Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mikas 2:2

In the latter [version of the Ten Commandments], it says “you shall not desire” instead of “you shall not covet.” Know that Ibn Ezra wrote that coveting [chamdah] also refers to the theft of the coveted object, as it is written They covet fields and seize them (Micah 2:2). And it is written I coveted them and took them (Joshua 7:21). And Maimonides agreed with him, saying that one does not transgress the commandment of you shall not covet until one takes the object which he coveted. But desire [ta’avah] is only in the heart alone.
Ibn Ezra endeavored to explain that a person has the power, through habit, to control the prohibitions against coveting and desiring, even in the heart. This happens when a person accustoms himself to the trait of being content with what he has. According to his words, it makes perfect sense why you shall not desire was specifically stated in the latter version of the Ten Commandments, which pertains only to Israel, because they had become accustomed to the trait of contentment during the poverty of Egypt, and they were capable of accepting and fulfilling this commandment.
However, the nations that were not accustomed to the trait of contentment — how could they accept the commandment of you shall not desire? For this matter is not within a person’s power to fulfill, as one’s heart is not under one’s control, and the wicked are under the control of their hearts. Therefore, He only mentioned the coveting that leads to theft.
For this reason, the first version of the Ten Commandments did not mention “his field,” because land generally cannot be stolen and always remains in the possession of its owner. But regarding the desire in the heart, it also mentioned his field.

You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery, etc. All the people witnessed the sounds: They said in the Mekhilta (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:14) - How were the Ten Commandments given? Five on one tablet and five on the other. It is written, "I am the Lord your God," and opposite it, "You shall not murder" - since spilling blood is tantamount to diminishing the likeness [of God]. It is written, "There shall not be unto you [any other gods]," and opposite it, "You shall not commit adultery," saying that anyone worshipping idolatry is tantamount to adultery against the Omnipresent. It is written, "You shall not take [the name of the Lord your God in vain]," and opposite it, "You shall not steal," saying that anyone who steals - in the end - comes to swear in vain, as it is written (Jeremiah 7:9), "Shall one steal, murder, commit adultery, [swear falsely]." And it is written (Hosea 4:2), "swearing, lying, [murdering, stealing]." It is written, "Remember the Sabbath day," and opposite it, "You shall not testify falsely against your fellow" - Scripture is saying that anyone who desecrates the Sabbath testifies before Him who spoke and brought the world into being that He did not rest on the seventh day; and anyone who keeps the Sabbath thereby testifies about [God's] creation of the world, as it is written (Isaiah 43:10), "You are My witnesses, says the Lord." It is written, "Honor your father [and your mother]," and opposite it, "You shall not covet," saying that anyone who covets - in the end - comes to beget a son who curses his father, and honors one who is not his father. This is why the Ten Commandments were given, five on one tablet and five on the other, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 5:19), "The Lord spoke those words, etc. and He wrote them [on two tablets of stone]." These are the words of Rabbi Chanina ben Gamliel. But the sages say: Ten were on one tablet and ten on the other, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 5:19) "The Lord spoke those words, etc. and He wrote them [on two tablets of stone]." To here [are the words of the Mekhilta]. This is the approach of the Sages, may their memory be blessed, about the organization of these Commandments and their need. However, according to what I explained in the verses, the first five were on one tablet due to their relating to matters of divinity; and the last five on [another] tablet due to their relating to [that which] is between a man and his fellow - according to the opinion of Rabbi Chanina, which is the more logical. And the tablets were therefore two. For if all of the Commandments were on each one of the tablets, there would not have been a need for two tablets, but rather [only] one. And because of this, the name, Lord, and the name, God, is mentioned in each of the five first Commandments that were on one tablet, to indicate that they were commandments about divinity. However, in that the last fives ones are all about humanity - between a man and his fellow - none of the holy names [of God] are mentioned in any of them. And this is that which the Sages, may their memory be blessed, intended in their saying (Shemot Rabbah 80:47): The two tablets correspond to the heavens and the earth, to a groom and a bride, to two friends and to two worlds. As through this, they wanted to distinguish between the two tablets, according to what I have explained. And behold, there is no doubt that there are other commandments included in the Commandment, "You shall not murder" - as I mentioned. For murder is stated about the killing of a soul - like (Numbers 35:2) "and the blood-avenger [murders] the murderer"; but it is also stated about blows and wounds - like (Psalms 42:11), "Murdering my bones"; (Hosea 6:9), "murdering on the way to Shekhem"; (Psalms 62:4), "all of you murder him like a leaning wall." For it compared someone hit and "murdered" to a leaning wall, that is ready to fall but has not yet fallen. And the word, murderer, is also stated about one who causes death, even though he does not kill with his hands (actively) - like (Judges 20:4) "the husband of the murdered woman." And they slept with her and did not kill her, but she was murdered as a