In this final installment of our powerful Ten Commandments series, God Honest Truth dives into the profound meaning behind the Tenth Commandment — “You shall not covet.” What does it truly mean to covet? Is it simply desiring what others have, or is there something deeper at play in the heart?
Join us as we peel back the layers of this often-overlooked commandment and uncover how covetousness can silently lead to idolatry, theft, adultery, and even murder. From the Garden of Eden to the words of Yahushua Himself, Scripture paints a sobering picture of the destructive power of unchecked desire.
Through Scripture-based teaching, we will explore what coveting is according to Scripture, how covetousness contrasts with contentment and trust in Yahweh, and real-life biblical examples of the blessings and consequences tied to this command.
This isn’t just about outward obedience — it’s about the transformation of the heart. Don’t miss this vital conclusion to the series that calls all believers to walk in holiness, truth, and love for their neighbor. So join us as we learn the God Honest Truth about the tenth commandment of Do Not Covet.
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Transcript
In this video, we arrive at the final step in our journey through the 10 Commandments, the tenth commandment of Thou Shalt Not Covet. At first glance, it may seem simple, but this commandment cuts deeper than any of the other commandments. It cuts right down to the heart itself. From the very beginning, coveting has led to the fall of man. So, what does it mean to covet and how can we guard our hearts against it?
How can we combat this covetousness of the human hearts? So, stay with us as we open the scriptures, dig deep, and discover the powerful truth behind this, the last of the 10 Commandments. This teaching is gonna be all about the last and final tenth commandment in our 10 Commandments series. And, of course, this is the commandment of do not covet. But before we get into that, I just wanna remind everyone that we do have a lot more notes, a lot more information available on our website for this particular subject that we were not able to include in this particular teaching.
So if you like those, you can go to our website at godhonesttruth.com. Click on the post or this particular episode and there you’ll be able to find the on demand video. You’ll be able to find the slides that you see here on your screen if you’re watching on a video platform and be able to go through those slides at your own pace. You don’t even have to keep pace with the video. You can go through it at your own pace.
Below that, you’ll be able to find the notes that we took for this particular episode, and it includes a bunch more information than what we’re able to include in this particular episode. And, also, you’ll be able to find the transcript if that is so of use to you. So go check it out today on godhonesttruth.com. And like always, we have can included a convenient link to that particular article post down below in the description. And that should be down there in the description whether you’re watching on a video, platform or an audio podcasting platform.
It should still be down there all the same. So the tenth commandment, the last one we’re gonna be covering in this series, the command itself, you probably know this shortened version of thou shalt not covet, but the more full and complete version comes straight from scripture, and you can find that in Exodus chapter 20 verse 17 or Deuteronomy chapter five verse 21 where the 10 commandments are reiterated. But the commandment goes as such, quote, you do not covet your neighbor’s house. You do not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbor. End quote.
So here we’ve got the coveting aspect and says, do not covet. That kind of makes it sound like wanting something is bad, but take it into context as part of proper hermeneutics, taking things into the proper context. And context here is it’s talking about do not want the things that belong to someone else. And here it gives examples of, well, your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, which would be adultery, his male servant, his female servant, if we still have servants and slaves and whatnot, his ox, his donkey, don’t want anything that he owns like his livestock, or whatever it is that belongs to your neighbor. Don’t desire that.
Be content with what you have. And we’re really gonna get into this later on, but this whole command here covers issues of the heart that, well, pretty much the rest of the commandments don’t really cover. Some of the commandments like, have no other gods before me, yeah, that could be a part of the heart as well, but Coetzee really gets to the, well, pardon the pun, but the heart of the matter, which is the matter of the heart. Yeah. Just come out that way.
I didn’t plan it. I promise you. But this is where a lot of the other sins really come from, and it starts right here in the heart with coveting the vast majority of times. But before we get into all of that and really get into some details and explaining all that, let’s get into the nerdy parts and get into the weeds. The word here for covet itself is Strong’s h two five three zero.
