What does חֶמְדָּה (ḥemĕdāh) mean in the Bible?
חֶמְדָּה (ḥemĕdāh): Desire for what is visually appealing or precious; covetousness carrying moral weight in Torah prohibitions
Hebrew · H2532
חֶמְדָּה
Delight
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חֶמְדָּה H2532
Pronunciation ḥemĕdāh
What does חֶמְדָּה (ḥemĕdāh) mean in the Bible?
חֶמְדָּה (ḥemĕdāh): Desire for what is visually appealing or precious; covetousness carrying moral weight in Torah prohibitions
Full entry for חֶמְדָּה (H2532) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2532?
The BSB source-word alignment has 23 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include precious (2), the pleasant (2), a desirable (1), and riches (1), and their precious (1).
Where does חֶמְדָּה (ḥemĕdāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 27:15. Its strongest book concentrations include Daniel (7), 2 Chronicles (4), Jeremiah (3), 1 Samuel (1).
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 precious 2× Hosea 13:15, Nahum 2:9
the pleasant 2× Psalms 106:24, Zechariah 7:14
a desirable 1× Jeremiah 3:19
and riches 1× Daniel 11:38
and their precious 1× Daniel 11:8
and valuables 1× 2 Chronicles 20:25
for the one desired 1× Daniel 11:37
kinds of valuable 1× 2 Chronicles 32:27
like fine 1× Jeremiah 25:34
My pleasant 1× Jeremiah 12:10
of value 1× 2 Chronicles 36:10
one’s regret 1× 2 Chronicles 21:20
rich 1× Daniel 10:3
stately 1× Isaiah 2:16
the desire 1× 1 Samuel 9:20
the finest 1× Genesis 27:15
the riches 1× Daniel 11:43
who is highly precious 1× Daniel 10:11
with all [their] treasures 1× Haggai 2:7
you who are highly precious 1× Daniel 10:19
your beautiful 1× Ezekiel 26:12
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 27:15 הַחֲמֻדֹ֔ת to the finest Article | Noun - feminine plural 1 Samuel 9:20 חֶמְדַּ֣ת to the desire Noun - feminine singular construct 2 Chronicles 20:25 חֲמֻד֔וֹת to and valuables Noun - feminine plural 2 Chronicles 21:20 חֶמְדָּ֔ה to one’s regret Noun - feminine singular 2 Chronicles 32:27 חֶמְדָּֽה׃ to kinds of valuable Noun - feminine singular 2 Chronicles 36:10 חֶמְדַּ֣ת to of value Noun - feminine singular construct Psalms 106:24 חֶמְדָּ֑ה to the pleasant Noun - feminine singular Isaiah 2:16 הַחֶמְדָּֽה׃ to stately Article | Noun - feminine singular Jeremiah 3:19 חֶמְדָּ֔ה to a desirable Noun - feminine singular Jeremiah 12:10 חֶמְדָּתִ֖י to My pleasant Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 27:15
Aligned rows 23
Books represented 12
Genesis 1 1 Samuel 1 2 Chronicles 4 Psalms 1 Isaiah 1 Jeremiah 3 Ezekiel 1 Daniel 7 Hosea 1 Nahum 1 Haggai 1 Zechariah 1
Source forms
חֶמְדָּֽה׃ 4x ḥem·dāh 2 Chronicles 32:27, Jeremiah 25:34, Hosea 13:15, Nahum 2:9
חֶמְדַּ֣ת 3x ḥem·daṯ 1 Samuel 9:20, 2 Chronicles 36:10, Haggai 2:7
חֶמְדָּ֔ה 2x ḥem·dāh 2 Chronicles 21:20, Jeremiah 3:19
הַחֶמְדָּֽה׃ 1x ha·ḥem·dāh Isaiah 2:16
הַחֲמֻדֹ֔ת 1x ha·ḥă·mu·ḏōṯ Genesis 27:15
וּבַחֲמֻדֽוֹת׃ 1x ū·ḇa·ḥă·mu·ḏō·wṯ Daniel 11:38
חֶמְדָּ֑ה 1x ḥem·dāh Psalms 106:24
חֶמְדָּ֖ה 1x ḥem·dāh Zechariah 7:14
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular 8x 2 Chronicles 21:20, 2 Chronicles 32:27, Psalms 106:24, Jeremiah 3:19
Noun - feminine singular construct 4x 1 Samuel 9:20, 2 Chronicles 36:10, Daniel 11:37, Haggai 2:7
Adjective - masculine singular 3x Daniel 10:3, Daniel 10:11, Daniel 10:19
Article | Noun - feminine plural 1x Genesis 27:15
Article | Noun - feminine singular 1x Isaiah 2:16
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural 1x Daniel 11:38
Noun - feminine plural 1x 2 Chronicles 20:25
Noun - feminine plural construct 1x Daniel 11:43
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Desire for what is visually appealing or precious; covetousness carrying moral weight in Torah prohibitions
Source Gloss
delight
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Desire for what is visually appealing or precious; covetousness carrying moral weight in Torah prohibitions
delight BDB: desire Usage: desire, goodly, pleasant, precious.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
חֶמְדָּה is built from this root:
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