Desire (Hastings' Dictionary)
' To desire,' says Trench {Sel. Gloss. 56), ' is only to look forward with longing now : the word has lost the sense of regret or looking back upon the lost but still loved. This it once possessed in common with desiderium and desiderare, from which more remotely, and dfsirer, from which more immediately, we derive it.' And he quotes as an example 2 Cn 21™ ' and [Jehoram] departed without being desired.'
Now this sense of ' desire ' b certainly found, as Bemers (1533), ' Of the death of suche an entierly desyred husbande ' ; Jer. Taylor, ' she shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when the dies.' But it is not so certain that 2 Ch 21*" is an example. The Heb. is lit. ' he went [or walked] without desire ' (^Dij rfVa Tihn ; LXX xal iiropcvffri oiK iv iraifif ; Vulg. Amhulavitque non recte, whence Gov. ' and walked not well '), and the tr. of AV is taken from Gen.
Bible, which has ' and lived without being desired,' with the gloss ' he was not regarded, but deposed for his wickedness." J. Hastings.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Desire
Desire de-zir': The verb "to desire" in the Scriptures usually means "to long for," "to ask for," "to demand," and may be used in a good or bad sense (compare De 7:25 the King James Version). the Revised Version (British and American) frequently renders the more literal meaning of the Hebrew. Compare Job 20:20, "delight"; Pr 21:20, "precious"; Ps 40:6, "delight"; aiteo (except Col 1:9), and erotao (except Lu 7:36) are rendered "to ask" and zeteo, "to seek" (compare Lu 9:9 et. al.). The Hebrew kacaph, literally, "to lose in value," is translated (Zep 2:1) by "hath no shame" (the Revised Version, margin "longing," the King James Version "not desired"). The literal translation "to lose in value," "to degenerate," would be more in harmony with the context than the translations offered. The Hebrew chemdah (2Ch 21:20, "without being desired"), means according to the Arabic "to praise," "to give thanks." The context brings in contrast the burial of the king Jehoram with that of his fathers. In the latter case there was "burning," i.e. recognition and praise, but when Jehoram died, there was…
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia