Hebrew word · H185

אַוָּה

'avat

desire

Desire, craving, longing: the pull of appetite toward something. The related noun taʾavah and the verb ʾivvah ("to crave") cover the same ground. In itself it is neutral. Context decides whether the craving is fine or blameworthy.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

desire, lust, will (not necessarily evil)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Deuteronomy 12:15

Range of meaning

Desire, craving, longing: the pull of appetite toward something. The related noun taʾavah and the verb ʾivvah ("to crave") cover the same ground. In itself it is neutral. Context decides whether the craving is fine or blameworthy.

Against the English

KJV "lusteth after"; WEB "desire"; BSB "whenever you want"; ESV and NIV give it a sense of quantity ("as much as…"). The KJV wording is accurate for 1611, when "lust" meant any strong wish, but today it misleads.

How it drifted

In 1611 English, "lust" covered any desire, appetite included. By the modern period it had narrowed to sexual or sinful desire, so the KJV line now sounds like a warning when it is actually a permission.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same phrase "in all the craving of your nefesh" occurs in Deut 12:20–21 and 18:6 (a Levite who comes to the sanctuary "with all the desire of his soul", a fully positive sense), and in 1 Sam 23:20 ("according to all the desire of your soul to come down"). Jer 2:24 uses it for a wild donkey in heat. The related taʾavah names the wilderness "craving" for meat in Num 11:4, 34 (Kibroth-hattaavah, "graves of craving").

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 4

  1. Deuteronomy 12:15 אַוַּ֨ת [the] desire of

    But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Both the ceremonially clean and unclean may eat it as they would a gazelle or deer,

    Here: An ordinary, physical craving, here the wish for meat. It is morally neutral and carries no hint of sin or sexual desire.

  2. Deuteronomy 12:20 אַוַּ֥ת [the] desire

    When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want.

    Here: "The craving of." This noun comes from the same root as the verb te'avveh. The idiom "all the craving of your nephesh" means "whenever and as much as you want" (also in Deut 12:15, 21; 18:6; 1 Sam 23:20).

  3. Deuteronomy 12:21 אַוַּ֥ת [the] desire of

    If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you may slaughter any of the herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.

  4. Deuteronomy 18:6 אַוַּ֣ת [the] desire of

    Now if a Levite moves from any town of residence throughout Israel and comes in all earnestness to the place the LORD will choose,

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 23:20 אַוַּ֨ת [the] desire of

    Now, O king, come down whenever your soul desires, and we will be responsible for delivering him into your hand.”

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 2:24 בְּאַוַּ֤ת in [the] lust of

    a wild donkey at home in the wilderness, sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire. Who can restrain her passion? All who seek her need not weary themselves; in mating season they will find her.

    Here: 'Avvah is strong appetite or craving. In Deuteronomy 12 it is used for wanting meat. It is not a sexual word in itself; the context of animal heat gives it that colour here.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 10:10 בְּאַוָּתִ֖י at desire my

    I will chasten them when I please; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bondage for their double transgression.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.