H8378 H8378
Desire, craving, longing; the quality of being desirable; as a Piel verb, to actively desire something.
This feminine noun from the root אוה ('to desire, crave') spans the full emotional spectrum of human wanting. It can describe the wholesome longing of a righteous heart — 'the desire of the righteous is only good' (Prov 11:23) — or the destructive craving that drove Israel to demand meat in the wilderness, giving Kibroth-hattaavah ('graves of craving') its ominous name (Num 11:34). The German 'Verlangen' (longing) and Spanish 'deseo' both reflect the core meaning, while the single Genesis 3:6 occurrence — where the forbidden tree was 'desirable' to make one wise — reveals how desire can attach to objects themselves as a perceived quality.
Senses
1. desire, wish — A neutral or general desire, wish, or hope — something one wants without inherent moral coloring. In Proverbs 13:12 'desire fulfilled is a tree of life,' and in Psalm 10:17 God hears the 'desire of the humble.' The Spanish 'deseo' and German 'Verlangen' both capture this broad, everyday wanting. Psalm 21:2 celebrates that God has granted the king 'the desire of his heart,' showing this sense can be thoroughly positive. 11×
AR["شَهوَة","شَهوَةٍ","شَهْوَةٌ","شَهْوَةَ","شَهْوَةُ","شَهْوَةِ","وَ-شَهْوَةُ"]·ben["ইচ্ছা","এবং-কামনা","কাঙ্ক্ষিত","কামনা"]·DE["Verlangen","[ותאות]","[תאות]","der-Verlangen-von"]·EN["a-desire","but-the-desire-of","desire","desire-of","is-a-desire","the-desire-of"]·FR["désir","désir-de","et-désir"]·heb["ו-תאוות","תאווה","תאוות"]·HI["अपने-प्राण-की","अभिलाषा","इच्छा","इच्छा-के","और-इच्छा"]·ID["Keinginan","keinginan","tetapi-keinginan"]·IT["desiderio","e-desiderio"]·jav["Pepenginan","ingkang-enak","kapenginané","kekarepan","kekarepan-saking","lan-kekarepan-saking","pepenginan","pepénginan","pepénginan-saking"]·KO["그러나-소원-을","소원-은","소원-을","소원-이","소원은","소원의","욕망이","욕심-을"]·PT["Desejo","Desejo-de","O-desejo","desejo","e-desejo-de","o-desejo"]·RU["а-желание","желание","желанной","похоти"]·ES["Deseo","Deseo-de","El-deseo-de","El-deseo-del","deseo","deseo-de","el-deseo-de","y-deseo-de"]·SW["Tamaa-ya","kitamu","lakini-tamaa-ya","ni-tamaa","tamaa","tamaa-ya"]·TR["arzu","arzudur","arzusu","arzusudur","arzusunu","ve-arzusu","özlem"]·urd["اور-خواہش","خواہش","لذیذ"]
2. craving, lust, appetite — An intense craving, lust, or covetous appetite, especially for physical or forbidden things. Numbers 11:4 describes Israel 'craving a craving' (הִתְאַוּוּ תַּאֲוָה, cognate accusative), and the place-name Kibroth-hattaavah memorializes the deadly cost. Psalm 78:29-30 and 106:14 revisit this wilderness gluttony. Proverbs 21:25-26 warns that the sluggard's 'craving' kills him. The Spanish 'deseo' is identical in form to sense 1, but context makes the darker valence unmistakable. 6×
AR["شَهوَةً","شَهْوَةً","عَنْ-شَهْوَتِهِمْ","لِشَهْوَةٍ","وَشَهْوَتَهُمْ"]·ben["-ইচ্ছায়","ইচ্ছা","এবং-তাদের-কামনা","তাদের-কামনা-থেকে","লালসা"]·DE["Verlangen","craving","ein-craving","und-ihr-craving","von-ihr-craving","zu-Verlangen"]·EN["a-craving","and-their-craving","craving","for-desire","from-their-craving"]·FR["de-désir","désir","et-désir","un-craving","à-désir"]·heb["ו-תאוותם","ל-תאווה","מ-תאוותם","תאוה","תאווה"]·HI["अपनी-इच्छा-से","इच्छा-के-लिए","और-उनकी-इच्छा","लालच-में","लालसा"]·ID["Untuk-keinginan","dan-keinginan-mereka","dari-keinginan-mereka","keberahan","keinginan"