That’s Strong’s h two five three zero. Hamad Hamad. And according to the outline of biblical usage from blueletterbible.org, As a verb, it means to desire or to cover covet, take pleasure in, delight in. Now, keep all that in mind because it’s gonna come into play near the end of the teaching. It means to desire, covet, take pleasure in, or to delight in.
As a noun, it’s, of course, in the feminine, but it means desirableness or preciousness. Strong’s definition has this word meaning to delight in, greatly beloved, covet, delectable thing, desire, delight, etcetera, etcetera. Lust, even? Keep that in mind. That’s gonna be coming up here in just a moment and be very, very relevant.
And for the word chamed, here is your Brown Driver Briggs entry and also your Jesenesis Hebrew lexicon entry. Pretty much saying the same thing we covered already with the outline of biblical usage and Strong’s definition, Jastarel’s dictionary, the Targums entry, and your Klein dictionary entry for Hamad, Again, meaning to desire to covet to be carnally excited according to Jastrowse. And, yeah, that really sums it up in a lot of the places in scripture where it talks about coveting. Klein dictionary, he desired, took pleasure in, was desired, desirable, desired long forward. And finally, here is your Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon of the Old Testament or Heilat entry or Chabad.
And for those of you who out there who like to study and get deeper and stuff like that, I’ve also started listing out the places in where you can find this particular word in scripture. And you can see those right there on your screen. And if you’re listening to an audio podcasting platform, you can find those in the notes as well. But it tells you every single place where this particular word is used in scripture. So you can go look up those particular verses and see how that is translated in your translation and used in context with what that particular verse is trying to say.
Now, this word is the Hebrew word hamad for desire or covet, lust, things like that. There is a Greek word that is used that pretty much means the same thing that that is used when the Septuagint was written. And that Greek word is Strong’s g one nine three seven g one nine three seven. That is the Greek word epithumio epithumio. Hopefully, I got that right.
A lot better with Hebrew than I am Greek. Epithumio. The outline of biblical usage means to turn upon a thing to have a desire for, long for, to desire to lust after, covet of those who seek things forbidden according to that entry. Here is your Strong’s definition entry or I’m sorry, your Strong’s, concordance entry for epithemium, meaning to set the heart upon, long for, rightfully or otherwise. Keep that in mind, rightfully or otherwise.
Covet desire would feign lust after. And here is your Thayer’s Greek lexicon and what it says about this particular entry for epithumeo. And once again, all these entries for the lexicons and the dictionaries, we had to cut down to be able to fit on the particular slides. If you would like the full entry, you’re more than welcome to go look them up yourself or go to the notes that we’ve provided for you on our website. Now for epithumeo, here’s your Greek English lexicon of the New Testament entry and also your BDAG entry for epithumio, meaning you have a strong desire to do or secure something, desire long for, etcetera, etcetera.
Now going back and looking at that command in Exodus chapter 20 verse 17. Here, if you’re looking at the video here at the top, you’ve got the scriptures 2,009 translation. And here where it says covet, it has the entries for both the Hebrew and the Greek. Now notice with the Greek, the epithumio, this word can also mean something like lust. Not only covet, but lust.
Something to desire for and have for yourself. That kind of lust and coveting. And this that is the exact kind of lust and coveting that Yeshua was talking about when he talks about adultery in the heart in Matthew chapter five verse 28. Just to remind you, here is what Matthew five twenty eight says. But I say to you that everyone looking at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
This really relates directly back to our tenth commandment here about coveting because the word used here for lust that Yeshua himself used is the word epithumio, that same word used for covet back in the 10 commandments. So in other words, he’s saying, but I say to you that everyone looking at a woman to covet for her or to covet after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Now as we covered in previous episode, that word for woman, that word in Greek can mean either generic woman or can mean another man’s wife, a wife in general. And in context, we think this is the most accurate translation, and there’s actually other translations that have come before today that agree, such as the Wycliffe. It uses a woman to covet her.
