3715. orexis
Lexical Summary
orexis: Desire, longing, appetite

Original Word: ὄρεξις
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: orexis
Pronunciation: o'-rex-is
Phonetic Spelling: (or'-ex-is)
KJV: lust
NASB: desire
Word Origin: [from G3713 (ὀρέγομαι - aspires)]

1. excitement of the mind, i.e. longing after

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
lust.

From oregomai; excitement of the mind, i.e. Longing after -- lust.

see GREEK oregomai

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from the mid. of oregó
Definition
desire, longing
NASB Translation
desire (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 3715: ὄρεξις

ὄρεξις, ὀρέξεως, (ὀρέγομαι, which see), desire, longing, craving, for; eager desire, lust, appetite: of lust, Romans 1:27. It is used both in a good and a bad sense, as well of natural and lawful and even of proper cravings (of the appetite for food, Wis. 16:2f; Plutarch, mor., p. 635 c.; others; ἐπιστήμης, Plato, de fin., p. 414 b.), as also of corrupt and unlawful desires, Sir. 18:30 Sir. 23:6; ἄλογοι and λογιστικαι ὀρεξεις are contrasted in Aristotle, rhet. 1, 10, 7. (Cf. Trench, § lxxxvii.)

Topical Lexicon
Definition and Semantic Range

The term denotes a strong inward drive or appetite. In secular Greek literature it can describe any intense longing, whether wholesome or corrupt. Scripture employs it in a moral context, exposing an urge that has departed from the Creator’s design.

Biblical Occurrence

Romans 1:27 supplies the word’s sole appearance in the Greek New Testament. Paul is diagnosing the downward spiral that follows willful suppression of God’s self-revelation. “In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another” (Romans 1:27). Here ὀρέξις is the consuming, self-centered craving that fuels the exchange of natural for unnatural relations. It stands as evidence of divine wrath already “revealed from heaven” (Romans 1:18) in the form of God giving people over to the very passions they prefer.

Theological Significance

1. Indicator of Moral Disorder

Scripture never treats desire as neutral; it is either directed Godward or warped inward. Ὀρέξις appears when desire is surrendered to autonomy, becoming a destructive force rather than a servant of love.

2. Fruit of Idolatry

Paul links this appetite to the prior refusal to honor God (Romans 1:21-23). When worship is misplaced, so is desire. Unchecked appetite becomes a signpost pointing back to idolatry at the heart level.

3. Retributive Aspect of Divine Judgment

The passage presents ὀρέξις not merely as sin but as part of the judgment itself: God “gave them over” (Romans 1:26). Desire that was meant to be governed by righteousness now governs the sinner, evidencing the justice of God even before final judgment.

Relationship to Other New Testament Terms for Desire

• ἐπιθυμία (epithymia) often includes legitimate longings, qualified by context; ὀρέξις appears only in an illicit sense.
• πάθος (pathos) speaks of passion as a state; ὀρέξις highlights the initiating craving.
• πλεονεξία (pleonexia) is the grasping greed that flows from a heart ruled by ὀρέξις.

Old Testament Background

The Hebrew Scriptures use terms such as תַּאֲוָה (taavah, craving) and יֵצֶר (yetzer, inclination). When taavah turns from Yahweh’s provision to self-gratification, judgment follows (Numbers 11:4-34). The Septuagint rarely employs ὀρέξις, but the conceptual link is strong: unbridled appetite leads to slavery (Proverbs 11:6) and death (Proverbs 21:25).

Second Temple and Greco-Roman Context

In Philo and later Hellenistic Jewish writers, ὀρέξις is the lower part of the soul needing restraint by reason and law. Stoic philosophers likewise cataloged orexis among passions that disturb moral equilibrium. Paul’s usage resonates with this moral awareness yet anchors the solution not in human reason but in the gospel’s power to regenerate desire.

Early Church Interpretation

• Irenaeus cited Romans 1:27 against Gnostic libertinism, arguing that the gospel reforms, not indulges, desire.
• Augustine used the verse to illustrate concupiscentia—disordered love that enslaves the will until grace liberates it.
• John Chrysostom preached that ὀρέξις exposes human impotence to conquer sin apart from the Spirit, urging listeners to pursue holiness through union with Christ.

Pastoral and Discipleship Application

1. Diagnosis in Counseling

Romans 1 warns that habitual surrender to corrupt cravings is symptomatic of deeper idolatry. Effective pastoral care addresses both the surface behavior and the worship disorder beneath.

2. Formation of Holy Desires

The antidote to ὀρέξις is not stoic suppression but Spirit-empowered replacement: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Prayer, Scripture meditation, and accountable fellowship cultivate new appetites.

3. Sexual Ethics

The verse informs a biblical worldview on sexuality: desires are legitimate only within the covenant parameters God established. The church’s mission includes proclaiming both truth and grace—calling sinners to repentance while offering the transforming mercy of Christ.

Homiletical Insights

• Illustrate the progression: suppression of truth → idolatry → disordered desire → visible immorality.
• Emphasize hope: the same gospel that reveals wrath (Romans 1) reveals righteousness (Romans 1:17).
• Apply broadly: while Romans 1:27 addresses a specific sin, the principle of misdirected appetite applies to greed, gluttony, and any craving that dethrones God.

Summary

Ὀρέξις in Romans 1:27 functions as a window into the human heart estranged from God and a clarion call to the redemption that re-orders desire. The church, armed with the gospel, offers not mere behavior modification but the renewal that channels longing back to its rightful object—God Himself.

Forms and Transliterations
ορεξει ορέξει ὀρέξει orexei oréxei
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Romans 1:27 N-DFS
GRK: ἐν τῇ ὀρέξει αὐτῶν εἰς
NAS: and burned in their desire toward
KJV: in their lust one toward another; men
INT: in the desire of them toward

Strong's Greek 3715
1 Occurrence


ὀρέξει — 1 Occ.

3714
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