]·IT["desiderio","e-desiderio","per-desiderio","un-craving"]·jav["kanggé-pepénginan","pepenginan","pepinginan","pepénginan","saha-kekarepan-ipun","saking-kekarepan-ipun"]·KO["그들-의-욕망-에서","그들-의-욕망-을","욕망-을-위하여","욕망을","탐욕-을","탐함"]·PT["Para-desejo","cobiça","de-seu-desejo","desejo","e-seu-desejo"]·RU["для-желания","желанием","и-желание-их","от-желания-своего"]·ES["Para-deseo","de-deseo-de-ellos","deseo","y-deseo-de-ellos"]·SW["kutoka-tamaa-yao","kwa-tamaa-yake","na-tamaa-yao","tamaa"]·TR["arzu","arzularından","arzuyla-","ve-arzularını"]·urd["اور-اُن-کی-خواہش","خواہش","خواہش-کے-لیے","لالچ","مِن-اپنی-خواہش"]
3. longing, yearning — A deep, personal longing or yearning, often directed toward God or expressing heartfelt devotion. Isaiah 26:8 speaks of the soul's yearning for God's name and remembrance — 'the desire of our soul is for your name.' Psalm 38:9 uses it for a groan of spiritual anguish: 'all my longing is before you.' The German 'Sehnsucht' (soul-longing) captures the emotional depth that sets this apart from ordinary wishing. 2×
AR["شَوْقي","شَوْقُ-"]·ben["আমার-ইচ্ছা","কামনা-"]·DE["[תאות]","mein-Sehnsucht"]·EN["and-for-Your-remembrance","my-longing"]·FR["[תאות]","désir"]·heb["תאוות","תאוות-י"]·HI["इच्छा-मेरी","चाहत-"]·ID["kerinduan-"]·IT["[תאות]","desiderio"]·jav["kapang-","kekajengan-kula"]·KO["내-소원-이","소원이라-"]·PT["desejo-de-","meu-desejo"]·RU["желание-","желание-моё"]·ES["deseo-de","mi-deseo"]·SW["hamu-","tamaa-yangu"]·TR["arzum","arzusu-"]·urd["خواہش","میری-خواہش"]
4. desirableness, attractiveness — The quality of being desirable or attractive — functioning almost as an adjective. In Genesis 3:6 the forbidden tree was 'desirable (תַּאֲוָה) to make one wise,' describing the object's appeal rather than the subject's emotion. The German 'eine-Lust' (a delight) and Spanish 'deseo' here point to the tree's alluring quality. This single occurrence marks a subtle but important shift from subjective desire to objective desirableness. 1×
AR["شَهْوَةٌ-"]·ben["লালসা"]·DE["eine-Lust-"]·EN["desirable-"]·FR["desirable-"]·heb["תאוה"]·HI["लालच-"]·ID["menarik"]·IT["desirable-"]·jav["dados-pepenginan"]·KO["갈망"]·PT["desejável-"]·RU["желанно-"]·ES["deseo-"]·SW["unapendeza-"]·TR["arzu-edilen-"]·urd["خواہش"]
5. to desire (Piel verb) — A verbal (Piel) use meaning to actively desire or choose something. In 1 Samuel 2:16, the priest's servant says 'if the man desires' (יְאַוֶּה), using the verb form rather than the noun. Though the root is the same, the morphology shifts from noun to active verb, indicating the deliberate exercise of preference. The multilingual glosses — English 'desires,' Spanish 'desea' — uniformly treat this as a simple active verb. 1×
AR["تَشْتَهِي"]·ben["চায়"]·DE["desires"]·EN["desires"]·FR["desires"]·heb["תתאווה"]·HI["चाहती"]·ID["mengingini"]·IT["desideri"]·jav["ngersakaken"]·KO["소원한다"]·PT["desejar"]·RU["желает"]·ES["desea"]·SW["anatamani"]·TR["canının-istediği"]·urd["چاہے"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. תַּאֲוָה n.f. desire—abs. Gn 3:6 +; cstr. תַּאֲוַת ψ 10:3 + etc.;— 1. desire, wish Pr 13:12, 19; 18:1; of physical appetite, longing for dainty food מַאֲכַל ת׳ Jb 33:20; distinctly good sense ψ 10:17; 38:10 Pr 11:23, 19:22 (? cf. infr.) Is 26:8 (��ְשִׁמְךָ וּלְזִכְרְךָ ת׳־נָ֑פֶשׁ); bad sense, lust, appetite, covetousness ψ 10:3 (ת׳ נַפְשׁוֹ) 112:10; Pr 21:25, 26 (as acc. cogn.); particularly…