Hebrew word · H4262

מַחְמֹד

machamudeiha

desirable

What is desired or delighted in: precious things, treasures, darlings. It comes from the root chamad, 'to desire', the verb of 'you shall not covet' (Exodus 20:17). This exact form occurs only in Lamentations 1:7 and 1:11; the closely related machmad (H4261) is more common.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

desirable, precious thing

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 Lamentations 1:7

Range of meaning: What is desired or delighted in: precious things, treasures, darlings. It comes from the root chamad, 'to desire', the verb of 'you shall not covet' (Exodus 20:17). This exact form occurs only in Lamentations 1:7 and 1:11; the closely related machmad (H4261) is more common.
Against the English: BSB and NIV use 'treasures'; ESV and NASB use 'precious things'; KJV and WEB use 'pleasant things'; YLT uses 'desirable things'; NLT condenses to 'ancient splendor'. 'Treasures' suggests objects only, while the word family can include people.
How it drifted: 'Pleasant' was a stronger word in 1611, meaning delightful. Today it suggests something merely agreeable, which is far too mild.
Used elsewhere in the period: Lamentations 1:10 has the enemy reaching for 'all her treasures' just before foreigners enter the sanctuary. 2 Chronicles 36:19 speaks of 'all her precious vessels' destroyed in the same catastrophe. Isaiah 64:11 joins 'all our precious things' to the burned temple. Ezekiel 24:21 calls the temple the 'delight of your eyes', and Hosea 9:16 uses the word family for beloved children. Lamentations 2:4 uses it of people.

Where it appears

Lamentations · 1

Lamentations 1:7 מַחֲמֻדֶ֔יהָ precious things her

In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands she received no help. Her enemies looked upon her, laughing at her downfall.

Here: 'Her treasured things', literally what is desired or delighted in. It comes from the same root as 'covet' in the Ten Commandments, and the word family can cover temple valuables, wealth and even beloved people.

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