And then in the ABP Strongs, you go look all this up and the links and the notes we provided for you. But here it says, but I say to you that all looking at a wife or lusting her, meaning another man’s wife, the same with the Tyndale and the great bible and some others we’ve got there on the notes. But they also render this the exact same way, meaning to go after another man’s wife, to covet or lust in order to take or do inappropriate things with that man’s wife. That is the sense that’s getting here. And this is really at the heart of adultery, the whole lusting where it starts in the heart and things like that.
And that’s the biggest part here. And this is something that scripture over and over again and even Yeshua himself tries to teach people is that this whole coveting and sin and everything else really comes from the heart and that’s where the tenth commandment really hits home. Coveting does come from the heart. It’s not an external kind of sin or things like that. It’s a sin on the inner man.
Coveting is an inter inward desire, not an external action. It’s not something you can always see, but it generally, most always comes to fruition in something external that you can see. Unlike the other commandments, coveting may never be seen by others. A lot of times it is, but sometimes it may never be seen by others. However, even if it’s not seen by others, it is known and seen by Yahweh who can examine and know the heart.
So just because you’re coveting when you shouldn’t be or for the wrong things, you’re not getting away with it. Let’s look at Proverbs chapter four verse 23. Watch over your heart with all diligence for out of it are the sources of life. Going back to that whole concept about how sin and especially coveting in this case comes from the heart. Jeremiah chapter 17 verses nine through 10.
The heart is crooked after above all and desperately sick. Who shall know it? I, Yahweh, search the heart. I try the kidneys and give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. And finally, in Mark chapter seven verses twenty one and twenty two, or from within, out of the heart of men proceed evil reasonings, adulteries, pourings, murders, thefts, greedy desires, wickednesses, deceit, indecency, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness.
And that’s the words of Yeshua himself reiterating and teaching that Torah or that Tanakh point about how sin, covetousness, stuff like that all comes from the heart. And here in this word or in this particular passage where it says greedy desires that is in some translations is translated as covetousness, but that comes from a different word but pretty much means the same thing. This word is Strong’s g four one two four. Strong’s g four one two four, and that’s Plaonexia. Pleonexia.
According to the outline of biblical usage, it means a greedy desire to have more. Covetousness, avarice. Here’s your Strong’s definition for g four one two four and means by implication, fraudulency, extortion, covetousness practices, greediness. Antheus Greek selects con entry, meaning greedy desire to have more covetousness ever. So pretty much means the same thing.
There are some nuances there, but it’s beyond the scope of this particular teaching. Here in the Greek English lexicon of the New Testament, here is the entry for pleonexia, meaning to a strong desire to acquire more and more material possessions or to possess more things than other people have, all irrespective of need. And finally, here is your BDAG entry and the locations in scripture where you can find this particular word that is used, pleonexia. According to BDAG, the entry here for pleonexia is the state of desiring to have more than one’s due, greediness, insatiableness, avarice, covetousness. This is definitely a word that seems like it’s gonna always be used in the negative or always in a negative context.
However, the other words and just the whole concept of covet in general, we’ll get to that in just a minute. Maybe, maybe not always used in a negative way, but we’ll look here in coming up. Coveting itself, like we already covered, it comes from the heart, but that coveting that starts in the heart eventually, a lot of times, burst out other sins. In Joshua chapter seven verses 21 I’m sorry, 20 through 21. So Akan answered Yahushua and said, truly, I have sinned against Yahweh Elohim of Israel, and this is what I did.
When I saw among the spoil a lovely garment from Shinar and 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing 50 shekels, I coveted them and took them and see, they are hidden in the ground in the midst of my tent with a silver under it. Now we covered this previously, but just to recap real quick, this is a story where they were told to destroy everything, get rid of it all. But here, Akan saw something that he wanted. He coveted something, so he stole it and disobeyed what Yahweh had told them. As a result, even though he came clean and he told the truth, he manned up.
