Desire

Desire - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

DESIRE, n.

1. An emotion or excitement of the mind, directed to the attainment or possession of an object from which pleasure, sensual, intellectual or spiritual, is expected; a passion excited by the love of an object, or uneasiness at the want of it, and directed to its attainment or possession. Desire is a wish to possess some gratification or source of happiness which is supposed to be obtainable. A wish may exist for something that is or is not abtainable. Desire, when directed solely to sensual enjoyment, differs little from appetite. In other languages, desire is expressed by longing or reaching toward, and when it is ardent or intense, it approaches to longing, but the word in English usually expresses less than longing.

We endeavored-to see your face with great desire. 1 Th 2.

Thou satisfiest the desires of every living thing. Psa 145.

Desire is that internal act, which, by influencing the will, makes us proceed to action.

2. A prayer or request to obtain:

He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him. Psa 145.

3. The object of desire; that which is desired.

The desire of all nations shall come. Hag 2.

4. Love; affection.

His desire is toward me. Song 7.

5. Appetite; lust.

Fulfilling the desires of the flesh. Eph 2.

DESIRE, v.t.

1. To wish for the possession or enjoyment of, with a greater or less degree of earnestness; to covet. It expresses less strength of affection than longing.

Neither shall any man desire thy land. Exo 34.

Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts. 1 Cor 14.

2. To express a wish to obtain; to ask; to request; to petition.

Then she said, did I desire a son of my Lord? 2 Ki 4.

3. To require.

Lust - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

Sinful longing; the inward sin which leads to the falling away from God (Rom. 1:21). "Lust, the origin of sin, has its place in the heart, not of necessity, but because it is the centre of all moral forces and impulses and of spiritual activity." In Mark 4:19 "lusts" are objects of desire.

Lust - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

LUST, n.

1. Longing desire; eagerness to possess or enjoy; as the lust of gain.

My lust shall be satisfied upon them. Exo 15.

2. Concupiscence; carnal appetite; unlawful desire of carnal pleasure. Rom 1. 2 Pet 2.

3. Evil propensity; depraved affections and desires. James 1. Psa 81.

4. Vigor; active power. [Not used.]

LUST, v.i.

1. To desire eagerly; to long; with after.

Thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. Deu 12.

2. To have carnal desire; to desire eagerly the gratification of carnal appetite.

Lust not after her beauty in thy heart. Prov 6.

Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her,hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Mat 5.

3. To have irregular or inordinate desires.

The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy. James 4.

Lust not after evil things as they also lusted. 1 Cor 10.

4. To list; to like.

Passion - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

Only once found, in Acts 1:3, meaning suffering, referring to the sufferings of our Lord.

Passion - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

PAS'SION, n. [L. passio, from patior, to suffer.]

1. The impression or effect of an external agent upon a body; that which is suffered or received.

A body at rest affords us no idea of any active power to move, and when set in motion, it is rather a passion than an action in it.

2. Susceptibility of impressions from external agents.

The differences of moldable and not moldable, _c., and many other passions of matter, are plebeian notions. [Little used.]

3. Suffering; emphatically, the last suffering of the Savior.

To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion, by many infallible proofs. Acts 1.

4. The feeling of the mind, or the sensible effect of impression; excitement, perturbation or agitation of mind; as desire, fear, hope,joy, grief,love, hatred. The eloquence of the orator is employed to move the passions.

5. Violent agitation or excitement of mind, particularly such as is occasioned by an offense, injury or insult; hence, violent anger.

6. Zeal; ardor; vehement desire.

When statesmen are ruled by faction and interest, they can have no passion for the glory of their country.

7. Love.

He owned his passion for Amestris.

