What Does Exodus 20:17 Mean in the King James?
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.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The command exposes possession as something that begins in the gaze before it appears in the hand.
THE MEANING
Your neighbor’s home, relationships, work, animals, and every belonging remain theirs even within your desire. The verse sets the boundary before anything is taken, then closes the list with “any thing” so no category is left outside it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this undoes is that only taking crosses the boundary; the verse names the inward claim that can come before the outward act.
THE ROOT
תַחְמֹד
taḥmōd
GROWS FROM
חמד
To desire, find desirable, or take pleasure in.
“covet” in this verse is taḥmōd. This root can describe something seen as lovely or valuable; here, the command turns attention to what that desire is fixed on: what belongs to your neighbor. The word reaches the inward valuation before any seizure, while “any thing” keeps the boundary from shrinking to the items listed.
ALSO GROWS
neḥmād: Desirable, pleasant, or lovely.
נֶחְמָד
Genesis describes the tree as “to be desired”; the same root lets you see desire before the act of taking.
ḥemdāh: A desirable or precious thing.
חֶמְדָּה
This noun carries the same seed into the idea of something valued; Exodus focuses that desire on what belongs to another.
THE PATTERN
Desire can cross a boundary inwardly before taking crosses it outwardly.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.THE THREAD
And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.Micah uses the same root חמד for desiring another’s fields, then pairs that desire with violent taking. Exodus names the inward seed; Micah shows the harm it can grow into.
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