In other words, even though he did all that, they still took him and all his possessions, and they stoned him to death. And they put this big pile of stones on top of him. So it all started with the coveting in his heart once he saw these things that he liked and really wanted. Micah chapter two verse two. And they coveted fields and seized them also houses and took them away.
And they oppressed a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Finally, James chapter one verses fourteen and fifteen. But each one is enticed when he is drawn away by his own desires and trapped. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.
Here is where it comes full circle. We all know that is appointed unto man once to die, and the man who sins shall die. Coveting is a sin and coveting gives birth to sin. And since we covet and sin, then we die. So, coveting is in essence a deadly sin.
Right? I mean, they’re all deadly sins, but you get the point. Covetousness really is the seed from which a lot of the other sins come about. And it’s really about who do you trust in? Do you trust in Yahweh to provide for you?
Or do you trust in your own ability apart from Yahweh to just take and grab and get whatever it is that you want and that you think you need even though you don’t always need the same thing. Things like thefts get come from covetousness. Things like adultery definitely comes from coveting. Things like deceit and a lot of times even things like murder come from coveting. A lot, if not all, of the 10 commandments all stem from the heart.
All the other nine come from coveting where it’s having other gods, not honoring the Sabbath like you should, having or creating other images and statues and things like that, etcetera, etcetera. Just about all of those come from coveting which comes from the heart. So guard your heart, get your heart right, stop coveting, and be content because this is where all or most of the other sins really come from. So the number one sin that you probably should focus on more than anything is your heart and the covetousness of your own heart. Let’s take, for example, the Garden Of Eden.
When Eve saw the fruit, she coveted that fruit from the knowledge of the tree of good and evil. She coveted it in her heart, and then she listened to the serpent, and then she took it. So all that combined, but it started with the covetousness in her heart. And as I say, the rest is history. We see the fall of man, the sin, and everything else that has occurred since then.
But go back to the very beginning, and what was that original first sin that led to everything else? It was Eve coveting the fruit in her heart. Even though she was told not to, she coveted it. She wanted it. Another story that makes me think of what I think of when talking about coveting is the story of Ahab and Jezebel.
When Ahab wanted the particular piece of land and the landowner wouldn’t sell it to him or give it to him. So Jezebel went and had the landowner killed and then acquired the land for Ahab. He coveted that land. And because of that covetousness and not letting go of it, not getting his heart right, murder occurred. Yeah.
Covetousness really is the source of a lot, if not all, the other sins. Covetousness also has a relationship with idolatry. We look at Colossians chapter three verse five. Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth, pouring, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and greed of gain, which is idolatry. So evil desire and greed of gain, that’s another way of saying covetousness.
That, according to Paul, when he arrives to the church at Colossae, is idolatry. Covetousness is idolatry according to Paul. To covet is like saying in your heart that you don’t trust Yahweh to provide for you and that what Yahweh has given you is not enough. When man chases what his neighbor has, he stops trusting Yahweh. He starts looking, as they say, in trying to keep up with the Joneses instead of looking and relying on Yahweh.
There’s plenty of examples of this in scripture, but one of those that really sticks out is the story of the rich young ruler who comes up to Yeshua in Matthew chapter 19 verses 16 through 24. I’ve cut this down just for the sake of brevity, but you can go look it up for yourself. Matthew chapter 19 verses 16 through 24. One came to him and said to him, good teacher, what good shall I do to have everlasting life? And he said to him, if you wish to enter into life, guard the commands.
The young man said to him, all these I have watched over from my youth. What do I still lack? Yeshua said to him, if you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven. And when the young man heard the word, he went away sad because he had many, many possessions. So here the rich young ruler had a lot of money, had a lot of possessions, and he didn’t wanna give it up.
Yeshua knew where his heart was. It’s not wrong to be rich. And we’ll get into about the positive side of covetousness here in a minute. Or anyways, stay tuned. But Yeshua knew his heart was on his riches and that he coveted his riches and the possessions he had, and he coveted keeping those.