8. Eager desire; as a violent passion for fine clothes.

PAS'SION, v.i. To be extremely agitated. [Not used.]

de-zir': The verb "to desire" in the Scriptures usually means "to long for," "to ask for," "to demand," and may be used in a good or bad sense (compare De 7:25 the King James Version). the Revised Version (British and American) frequently renders the more literal meaning of the Hebrew. Compare Job 20:20, "delight"; Pr 21:20, "precious"; Ps 40:6, "delight"; aiteo (except Col 1:9), and erotao (except Lu 7:36) are rendered "to ask" and zeteo, "to seek" (compare Lu 9:9 et. al.). The Hebrew kacaph, literally, "to lose in value," is translated (Zep 2:1) by "hath no shame" (the Revised Version, margin "longing," the King James Version "not desired"). The literal translation "to lose in value," "to degenerate," would be more in harmony with the context than the translations offered. The Hebrew chemdah (2Ch 21:20, "without being desired"), means according to the Arabic "to praise," "to give thanks." The context brings in contrast the burial of the king Jehoram with that of his fathers. In the latter case there was "burning," i.e. recognition and praise, but when Jehoram died, there was no chemdah, i.e. there was no praise for his services rendered to the kingdom. For "desire" in Ec 12:5, see CAPERBERRY.

A. L. Breslich

(5 Hebrew and 5 Greek words are so rendered, namely:

(1) nephesh,

(2) sheriruth,

(3) ta'awah,

(4) chamadh,

(5) 'awah;

(1) epithumia,

(2) hedone,

(3) epipotheo,

(4) orexis,

(5) pathos):

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 Ex 15:9 and Ps 78:18 translated "desire"; "My desire shall be satisfied"; "by asking food according to their desire." A strong but not sensual sense.

(2) Sheriruth, meaning "obstinacy," evil imagination. Yahweh said (Ps 81:12), "I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart," a willful self-satisfaction.

(3) Ta'awah, "a delight" "a longing satisfaction," and so it came to mean "sinful pleasure." Translated in Ps 78:30, "that which they desired," intensely longed for, referring to Yahweh's provision of food in the wilderness. Also in Nu 11:4 concerning "flesh to eat" it is said the multitude "lusted exceedingly" i.e. "craved eagerly.

(4) Chamadh, the verb meaning "to delight in," "greatly belove," "covet," probably for evil purposes. The young man is warned against the evil woman (Pr 6:25): "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) 'Awah, meaning "greatly to desire," long after, with undue emphasis, with evil spirit though not perhaps with impure thought. In Nu 11:34 reference is made to a place called qibhroth ha-ta'wah, "the graves of lust, where "they buried the people that lusted." Ps 106:14 also refers to the Israelites who "lusted exceedingly." Translated in De 12:15,21 "desire of thy soul"; 12:20; 14:26, "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 Mt 5:28; Mr 4:19; Joh 8:44; Ro 1:24; 1Co 10:6; Ga 5:16,17,24; Tit 2:12; 1Pe 1:14; 1 Joh 2:16 f; Jude 1:16,18; Re 18:14.

(2) Hedone, delight in sensuality, hence, wicked pleasures; translated in Jas 4:1,3 "pleasures": "Your pleasures that war in your members"; "Ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures" (the King James Version "lust").

(3) Epipotheo means to crave intensely the wrong possession; translated in Jas 4:5 "long (the King James Version "lusteth") unto envying."

(4) Orexis, used in Ro 1:27, 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 1Th 4:5 "passion of lust."

William Edward Raffety

Definition

Lust is a very strong desire, usually in the context of wanting something sinful or immoral. To lust is to have lust.

• In the Bible, “lust” usually referred to sexual desire for someone other than one’s own spouse.
• Sometimes this term was used in a figurative sense to refer to worshiping idols.
• Depending on the context, “lust” could be translated as “wrong desire” or “strong desire” or “wrongful sexual desire” or “strong immoral desire” or to “strongly desire to sin.”
• The phrase to “lust after” could be translated as to “wrongly desire” or to “think immorally about” or to “immorally desire.”

(See also: adultery, false god)

Bible References

• 1 John 2:16
• 2 Timothy 2:22
• Galatians 5:16
• Galatians 5:19-21
• Genesis 39:7-9
• Matthew 5:28

Word Data

• Strong’s: H0183, H0185, H0310, H1730, H2181, H2183, H2530, H5178, H5375, H5689, H5691, H5869, H7843, G07660, G19370, G19390, G22370, G37150, G38060