10th Commandment: Do Not Desire Your Neighbor’s Possessions

The 10 Commandments E13 — We’ve arrived at the 10th and final commandment, which feels very different from all the ones that came before it: “Do not desire … anything that belongs to your neighbor.” While most translations use the word “covet,” we simply find khamad,which is the general Hebrew word for desire. All the other commandments involve observable actions, but desire is entirely internal. So why does God warn us about desiring things that belong to our neighbor? In this episode, Jon and Tim finish the 10 Commandments by showing how this command works as an undercurrent beneath all the others.

FULL SHOW NOTES

For chapter-by-chapter summaries, biblical words, referenced Scriptures, and reflection questions, check out the full show notes for this episode.

CHAPTERS

1. The Meaning of “Desire” (0:00-21:13)
2. How the Hebrew Bible Talks About Desire (21:13-37:21)
3. What All Our Desires Point To (37:21-59:30)

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS BIBLEPROJECT TRANSLATION

View our full translation of the 10 Commandments.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

• Find the related animated video for this episode here.
• Find the 10 Commandments full collection of resources here.
• “The Twofold Center of Christian Ethics: Christian Freedom and God's Commandments” by Reinhard Hütter (essay in The Promise of Lutheran Ethics,edited by Karen L. Bloomquist and John R. Stumme)
• The Ten Commandments: Interpretation: Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church by Patrick D. Miller
• Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books.

SHOW MUSIC

• “Morning Light feat. Oly.Lo” by Lofi Sunday
• “Hilltops feat. JK Beatbrook” by Lofi Sunday
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS 

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey and Aaron Olsen edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie.

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