What Does “Concupiscence” Mean in the Bible?
Disordered desire, above all for pleasure, that pulls us toward sin.
It can mean
- Where it comes from: from the first sin. It remains in us even after Baptism.
- Careful: it does no harm to those who do not consent to it and who resist it with the grace of Jesus Christ.
Where it appears in the Bible
Genesis 4:7; Tobit 8:7
What the Bible says
Genesis 4:7
If thou do well, shalt thou not receive? but if ill, shall not sin forthwith be present at the door? but the lust thereof shall be under thee, and thou shalt have dominion over it.
Tobit 8:7
And now, Lord, thou knowest, that not for fleshly lust do I take my sister to wife, but only for the love of posterity, in which thy name may be blessed for ever and ever.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Catechism 2515 and 1264