And Yeshua knew that, and he was looking here. Now that you know more about covetousness, you can see here what Yeshua is doing. He’s trying to see if the rich young man would get his heart right and get rid of that covetousness in order to move forward in his salvation and have everlasting life as it says here in the passage. And the rich young ruler would not get rid of his own covetousness in his heart. And because of that, he went away sad.
Now, as you can see, we’ve covered this earlier that covetousness is not an external or generally not an external action that can be seen by others. And here in the whole passage, the rich young man said that he kept all of the commandments. So everyone was able to see that he kept the rest of the commandments, honoring his father, not stealing, not murdering, not committing adultery, etcetera, etcetera. And good for him for doing all that. But commandment number 10, he could not get rid of that sin of covetousness, which was an inward sin, and Yeshua knew that.
That’s why he addressed his issue of covetousness and getting rid of all his riches. Which meant a young man couldn’t do it. Once again, covetousness covetousness is covetousness is an inward sin, not an external action generally. So how do we kind of treat this condition of coveting and which leads to all these other sins? Well, one way you can do that is being content with what we have.
I mean, think about it. Covetousness really comes about from not being content with what you have. So the treatment would be being content with what you have. You cannot both covet and be content with what you have. Hebrews chapter 13 verse five.
Let your way of life be without the love of silver, and be satisfied with what you have. For he himself has said, I shall never leave you nor forsake you. Once again, let your way of life be without the love of silver. Let your way of life be without covetousness. Be satisfied with what you have.
Be content with what you have. For he himself has said, I shall never leave you nor forsake you. For he himself has said, I will take care of you. Rely on me. Put your faith in me.
First Timothy chapter six verses six through eight. But reverence with contentment is great gain. For we brought not into the world, and it is impossible to take any out. When we have food and covering, we shall be satisfied with these. Once again, be content with what you have.
You came into this world owning nothing. You didn’t have the first coin to your name. You didn’t have the first dollar. You didn’t have the first stitch of thread to your name. You came into this world with nothing and when you die, everything that you have, everything that you’ve acquired, everything that you have coveted is still going to be here.
It’s not going to go with you. It’s all temporal just like this life on Earth. So, what point is there in coveting all of this stuff in destroying your life, sinning inside your heart when it’s all for naught in the long run. Contentment is the restful spirit that trusts Yahweh’s provision, being happy and content with what Yahweh provides for you and trusting in Him to provide that for you. The tenth commandment really does call us to gratitude, contentment, and also to faith in Yahweh and trust in Yahweh.
Something that really comes to mind is the story that Yeshua told about the lilies and how Yahweh provides and things like that. Matthew chapter six verses 25 through 34. Because of this, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you shall eat or drink, or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than the food and the body more than the clothing? Look at the birds of the heaven, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into storehouses, yet your heavenly father does feed them.
Are you not worth more than they? And which of you, by worrying, is able to add one cubit to his lifespan? So why do you worry about clothing? Note well the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, and I say to you that even Shalomo, in all his esteem, was not dressed like one of these.
But if Elohim so closed the grass of the field, which exists a day, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more you, oh, you of little, believe. Do not worry then, saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? For all these, the nations seek for, and your heavenly father knows that you need all these.
But seek first the reign of Elohim and his righteousness, and all these shall be added to you. Do not then worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow shall have its own worries. Each day has enough evil of itself. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Don’t worry about stocking up for yourself.
I mean, it’s always good to have a plan. I agree. But have faith and put your trust in Yahweh to provide for you, and do not go around coveting the things that you should be trusting Yahweh for. And definitely do not go around coveting the things that belong to other people, other man’s wives, other man’s property. Don’t go stealing other people’s property.
Don’t go committing adultery with another man’s wife. If you’re a woman and you’re married, don’t commit adultery by going out to another man that’s not your husband. Rely on Yahweh to provide. Be content with what you have. You don’t even understand how lucky and blessed you really are.
