Epi – to spring up from Thumesai – Strong, violent or impure desire
Greek Lexicons and commentaries describe this word as being evil and impure lust.
As their proof text they cite:
Exodus
20:17 Thou shalt
not covet (Epi-thumia
To be greatly desired, To be lusted after) thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet (Epi-thumia To be greatly desired, To be lusted after) thy neighbour's wife, nor
his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing
that is thy neighbour's.
However in this word study we shall see that Epi-Thumia and Epi-Themeo are neutral so that one’s strong passions can be both for good and for evil.
Genesis 31:30 And
now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou
sore (Epi-thumia
To be greatly desired, To be lusted after) longedst (Epi-thumesas) after
thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
Genesis 49:14
(Septuagint) Issachar has desired (Epi-thumia To be greatly desired,
To be lusted after) that which is
good resting (Ana-Pauo-Meno Ana up or upon, Pauo-
To pause, To cease,
Meno from his abiding) (Ana Up or
Upon) between (Meson) the (Ton) inheritances (Kleron Lot, allotment or
portion)[And has found an abiding in his allotted
portion from the Lord by having ceased from his own.]
Hebrews 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. (The writer of Hebrews is citing Genesis 49:14 from the Septuagint)
Exodus 34:24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and
enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire (Epi-themeo To be greatly desired,
To be lusted after)
thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before
the LORD thy God thrice in the year.
Numbers
11:4 And
the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting
(epi-themeo To be greatly desired, To be lusted after): and the children of
Deuteronomy
5:21 Neither
shalt thou desire (epi-themeo To be greatly desired,
To be lusted after) thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet (epi-themeo To be greatly desired, To be lusted after) thy neighbour's
house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or
any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Deuteronomy 7:25 The graven images of their gods shall
ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire (epi-themeo To
be greatly desired, To be lusted after) the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it
unto thee, lest thou be snared therin: for it is an
abomination to the LORD thy God.
Deuteronomy
12:20 When
the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth
(epi-themeo To be
greatly desired, To be lusted after) after.
Deuteronomy 18:6 And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire (epi-themeo To be greatly desired, To be lusted after) of his mind unto the place which the LORD shall choose;
2 Chronicles 8:6 And Baalath, and all the store cities
that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen,
and all that Solomon desired (Epi-thumia To be greatly desired,
To be lusted after) to build in
Proverbs 6:25 Lust
(Epi-thumia To be greatly desired, To be lusted after) not after her beauty in thine
heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
Proverbs 10:24 The
fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire (Epi-thumia To
be greatly desired, To be lusted after)
of the righteous shall be granted.
Proverbs 11:23 The
desire (Epi-thumia
To be greatly desired, To be lusted after) of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of
the wicked is wrath.
Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth,
(Epi-thumia To be
greatly desired, To be lusted after)
and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
Proverbs 13:12 Hope
deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire (Epi-thumia To be greatly desired,
To be lusted after) cometh, it is a tree of life.
Proverbs 21:25-26 The desire (Epi-thumia To be greatly desired, To be lusted after) of the slothful killeth
him; for his hands refuse to labour. He coveteth (Epi-thumia To
be greatly desired, To be lusted after) greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth
and spareth not.
Song of Solomon 5:16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely (Epi-thumia To
be greatly desired, To be lusted after). This is my
beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of
Daniel 9:23 (Septuagint)
At the beginning of thy supplications the word (Logos) came forth, (From the Father) and I am come to shew thee;
for thou a man of greatly beloved (Epi-thumia To be greatly desired, To be lusted after,):
therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision. (Because Daniel
was a man of strong desires or of great passion the Lord heard and answered his
Epi-Thumia)
Hebrews 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from
death, and was heard in that he feared; (Christ as Daniel was a man of Epi-thumia – and it is reflected in how we are told
that he prayed here)
The
prayer of the church has become passionless and there fore it has lost its
meaning. None pray with any sincerity
they indeed pray taught desires and taught wants to consume upon their own
lusts – God will not hear any of this. None pray with any fervency, none pray
with any urgency, and as the prayer is not moved therefore the Father is not
moved either, and therefore He does not send forth His Logos, or dispatch any
angels to minister to His people.
When we
look at those who sought God with success in scripture we see people that were
to the wall, they were impassioned in their pleas either for their own needs
such as Hannah or the needs of their brethren as Moses. And when God hears the
true cry of one’s spirit he responds, as opposed to when He hears the
manufactured lying ineffective gobbledygook that is preached today as patterns
for prayer, intercession, and our seeking the face of God.
James 5:16 Confess
your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (As in the case of Daniel’s Epi-thumia prayer and fasting)
James 5:17 Elias
was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it
might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and
six months.
Daniel 10:3 I
ate no pleasant (Epi-thumia
To be greatly desired, To be lusted after,): bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my
mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were
fulfilled. (I ate no food I hungered after, or desired,
neither did I eat any flesh or drink any wine)
In the mid 1970’s a doctrine
concerning the fast of Daniel was promoted in a book declaring that this was
one of the “many” fasts in the bible that this was a fast of eating plain bread
or plain foods, the book promoted fruit juice fasts, fasts that one can eat
crackers and the like as well as many other powerless and empty fasts – later
others embroidered on these false teachings that one could claim to be on a fast by not drinking coffee or soda or not
eating cheesecake or steak for a few days – Here we clearly see that the fast
of Daniel was on of standard fare with the one fasting eating nothing and
drinking only water for a prescribed period of time (Note
that this occurred after the fast prophesied of by Isaiah, did Christ’s forty
day fast)
Daniel 10:11 And
he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, (Epi-thumia To
be greatly desired, To be lusted after,): understand the words that I speak unto thee,
and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this
word unto me, I stood trembling. (Because Daniel was a man of strong desires or of great
passion the Lord heard and answered his Epi-Thumia)
Daniel 10:19 And said, O man greatly beloved, (Epi-thumia To be greatly desired, To be lusted after,) fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. (Because Daniel was a man of strong desires or of great passion the Lord heard and answered his Epi-Thumia)
Daniel 11:36-37 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall
exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall
prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall
be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his
fathers, nor the desire of women, (Epi-thumia To be greatly desired,
To be lusted after,) nor
regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. (The Antichrist
will be gay)