·ḥĕ·mā·ḏîmPsalms 19:10
וָֽאֶחְמְדֵ֖ם1xwā·’eḥ·mə·ḏêmJoshua 7:21
וְחָמְד֤וּ1xwə·ḥā·mə·ḏūMicah 2:2
וַחֲמוּדֵיהֶ֖ם1xwa·ḥă·mū·ḏê·hemIsaiah 44:9
וְנֶחְמָ֤ד1xwə·neḥ·māḏGenesis 3:6
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular5xExodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21, Deuteronomy 7:25, Proverbs 6:25
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular2xGenesis 2:9, Proverbs 21:20
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular2xPsalms 68:16, Proverbs 12:12
Adjective - masculine singular1xDaniel 9:23
Article | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine plural1xPsalms 19:10
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular1xGenesis 3:6
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextual - first person common plural | third person masculine singular1xIsaiah 53:2
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural1xMicah 2:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Help readers examine what they want and how they respond without shaming every experience of pleasure or attraction.
- Respect another person's boundaries even when a desired outcome seems valuable or spiritually beneficial to the seeker.
Avoid claiming...
- Ḥāmad does not mean every desire is sinful; the garden provision and valued judgments supply different direct contexts.
- The verb does not make wanting an object proof that God grants ownership or excuses the neighbor's violated boundary.
Evidence Summary
CovenantJustice
Hebrew word. Desire that moves from aesthetic appreciation toward possession; can signal both innocent delight and covetous appetite.
Strong'sH2530
Lexical occurrences28 versesWord forms3 forms19 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkMicah 2:1-5Source Gloss
to delight in
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Desire that moves from aesthetic appreciation toward possession; can signal both innocent delight and covetous appetite.
to delight in BDB: desire Usage: beauty, greatly beloved, covet, delectable thing, (× great) delight, desire, goodly, lust, (be) pleasant (thing), precious (thing).
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups3Aligned forms19
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense10×
ImperfectDeut 5:21 · Deut 7:25 · Exod 20:17 · Exod 34:245×
PerfectProv 12:12 · Ps 68:17 · Isa 1:29 · Prov 1:224×
JussiveProv 6:251×
Niphalpassive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action2×
Participle activeGen 2:9 · Prov 21:202×
Pielintensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action1×
PerfectSong 2:31×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
To desire or take pleasure in something belonging to another.
Desirable; precious; to be greatly valued or coveted in a positive sense
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 28 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
חָמַד is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
It echoes the Tenth Commandment, showing continuity between Micah’s indictment and the foundational covenant law.Micah 2:1-5
Canonical Themes
CovenantJustice
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The garden passages make a useful contrast without requiring desire to carry contradictory dictionary verdicts. God provides pleasing trees, yet the account of the forbidden fruit includes a command that attractiveness does not cancel. The response to a desirable object matters: what has been given may be received, while the boundary around another object remains even when it looks good.
Exodus identifies the neighbor repeatedly, so coveting cannot be reduced to wanting anything at all. Psalm 19 supplies a positive valuation of God's instruction above wealth, with warning and obedient keeping also in view. James 1:13-18 likewise distinguishes God's good gifts from the movement of evil desire toward sin. These witnesses teach attention to desire's direction and response rather than a simplistic ban on pleasure or a claim that intense wanting proves rightful possession. The Hebrew verb does not itself reveal every hidden motive in a present person's heart.
Anchor passage
Exod.20.17
Doctrinal connections
- Genesis 2:8-9 presents pleasing trees within the Lord's provision of a garden and food.
- Genesis 3:1-7 places desirable fruit within a narrated command, temptation and disobedient taking.
- Exodus 20:16-17 protects the neighbor's truth and possessions through specific prohibitions.
- Psalm 19:7-11 values true divine judgments above wealth and connects instruction with warning and keeping.
- James 1:13-18 distinguishes good divine gifts from evil desire's movement toward sin and death.
- Matthew 6:19-24 connects treasures and the heart while exposing incompatible service to God and money.
Desiring and being desirable can appear in different constructions under this identity. The selected verbal and descriptive uses do not make attraction inherently sinful; object, command and response provide the moral assessment rather than the shared lookup gloss.
From Old to New Testament
James 1:13-18 describes evil desire leading toward sin while naming God as the giver of good gifts. Matthew 6:19-24 addresses treasured loyalties. These comparisons support evaluating desire's direction without making every ḥāmad use a Greek lust term or claiming that all enjoyment is condemned.
Passage contextCanonical parallel