You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife -- By: Robert I. Vasholz
Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 49:2 (Fall 1987)
Article: You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife
Author: Robert I. Vasholz
WTJ 49:2 (Fall 1987) p. 397
You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” is one of the components of the tenth commandment whose meaning may not be clear. In the past, the discussion on the tenth commandment (Exod 20:17 and Deut 5:21) has focused generally on the meaning of the Hebrew verb ḥmd “to covet.” Does this word mean only “to long ardently after” or does it also include the meaning “to do anything to obtain it” as well? In my opinion William L. Moran, U. Cassuto, and J. P. Hyatt have argued convincingly that ḥmd does not necessarily include a corresponding action though it may mean that elsewhere in Scripture as in Exod 34:24.1 As B. Childs pointed out, the use of ʾwh “to desire” in Deut 5:21 for the second use of ḥmd in Exod 20:17 provides reinforcement of the subjective side of the prohibition already contained in the original command.2
To advance the discussion we move our focus to what it means “to covet your neighbor’s wife.” With the conclusion above that ḥmd means “to crave” or “to long after” in the tenth commandment, it has been suggested that this commandment pertains to sexually lusting after another’s wife. Support for this interpretation is drawn from Prov 6:25, “Do not lust in your heart after her beauty.” U. Cassuto surmises, therefore, that this command acts as a hedge around the seventh commandment.3 If one never lusts after his neighbor’s wife, he will never be tempted to commit adultery with her.
There is reasonable doubt, however, that ḥmd here means “to lust” because the tenth commandment continues to include the prohibition of coveting his neighbor’s house, male servant, ox, donkey, and
WTJ 49:2 (Fall 1987) p. 398
all that he has. All of these items cannot be the objects of sexual desire. It is noteworthy that Jesus did not cite the tenth commandment when he said “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”4 Rather, he quoted the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
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