Greed in Jewish Lore

Abstract

‘Traduire, tradire est’ goes the Medieval saying. If this is true of simply translating words, how much more so is it true of trying to translate a concept that has evolved in one religion and one set of cultural parameters into another very different context. In the Christian west we all know that ‘Greed’ is one of the ‘Seven Deadly Sins.’ But in biblical Judaism, which predates Western culture, there is no precise equivalent that conjures up the same degree of disgust and revulsion. There are several words that come close and might be applied to gorging oneself or going beyond acceptable levels of consumption, but none carries the same emblematic significance.