תַּאֲוָה taavah
Hebrew word for “desire” · Strong’s H8378 · used 20 times in 20 verses
Meaning
1) desire; 1a) desire, wish, longings of one's heart; 1a1) lust, appetite, covetousness (bad sense); 1b) thing desired, object of desire
How it is translated
Glosses given for taavah in context, with how often each is used:
- desire 16
- craving 3
- delight 1
Where it is used
Chapters where it is used most
Psalms 10 (2), Psalms 78 (2), Proverbs 13 (2), Proverbs 21 (2), Genesis 3 (1), Numbers 11 (1), Job 33 (1), Psalms 21 (1), Psalms 38 (1), Psalms 106 (1)
Forms
- תאות 8
- תאוה 7
- תאותי 1
- ותאותם 1
- מתאותם 1
- ותאות 1
- לתאוה 1
Words used with it
Words that share verses with taavah more often than their overall frequency would suggest:
- אָוָה avah “to desire” 3
- רָשָׁע rasah “wicked” 4
- צַדִּיק tsaddiq “righteous” 3
- נֶפֶשׁ nephesh “soul” 4
- מַאֲכָל maakhal “food” 2
- טוֹב tov “pleasant” 3
- לֵב lev “heart” 3
- אָכַל akhal “to eat” 3
- עֵץ ets “tree” 2
- חַי chay “alive” 2
- גַּם gam “also” 2
- רָאָה raah “to see” 2
Key verses
The verses using taavah that are most connected by cross-references (King James Version):
- Genesis 3:6 — 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…
- Numbers 11:4 — And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
- Psalms 10:3 — For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
- Psalms 10:17 — LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
- Psalms 106:14 — But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
- Psalms 112:10 — The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
- Proverbs 10:24 — The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
- Proverbs 13:12 — Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
- Proverbs 18:1 — Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.
- Proverbs 19:22 — The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.
- Proverbs 21:25 — The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
- Isaiah 26:8 — Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
See all 20 verses in the Word Atlas
Hebrew and Greek text, tagging, glosses and lexicon definitions: STEPBible.org, Tyndale House Cambridge (TAHOT, TAGNT, TBESH, TBESG; CC BY 4.0), adapted. Counts follow King James verse numbering; a word counts each time it is written.