Here is the full Genesis 3:6 verse as it is referenced repeatedly in this page "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate" (Genesis 3:6).
When we look at the word "desirable", it represents a state of being, so "desire" is part of the nature of the person. Princeton University WordNet (2010, accessed 18 May 2020 [opens to wordnetweb.princeton.edu]) indicates "desire" means "the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state".
Here are three states of desirable/desire:
See, in James 4:2, replacng the word "desire" with "the feeling of attraction" we arrive at James' sentence of "you feel attraction and do not have" which matches with Princeton's "the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state"; therefore, Princeton's phrasing of the "desire" definition matches the Biblical phrasing of "desire" as provided by James.
Now, taking this from another angle. "The feeling of attraction" that accompanies an unsatisfied state. The preceding sentence equivalently fits the Princeton definition; that is, the same context of "the feeling of attraction" identified above for James 4:2 also successfully fits into the Princeton definition. Thus, the Princeton denotation "the feeling of attraction that accompanies an unsatisfied state" matches James denotation "you feel attraction and do not have" (James 4:2).
When we look at the Hebrew word חָמַד (chamad) - Strong's Hebrew: 2530 in the concordance, we find a variety of acceptable English words for translation, such as (these are all occurrences of chamad conjugations in the concordance for the NASB):
James, a slave of God, wrote about desire with "each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own desire. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death (James 1:14-15).
Alternatively, this passage of James can safely be rendered with the word "lust" in place of "desire".
"Desire" is a state of being, and there is no choice nor freewill within the definition of "desire"; moreover, James bears out this fact in the James 1:14-15 passage.In order of inclusion within the passage by James:
James exposes a cause and effect ladder which includes the desire of the flesh - and earthy flesh is the first state of men which is enmity with God.
- James wrote of one's temptation
- James wrote of a person "carried away" "by his own desire"
- James wrote of a person "enticed by his own desire"
- James wrote "when desire has conceived"
- James wrote "it gives birth to sin"
- James wrote "when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death"
We can scroll back to initial cause in the James passage which is number 2 in the list above.
The initial cause is a person "carried away" "by his own desire".
Poignantly, James did not write that a person chooses the person's state of being (desire/lust).
James did not write that a person chooses to be "carried away" by the person's state of being (desire/lust).
James wrote that a person's state of being (desire/lust) carries the person away; in other words, the person's desire drives the person.
James wrote that desire conceives thus leaving man out of the equation for man to conceive desire; in other words, desire does the conceiving, so man does not do the conceiving per James.
Tightly corresponding with "desire has conceived" is the fact that James did not write that a person chooses the desire (lust).
Essentially, James declares that desire drives a person, yet a person does not drive desire.
Recalling that the dictionary definition of "desire" perfectly complements the book of James "desire" description of "you desire and do not have" (James 4:2), see that James did not write "you saw so you desire" in James 4:2; therefore , "sight" is not bound by James to "desire". This is highly relevant to both "saw" and "desirable" in Genesis 3:6. Accordingly it is the "desire" that births sin, not the "sight", not "saw" in Genesis 3:6, absolutely yes for "desire" in Genesis 3:6, truly "when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin" (James 1:15).
Notice the concurrent nature of the phrases "you desire and do not have" (James 4:2). A complimentary corollary is "you are satisfied and do have". With "you desire and do not have" (James 4:2), James cohesively ties desire with lack of possession; on the other hand, "you are satisfied and do have" ties satisfaction with possession.
James words of "you desire and do not have" (James 4:2) scripturally define "desire" as a state of being, not a choice by the person for James did not write "you choose to desire", but rather "desire" as a dissatisfied state of being because of not possessing something.
As demonstrated scripturally, James clearly defines "desire/lust" as a dissatisfied state of being because of not possessing something when he wrote "you desire and do not have" (James 4:2), so desire is a driver of man.
The English word "covet" has a special application in Genesis 3:6, yet "desire" still conveys synonymous meaning.
Of critical comparative importance, the Hebrew word חָמַד (chamad), being the word "covet", is used in The Ten Commandments with "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor" (Exodus 20:17), and both "desire" and "covet" would work here for חָמַד (chamad) in this commandment.
IMPORTANT POINT: God reserved the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). The tree was prohibited to man for food - reserved from man by Creator God.
The tree was desirable for food by Eve.
It can also be written as: the tree was covetable for food by Eve.
The desire, the coveting, was for the tree that did not belong to Eve nor Adam for food, please recall the IMPORTANT POINT.
God did generously provide attributes for man as well as withhold attributes from man. The "lust" for the tree's food precedes the punishment, and the "lust" occurred in man when man's state was between being created and the punishment, that is pre-punishment.
Desire does not equal "choice" nor "free will".
Covet does not equal "choice" nor "freewill.
The coveting precedes the action, so cause and effect are expressed. The cause was "coveting", and the effect was "eating". There is no indication of "choose".
Paul did not write that he chose to covet.
Paul did write that sin produced in him coveting of every kind.
Behold the verb/action word that Paul used, Paul used the word "produced", not "chose", but he used "produced".
"Desire" and it's synonyms "suggest feelings that impel a person to the attainment or possession of something" according to the Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd.
The above definition makes it is necessary to obtain the definition of "impel" (obtained from The Free Dictionary [link to thefreedictionary.com]).
impel: to urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivateCollins English Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishersimpel: To drive forward; propelAmerican Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Impel has meaning such as "drive" and "force" and "motivate" and "propel"; therefore, human nature is indicated, so it is a matter of carnal nature or spiritual nature.
Considering Genesis 3:6 in relation to Genesis 3:13, Eve is found saying "The serpent deceived me, and I ate" (Genesis 3:13).
Notice, the passage does not say "The serpent deceived me, and I chose to eat".
The passage does say "The serpent deceived me, and I ate" pointedly in a non-decisional manner.
It is important to notice that this is all part of the creation account, both Genesis 3:6 and Genesis 3:13.
These verses illustrate the absence of choice and/or free-will in the creation account.
Again, here is the full verse of Genesis 3:6 again:
"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate" (Genesis 3:6).Notice, the passage does not say "she chose to take from its fruit and chose to eat"; furthermore, the passage does not state "he chose to eat" at the end of the verse.
The passage does say "she took from its fruit and ate" pointedly in a non-decisional manner; furthermore, the passage does state "he ate" at the end of the verse pointedly in a non-decisional manner.
A word for "choose" exists in Hebrew, but that word does not occur here in this passage.
Genesis 3:6 expresses lust.
Genesis 3:6 does not express choice for it is not written.
Genesis 3:6 expresses action for it is written.
Between Genesis 3:6 and Exodus 20:17, it is evident that חָמַד (chamad) is referring contextually to a person's nature - a person driven by the nature manifesting as the state of the person such as desire or covet.