Antioquia

Greek word · Strong G4124

What does covetousness mean?

Covetousness is greed: the craving to have more, which is never satisfied. It is the King James word for the Greek pleonexia — literally “wanting to have more” — and Paul calls it idolatry (Colossians 3:5). The tenth commandment goes to its root: “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17).

πλεονεξία

pleonexía · transliteration

In Strong’s lexicon
avarice, i.e. (by implication) fraudulency, extortion
In the King James
  • covetousness8
Appears in
10 verses

See the full G4124 entry →Also in the lexicon: H2530 חָמַד

The meaning of covetousness in the Bible

Pleonexia joins pleon, more, and echo, to have: it is wanting more than one has, and more than others have. Jesus warned against it just before telling the parable of the rich man who thought only of bigger barns: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15).

Paul calls it idolatry — “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5) — because the heart ends up serving what it craves. The tenth commandment had already named the root with another word, the Hebrew chamad (H2530): “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house” (Exodus 20:17). And Paul reminds Timothy that “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Where covetousness appears

Luke 12:15

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
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Colossians 3:5

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
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Ephesians 5:3

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
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Exodus 20:17

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
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Frequently asked questions

What does “Thou shalt not covet” mean?
It is the tenth commandment (Exodus 20:17): not craving what belongs to your neighbor — his house, his wife, his servants, his ox, or anything that is his. It is the commandment that deals with desire itself, and Paul says it was this one that showed him his sin (Romans 7:7).
Why is covetousness idolatry?
Because it puts possessions in God's place: what is desired without limit starts to rule the heart. That is why Jesus says no one can serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24), and Paul calls covetousness idolatry (Colossians 3:5).

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