ἐπιθυμέωepithyméō
to set the heart upon, i.e. long for (rightfully or otherwise)
Greek (New Testament) · G1937
Meanings
to set one's heart upon, desire, lust after, covet: absolutely, James 4:2, Romans 7:7, Romans 13:9 (LXX), 1 Corinthians 10:6 (of. 4 Maccabees 2:6); followed by κατά (against, in opposition to), Galatians 5:17; properly (as in classical Greek) with genitive, Acts 20:33, 1 Timothy 3:1; in late Gk. also with acc, Matthew 5:28 (Rec. αὐτῆς; T omits; cf. Exodus 20:17, Micah 2:2, Wisdom 16:3, and elsewhere); with infinitive, Matthew 13:17, Luke 15:16, Luke 16:21, Luke 17:22, 1 Peter 1:12, Revelation 9:6; with acc et infinitive, Hebrews 6:11; as in Hebrew, ἐπιθυμία ἐπεθύμησα, Luke 22:15.
Synonyms
ὀρέγω, θέλω
Same root
- ἐπίepí · G1909properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution (with the genitive case), i.e. over, upon, etc.; of rest (with the dative case) at, on, etc.; of direction (with the accusative case) towards, upon, etc.
- θυμόςthymós · G2372passion (as if breathing hard)
- ἐπιθυμητήςepithymētḗs · G1938a craver
- ἐπιθυμίαepithymía · G1939a longing (especially for what is forbidden)
Where it appears
Appears 16 times in the Bible.
- Matthew 5:28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
- Matthew 13:17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
- Luke 15:16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
- Luke 16:21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.
- Luke 17:22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it.
- Luke 22:15 Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.
Source: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), public domain.