I mean, sit down and start thinking about all of the blessings that you have been granted in your life. And you’re eventually, come to realize that there’s a lot of things you just don’t realize and think about at any given moment. You really are blessed and Yahweh really does take care of his own. So put your faith, put your trust in Yahweh, and be content with what you have. That is how we combat covetousness.
Get your heart right and do not covet incorrectly. Now there are some examples in scripture where coveting is put in a positive light where it’s actually a good thing. Let’s look at that. Genesis chapter two verse nine. And out of the ground, Yahweh Elohim made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food with the tree of life in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
So here where it says that is pleasant to the sight, it’s that same Hebrew word, hamad, that strongs h two five three zero, hamad. And pretty much it says, and out of the ground, Yahweh Elohim made every tree grow that is covetousness or that is coveted to the sight. So it’s a good thing to covet what Yahweh has made because what he made was good. Here in Psalms chapter 19 verses nine through 10, the fear of Yahweh is clean, standing forever. The right rulings of Yahweh are true.
They are righteous altogether, more desirable than gold, than much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Here in the book of Psalms, it’s talking about the right rulings of Yahweh, how they’re true, how they’re righteous, and how these right rulings are to be coveted. That same word. These right rulings of Yahweh are to be coveted more than gold. Went on into the Brit Chadashat.
Luke chapter 22 verses 15. And he said to them with desire, I have desired to eat this Pesach with you before my suffering. So here, Yeshua himself is talking about how he covets and what is he coveting? He is coveting to eat the Pesach with his apostles. But here Yeshua is saying that he is coveting something and is coveting in a positive manner.
This is not something that belongs to anyone else, that he’s taken away from anyone else. So it’s not a sin in that context. He’s desiring to eat the Pesach or the Passover with his apostles. And finally, in first Timothy chapter three verse one, trustworthy is the word. If a man longs for the position of an overseer, he desires a good work.
Here in the letter to Timothy, Paul is laying out the qualifications for bishops and deacons, elders, things like that. And he starts out and he says, trustworthy is the word. If a man longs for the position of an overseer, he desires or he covets a good work. So here, Paul is using the word covet in a positive sense that epithumio, someone who is coveting the position of an overseer. And Paul is referring to that as a good thing.
But once again, all in context, this should not be something that belongs to anyone else. Otherwise, it’s gonna be bad. It’s gonna be a sin. Trying to take something that belongs to someone else and doing it incorrectly, doing it falsely. Yeah.
No good. And that’s really where the heart of the 10 Commandment comes in. It’s wanting something for the wrong reasons or something that belongs to someone else that we have no right to and should stay away from altogether, like another man’s wife. In summary, talking about the 10 Commandment and coveting. The commandment itself, straight up and straightforward, just to reiterate once again, you do not covet your neighbor’s house.
You do not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbor. There were three different words that we covered tonight in this teaching for covet both the one Hebrew word and two different Greek words. The Hebrew word was Strong’s h two five three zero, and that is the Hebrew word hamad hamad. The first Greek word that we covered was Strong’s g one nine three seven. That is the Greek word epithumio epithumio.
And the second one is Strong’s g four one two four, Pleonexia Pleonexia. Pleonexia. Coveting, as we saw from scripture, really starts in and comes from the heart. You can go back and look at the notes that we’ve got or and go back in the video and check out those verses that we covered. But even Yeshua himself tells us that coveting and all these other sins that really come from the heart and a lot of times coveting itself gives birth to these other sins.
These other sins start in the heart as covetousness and then how should we say this? Bear themselves out as sin in other ways such as murder, theft, adultery, idolatry, things like that. Covetousness is the opposite of having faith and trust in Yahweh and is the opposite of being content with what you have. So how do we combat this covetousness? Well, if it’s the opposite of having faith in Yahweh and being content, then the way of combating it is to trust in Yahweh, to put our faith in Yahweh, to provide for us and take care of us, which he will.
And he already has. He’s already blessed us in more ways than we probably even realize. And to be content with what it is that we already have. And that’s just the God honest truth.
