"Thou shalt not covet" (from ) is the most common translation of one (or two, depending on the numbering tradition) of the Ten Commandments or Decalogue, and , Ten Commandments, New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition, Tyndale House, 1982 pp. 1174-1175 which are widely understood as moral imperatives by legal scholars, Jewish scholars, Catholic scholars, and Protestant scholars.Posner, Richard A., How Judges Think, Harvard University Press, 2008, p. 322Ten Commandments, New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition, Tyndale House, 1982 pp. 1174-1175Bromiley, Geoffrey W., The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1988, p. 117Renewal theology: systematic theology from a charismatic perspective, J. Rodman Williams, 1996 p.240; Making moral decisions: a Christian approach to personal and social ethics, Paul T. Jersild, 1991, p. 24 The Book of Exodus and the Book of Deuteronomy both describe the Ten Commandments as having been spoken by God, inscribed on two stone tablets by the finger of God, and, after Moses broke the original tablets, rewritten by God on replacements. On rewriting, the word covet (for the neighbour’s house) changed to ‘desire’ (תתאוה).
In traditions that consider the passage a single commandment, the full text reads:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church connects the command against coveting with the command to "love your neighbor as yourself." Ibn Ezra on the question of "how can't a person covet a beautiful thing in his heart?" wrote that the main purpose of all the commandments is to straighten the heart.
Ancient usage The Hebrew word translated "covet" is chamad (חמד) which is commonly translated into English as "covet", "lust", and "strong desire."The NIV Complete Concordance, Zondervan, 1981 The Hebrew Bible contains a number of warnings and examples of negative consequences for lusting or coveting. For example, when God was instructing Israel regarding the false religion of the Canaanites, he warned them not to covet the silver or gold on their idols, because this can lead to bringing detestable things into the home.
The Book of Joshua contains a narrative in which Achan incurred the wrath of God by coveting prohibited gold and silver that he found in the destruction of Jericho. This is portrayed as a violation of covenant and a disgraceful thing.Joshua 7
The Book of Proverbs warns against coveting, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it's the wellspring of life."Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) The prophet Micah condemns the coveting of houses and fields as a warning against lusting after physical possessions.Micah 2:2 The Hebrew word for "covet" can also be translated as "lust", and the book of Proverbs warns against coveting in the form of sexual lust.
Jewish views This commandment is directed against the sin of envy. Man is given the gift of human intelligence in order to be able to sift out the good from the bad, even in his/her own thoughts.Wollenburg, Mordechai. "Thought Control", Chabad.org Bava Batra teaches that a person can even harm his neighbor with his eyes. It asserts that damage caused by looking is also regarded as damage that is prohibited. Even if the covetous desire is concealed in the heart, the covetous desire in itself is regarded by the Torah as damaging to the neighbor.The Tenth Commandment: "You Shan't Covet" by Rav Elchanan Samet
Philo of Alexandria describes covetous desire as a kind of insurrection and plotting against others, because the passions of the soul are formidable. He regards desire as the worst kind of passion, but also one over which the individual exercises voluntary control. Therefore, near the conclusion of his discourse on the Decalogue, Philo exhorts the individual to make use of this commandment to cut off desire, the fountain of all iniquity. Left unchecked, covetous desire is the source of personal, interpersonal, and international strife: "Is the love of money, or of women, or of glory, or of any one of the other efficient causes of pleasure, the origin of slight and ordinary evils? Isn't it owing to this passion that relationships are broken asunder, and change the good will which originates in nature into an irreconcilable enmity? And aren't great countries and populous kingdoms made desolate by domestic seditions, through such causes? And aren't earth and sea continually filled with novel and terrible calamities by naval battles and military expeditions for the same reason?"
Abraham ibn Ezra taught that a person can control his desires by training his heart to be content with what God has allotted to him. "When he knows that God has forbidden his neighbor's wife to him, then she's more elevated in his eyes than the princess in the eyes of the peasant. And so he's satisfied with his portion and doesn't allow his heart to covet and desire something that's not his, for he knows that God doesn't wish to give it to him; he cannot take it by force or by his thoughts or schemes. He has faith in his Creator, that He'll provide for him and do what's good in His eyes."
