COVET, COVETOUSNESS, a sin mentioned frequently in both OT and NT. It is considered a root of other serious and mortal iniquities. A number of Heb. and Gr. words are so tr. Many have slight variations in meaning all of which are in regard to the Mosaic law which expressly forbids covetousness. The term which appears in Exodus 20:17 is Heb. חָמַד, H2773, meaning “to desire intensely.” Like the other terms for “covet” in Scripture this word has in view the intense love and desire for any object or person, a desire which is given more than human and common importance, and which becomes a substitute for the devotion and love due to God. Because of the intensity of this desire it tends to overshadow the moral demands of the law and to allow the end, the possession of the coveted object, to justify any means for its achievement. Other terms for desire and love are used in the same sense in the OT, Heb. אָוָה֒, H203, (Deut 5:21 et al.), and Heb. בָּצַע, H1298, (Hab 2:9, et al.). In the NT the Gr. verb, ἐπιθυμέω, G2121, “desire,” “long for,” is used frequently to tr. the Heb. terms above in the LXX and in many NT passages where it is not always tr. “covet.” It appears in Luke 22:15, et al., and the noun form appears in many other passages. Another common noun is Gr. πλεονεξία, G4432, meaning literally “greediness,” “insatiable desire” (Luke 12:15). A most interesting term frequently tr. “covetousness” is Gr. φιλαργύρια, a compound of “love” + “silver,” the clearest illustration of avarice given in Scripture (Luke 16:14 RSV; 1 Tim 6:10). These terms all describe the intense materialism and hedonism which characterized the Hel. age and led to the founding of such philosophical schools as Epicureanism.