Coveting

To covet means to desire or to wish for. More specifically, coveting means that to desire that something or someone belongs to you (typically to the point of being willing to do something to get what you want). The primary words translated as "covet" are "hamad", which means "desire", "(to be) desirable", or "(to) delight"; and "ava", which means "to wish for" or "desire". God's Law forbids us from coveting certain things (or certain people).

Coveting that is Forbidden

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's." - Exodus 20:17

"Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his donkey, or any thing that is thy neighbor's." - Deuteronomy 5:21

These things listed here are what you cannot have because they belong to someone else.

"The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God." - Deuteronomy 7:25

The things listed here you cannot have because they are used to serve other gods.

Coveting that is Allowed

Because of the rule of Freedom by Default, whatever form of coveting that is not forbidden is allowed. Whether that which is coveted is a person, animal, or thing, desiring (coveting it) is allowed unless it is something that falls in the list of things that one is not allowed to covet.

Relationship With Lust

Lust and coveting are the same thing. One can lust after (covet/desire) a thing just as easily as they can lust after (covet/desire) a person. The King James Bible does a great job of pointing this out in Romans 7:7. Any use of the word "lust" that is not synonymous with the word "covet" or "desire" is incorrect.

Jesus' Teaching on Lust

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:27-28; NIV.

In order to properly interpret this passage, one must (a) keep in mind that lust means covet, (b) keep in mind that adding to God's commands is forbidden [1][2], and (c) apply the rule of Freedom by Default.

To look lustfully at a woman means to covet her. And to commit adultery means to to have sexual relationships with someone else's wife. Jesus linked a man coveting a woman to committing adultery with her in his heart. This link can only work if having sexual relationships with said woman would be adultery, which means the woman being coveted is married to someone else. This teaching is very specific in meaning: If you desire that someone else's wife belonged to you, then you have already committed adultery with her in your heart.

Correcting False Teachings

Because lust is the same as coveting, lust is not inherently sexual in nature. A man simply looking on a woman does not qualify as lust. Nor is it lustful for a man to find a woman attractive or beautiful. In fact, it is part of God's deliberate design that a man finds a woman to be attractive and beautiful. In fact, absolutely nothing that is typically thought of as being "lustful" qualifies as lust except that a man desires that she belongs to him (regardless of whether she is already taken).