What does חָמַד (chamad) mean in the Bible?
חָמַד (chamad): Desire that moves from aesthetic appreciation toward possession; can signal both innocent delight and covetous appetite.
Hebrew · H2530
חָמַד
To delight in
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חָמַד H2530
Pronunciation chamad
What does חָמַד (chamad) mean in the Bible?
חָמַד (chamad): Desire that moves from aesthetic appreciation toward possession; can signal both innocent delight and covetous appetite.
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).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It covet 4× Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21, Deuteronomy 7:25
and the things they treasure 1× Isaiah 44:9
as precious as 1× Ezra 8:27
chose 1× Psalms 68:16
delight 1× Proverbs 1:22
desirable 1× Genesis 3:6
desire 1× Proverbs 12:12
highly precious 1× Daniel 9:23
I coveted them 1× Joshua 7:21
I delight 1× Song Of Solomon 2:3
in which you have delighted 1× Isaiah 1:29
lust 1× Proverbs 6:25
Precious 1× Proverbs 21:20
that is pleasing 1× Genesis 2:9
that we should desire Him 1× Isaiah 53:2
They are more precious 1× Psalms 19:10
They covet 1× Micah 2:2
what he holds dear 1× Psalms 39:11
will covet 1× Exodus 34:24
with his treasure 1× Job 20:20
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 2:9 נֶחְמָ֥ד to that is pleasing Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular Genesis 3:6 וְנֶחְמָ֤ד to desirable Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular Exodus 20:17 תַחְמֹ֖ד to covet Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Exodus 20:17 תַחְמֹ֞ד to covet Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Exodus 34:24 יַחְמֹ֥ד to will covet Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Deuteronomy 5:21 תַחְמֹ֖ד to covet Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Deuteronomy 7:25 תַחְמֹד֩ to covet Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Joshua 7:21 וָֽאֶחְמְדֵ֖ם to I coveted them Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common singular | third person masculine plural Ezra 8:27 חֲמוּדֹ֖ת to as precious as Noun - feminine plural Job 20:20 בַּ֝חֲמוּד֗וֹ to with his treasure Preposition-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 row Genesis 2:9
Aligned rows 23
Books represented 12
Genesis 2 Exodus 3 Deuteronomy 2 Joshua 1 Ezra 1 Job 1 Psalms 3 Proverbs 4 Song Of Solomon 1 Isaiah 3 Daniel 1 Micah 1
Source forms
חָמַ֣ד 2x ḥā·maḏ Psalms 68:16, Proverbs 12:12
תַחְמֹ֖ד 2x ṯaḥ·mōḏ Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21
בַּ֝חֲמוּד֗וֹ 1x ba·ḥă·mū·ḏōw Job 20:20
הַֽנֶּחֱמָדִ֗ים 1x han·ne·ḥĕ·mā·ḏîm Psalms 19:10
וָֽאֶחְמְדֵ֖ם 1x wā·’eḥ·mə·ḏêm Joshua 7:21
וְחָמְד֤וּ 1x wə·ḥā·mə·ḏū Micah 2:2
וַחֲמוּדֵיהֶ֖ם 1x wa·ḥă·mū·ḏê·hem Isaiah 44:9
וְנֶחְמָ֤ד 1x wə·neḥ·māḏ Genesis 3:6
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular 5x Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21, Deuteronomy 7:25, Proverbs 6:25
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular 2x Genesis 2:9, Proverbs 21:20
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular 2x Psalms 68:16, Proverbs 12:12
Adjective - masculine singular 1x Daniel 9:23
Article | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine plural 1x Psalms 19:10
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular 1x Genesis 3:6
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextual - first person common plural | third person masculine singular 1x Isaiah 53:2
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural 1x Micah 2:2
Evidence Summary
CovenantJustice
Hebrew word. Desire that moves from aesthetic appreciation toward possession; can signal both innocent delight and covetous appetite.
Strong's H2530
Lexical occurrences 28 verses Word forms 3 forms 19 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Micah 2:1-5 Source Gloss
to delight in
Extended definition Source: 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 groups 3 Aligned forms 19
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 10×
Imperfect Deut 5:21 · Deut 7:25 · Exod 20:17 · Exod 34:24 5×
Perfect Prov 12:12 · Ps 68:17 · Isa 1:29 · Prov 1:22 4×
Jussive Prov 6:25 1×
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 2×
Participle active Gen 2:9 · Prov 21:20 2×
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 1×
Perfect Song 2:3 1×
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
Covenant Justice
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.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain