< Vorige | Inhoud | Volgende >
Both πλευνεξία and φιλαργυρία -ρος refer to covetousness, but there appears to be a marked distinction between them. πλευνεξία (from πλέον and ἔχω, 'to have more') is not confined to money, and is often connected with open wickedness, the force of the word being 'desiring more (than is necessary),' and hence 'an over-reaching to get,' and is thus applied to the lusts of the flesh, Rom. 1: 29; Eph. 4: 19, where it is translated 'greediness'; Eph. 5: 3; etc. It is declared to be idolatry, Col. 3: 5.
On the other hand, φιλαργυρία (from φίλος and ἄργυρος) literally 'love of money,' is the miser's sin, and may be indulged in with a profession of religion. Thus in Luke 16: 14 it is applied to the Pharisees, and in 2 Tim. 3: 2 to those who had a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof. This love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, 1 Tim. 6: 10, and those who go after it are liable to wander away from the faith, and to pierce themselves through with many sorrows.