Wilfrid J. Moultox. COYETOUSNESS In both AY and RV ' covet- ous ' or ' covetous person ' translates irXeoveKTrjs (1 Co 5^"- " 6^", Eph 5^), and ' covetousness ' nXeov- e^ia (Ro 1=9, Eph o^, Col S^, 1 Th 2^). Closely re- lated terms are (piXapyvpia (I Ti 6'") = 'love of money,' and aiaxpoKepd-ns (1 Ti 3*, Tit F) = ' greedy of filthy lucre.' (piXapyvpia and TrXeovefta are some- times distinguished as 'covetousness ' and ' avarice,' the desire to get and the desire to keep ; but this distinction, which scarcely exists in fact, is not borne out in NT usage. (piXapyvpia, which is a ' root of all evils,' is manifested alike in greed of gain and in parsimony. It emphasizes the object of the desire, while the primary idea in TrXeovf^ia is the injustice of the means used for its attain- ment. Etymologioally the latter word signifies
the desire or claim to have a larger share (TrX^op ^X^iv) than others ; in usage it is covetousness, rapacity, the disposition to seek, and the habit of seeking, one's own enrichment without regard to the rights and interests of others. This sense comes out clearly in the use of the verb irXeoveKTeiv, which in the Pauline Epistles (2 Co 2" 7^ 12"- ^^, 1 Th 4^) always means to 'take advantage of another. Such unrighteous advantage may be taken in the transaction of business [ti^ irp6.yiia.Ti., 1 Th 4^), or by the employment of religious in- fluence and ecclesiastical position as a means of gain. In the apostolic writings the latter abuse is strongly reprobated. To be without covetous- ness is a mark of the true apostle (1 Th 2^), of the worthy bishop (Tit V), deacon (1 Ti S^), and elder (1 P o'^). To be ' greedy of filthy lucre ' is char- acteristic of the false prophet (2 P 2^) ; and against this charge St. Paul guards himself with sensitive scrupulosity (1 Co Qi"'®, 2 Co 7'- 12"- ^s).
(1) The apostolic writings show that then, aa now, covetousness, the grasping selfishness which manifests itself in disregard of the interests, and violation of the rights, of others, was one of the most prevalent and flagrant of the evils which it is the work of Christianity to eradicate.
(2) Tiiey take the gravest view of its heinous sinfulness (Col 3^), its wide-spread ramifications (1 Ti G'**), its ultimate consequences (1 Co 6^°). In the Epistles of St. Paul, particularly, a central place is always assigned to it in the organism of vice. It is constantly set side by side with un- chastity (1 Co b]'>- ", Eph 41^ s^- «, Col 3^ 1 Th ¥-^) in a fashion which has suggested to some exegetes that in such passages TrXeove^La signifies transgres- sion of the rights of others in sexual rather than in pecuniary relations (many thus understand ry TTpdyfiaTi in 1 Th 4''). The preferable explanation is that ' impurity and covetousness may be said to divide between them nearly the whole domain of selfishness and vice' (Lightfoot, Col.^, 1879, p. 213). ' Homo extra Deum quaerit pabulum in creatura materiali vel per voluptatem vel per avaritiam ' (Bengel).
(3) Covetousness is a sin against one's own soul — destructive of spiritual self-possession (He 13^), bringing men into bondage to things external and uncertain (1 Ti 6") ; against one's neighbour (1 Th 4^) ; but ultimately and essentially against God. The most pregnant word on the subject is that of St. Paul (Col 3^), ' covetousness which is idolatry,'* The antidote is regard for the righteous judgment of God (1 Th 4^), love to one's neigiibour (1 Co lO^"*), trust in God's unfailing providence (He 13'- ^, 1 Ti 6'^), a soul-satisfying experience of life in Christ (Ph 4"-i3).
Literature. — Comm. on the passages quoted, especially Lightfoot on Col 35 ; Armitage Robinson on Eph 4i9 53- s ; J. Weiss on 1 Co oW- u ; Lietzmann on Ro 129 ; R. c. Trench, Sew Testament Synonyms^, 1876, p. 78 ; Sermons Xew and Old, 1886, p. 60 ; John Foster, Lectures^, ii. [1853] 161 ; also Phillips Brooks, The Light of the World, 1891, p. 159 ; E. M. Goulburn, The Pursuit of Holiness, 1S69, p. 147.
Robert Law. CRAFT.— See Arts.
CREATION.— The NT doctrine of creation in general is that of the later OT writings and the Apocrypha ; e.g. 2 Mac 7^, Wis 11'''. It is found over the whole range of apostolic writings, from the early speeches in the Acts (7*" [quoted from Is 66-] 14^5 1724) to 2 Pet. (3-5). God made the heaven and the earth and all that therein is ; He is the one supreme power in nature ; and He is as benevolent as He is supreme (cf. Ac 14^'). Human afiairs are subject to His will (cf, Ac IS^i, Ja 4i5). Though
* Cf. Euripides, Cyclops, 31&-17 :
6 ttAoOtos, a.v0pionC(TKe, tois o'o<^ors fleos" Tii &' aWa KO/xTTOi. Kal Adyajv eviJ.op<f)Cai.
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ckeatio:n
supreme, therefore, He is no capricious tyrant. The concept of laws of nature, of course, is unknown ; but the world is none the less a world of order ; when surprising events take place, they serve as reminders or signs of His goveniment or as means for the working out of His providential purposes (cf. Ac l2^-i"-^'-). The existing world order, how- ever, will not last for ever ; it will dissolve in a catastrophe or series of catastrophes (cf. Ac 2^^^ quoting Jl 2^"^^^ ; also Jude, 2 P 2, and Rev. passim), when the power that created will unmake to make anew.