Maimonides (the Rambam) viewed the prohibition of coveting as a fence or boundary intended to keep adherents a safe distance away from the very serious sins of theft, adultery, and murder: "Desire leads to coveting, and coveting leads to stealing. For if the owner (of the coveted object) doesn't wish to sell, even though he is offered a good price and is entreated to accept, the person (who covets the object) will come to steal it, as it's written (Mikha 2:2) [Micah 2:2], 'They covet fields and (then) steal them.' And if the owner approaches him with a view to reclaiming his money or preventing the theft, then he'll come to murder. Go and learn from the example of Achav [Ahab] and Navot [Naboth]." Maimonides' admonition to learn from the example of Ahab and Naboth refers to the narrative in 1 Kings 21 in which King Ahab of Israel tried to convince Naboth the Jezreelite to sell him the vineyard Naboth owned adjacent to the king's palace. Ahab wanted the land to use as a vegetable garden, but Naboth refused to sell or trade the property to Ahab saying, "The forbid that I should give up to you what I've inherited from my fathers!"1 Kings 21:4 (JPS) Ahab's wife Jezebel then conspired to obtain the vineyard by writing letters in Ahab's name to the elders and nobles in Naboth's town instructing them to have two scoundrels bear false witness claiming that Naboth has cursed both God and the king. After Naboth was subsequently stoned to death, Ahab seized possession of Naboth's vineyard. The text describes the as very angry with Ahab, and the prophet Elijah pronounces judgment on both Ahab and Jezebel.1 Kings 21:20-23
New Testament views The Gospel of Luke describes Jesus' warning to guard one's heart against covetousness. "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life doesn't consist in the abundance of his possessions."Luke 12:15 ESV Jesus also describes the sins that defile a person as sins from coming from untamed desires in the heart.Mark 7:20-22 The Epistle of James portrays covetous desire residing in the heart as being the internal source of temptation and sin.James 1:13-15 James goes on to describe how covetous desire leads to fighting and that lack of material possessions is caused by not asking God for them and by asking with wrong motives.
The Epistle to the Ephesians and the Epistle to the Colossians regard the sin of covetousness as a kind of idolatry and list this sin along with sexual immorality and impurity which give rise to the wrath of God.Ephesians 5:3-6, Colossians 3:5-6
The New Testament stresses thanksgiving and contentment as proper heart attitudes that contrast covetousness. John the Baptist exhorted soldiers to be content with their pay rather than extorting money by threats and false accusations.Luke 3:14 The book of Hebrews encourages one to keep his life free from the love of money and "be content with what you have" and depend on the promises and help of God rather than trusting in wealth.Hebrews 13:5-6 The book of 1 Timothy contains a classic warning against the love of money and stresses that it's great gain to be content with food and clothing.
Catholic Church views
The Catholic Church considers the prohibition on coveting in Deuteronomy 5:21 and Exodus 20:17 to include two commandments, which are numbered the ninth and tenth. In the Catholic view, the ninth commandment is a prohibition on carnal concupiscence (or lust), and the tenth commandment prohibits greed and the setting of one's heart on material possessions.
Prohibition of carnal concupiscence (lust) The ninth commandment forbids "the interior, mental desire or plan" to do adultery, which is strictly forbidden by the sixth commandment. It's considered sinful when desired or thought lustfully and deliberately with "full knowledge and full consent of the will".
A key point in the Catholic understanding of the ninth commandment is Jesus' statement in the Sermon on the Mount, "Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."Catechism of the Catholic Church, The Ninth Commandment, Matthew 5:28 There is an emphasis on the thoughts and attitudes of the heart as well as the promise that the pure in heart will both see God and be like him.
While baptism confers upon the Christian the grace of purification from sins, the baptized must continue to struggle against disordered desires and the lust of the flesh. By God's grace he can prevail 1) by virtue of the gift of chastity which empowers love with an undivided and upright heart 2) by purity of intention which seeks to find and fulfill the will of God in everything 3) by purity of vision which disciplines the feelings and imagination and refuses complicity with impure thoughts, and 4) by prayer which looks to God for help against temptation and casts one's cares upon God.Catechism of the Catholic Church 2520
Adherence to the ninth commandment's requirement of purity requires modesty, which "protects the intimate center of the person". Modesty refuses to uncover "what should remain hidden". Modesty is a servant of chastity and guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in protective conformity with the dignity of the human person. Modesty encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships, requiring that the conditions for the definitive giving and commitment of man and woman be fulfilled to one another. It's a decency that inspires one's clothing. Modesty is discreet and avoids harmful curiosity.
In addition to personal purity and modesty, the Catholic Church teaches that Christian purity requires a purification of the social climate. Communications media ought to demonstrate respect and restraint in their presentations which should be free from widespread eroticism and the inclination to voyeurism and illusion. Moral permissiveness rests on a wrongheaded understanding of human freedom. Education in the moral law is necessary for the development of true freedom. Educators should be expected to give young people "instruction respectful of the truth, the qualities of the heart, and the moral and spiritual dignity of man."Catechism of the Catholic Church 2525-2526
Prohibition of greed and envy of possessions