result of [their actions]. And according to all of these usages, it is fit to understand, "You shall not murder," about one who kills a soul and one who strikes his fellow [with] 'bruises and wounds, that are repayment for evil.' And that one not go talebearing is also included in this Commandment, for he causes the [potential] murder. And also included in this Commandment is that one not refrain from charity to the poor, and [from] the commandment of "and your brother shall live with you" (Leviticus 25:36) - as it is written (Deuteronomy 15:9), "so that you are mean to your needy brother and give him nothing, and he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will incur sin." For one who withholds charity is killing the souls of the poor and the destitute. And also included in this negative commandment is the release of Hebrew slaves on the seventh year, and of the Hebrew maidservant, as is coming up. For if he detains them more than is the law; it is like killing and negating them from the world. And also included in this Commandment - according to the opinion of the Sages, may their memory be blessed - is one who whitens the face of (embarrasses) his fellow about a blemish that he or his ancestors had; and also one who infringes upon his fellow's trade, one who prevents his sustenance from him and one who competes (unfairly); and the one who slanders and the one who hands over his fellow - all of these are included in "You shall not murder." And all forbidden sexual relations and all types of adulterers are included in the Commandment, "You shall not commit adultery" - as was mentioned by Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra. For even though adultery (niuf) is said specifically about one who sleeps with a married woman, see that it is also stated generally about all other sexual prohibitions - and as it stated (Job 24:15), "The eyes of the adulterer watch for twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me.'" And there are also many commandments included in the Commandment, "You shall not steal.” For the word, thief, is sometimes stated about one who kidnaps one of his brothers - like the words [of the Sages,] may their memory be blessed - and it also stated about one who takes his fellow's money without his knowledge, as it is written (Exodus 22:1), "If the thief is seized while tunneling"; and it is stated about withholding a pledge and exploitation, since it is taking a person's property against his will. Hence it is stated (Leviticus 5:21), "or by holding a pledge, or through robbery, or by defrauding his kinsman" - as it all called holding a pledge, which is theft. And the word, theft, is also stated about fraud and deceit - like (Genesis 31:20), "And Jacob stole Lavan's heart"; (Job 4:12) "A stolen word came to me." And from this angle and aspect, even oppressive words are called theft. And according to these usages, the Commandment of "Do not steal" includes kidnapping, stealing money or vessels, robbery and exploitation; the commandment of "a man shall not oppress his brother" (Leviticus 25:14), and "Stay away from a false thing (Exodus 23:7); all matters of theft and fooling people; the commandment of "You shall not render an unfair decision" (Leviticus 19:15) with size, weight and length; and all of the other commandments I mentioned above. And as for why the Commandment of "You shall not commit adultery," came between "You shall not murder" and "You shall not steal," it is surely because a wife is, from one aspect, like a man's body - bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh - but from another aspect, she is like his acquisitions and his money. Hence this Commandment is stated between "You shall not murder" and "You shall not steal." And once it warned a man not to injure his fellow with bad deeds - not towards his wife, his body or his money - it warned him also not to injure him with the words of his lips. And that is its stating, "You shall not testify falsely against your fellow." And besides this prohibition that a person not testify falsely; also included in it is one who mocks his fellow, one who speaks evil speech, one who talebears, one who whitens the face of his fellow in public and that which is similar to them from the commandments that I mentioned. And after this, it warned that a man not injure his fellow with his thoughts. And that is, "You shall not covet." And Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra explained that this Commandment is not only in thought, since coveting is also stated about robbing something desirable, as it is stated (Micah 2:2), "They covet fields, and rob." And, if so, it is warning with this about robbing that is a continuation of the act of coveting, and also about the internal coveting itself. And the great rabbi, Maimonides, agreed with this in the Book of Damages, Laws of Robbery and Lost Property 5 - that one does not transgress the negative commandment of "You shall not covet" until he takes an object that he coveted - which is coveting with an action. But desire (Deuteronomy 5:18) is only in the heart. And there are some of the decisors that disagree with him about this. And Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra put effort into explaining that a person has the power to accustom himself to uphold this prohibition of "You shall not covet," even in the heart. And that is when a person accustoms himself to be satisfied with what he has, like he accustoms himself to the prohibition of forbidden sexual relations and that which is similar to it. And it mentioned the desired things according to [the order of] a man's need for them and that which it is fit for a man to expend efforts to acquire in his world. And that is why it first mentioned the coveting of a house; and then a wife; and then a slave and maidservant; and then an ox and donkey, that are animals that do not speak. And Scripture grouped the other things that are not so necessary when it stated, "and anything that is your fellow's." But in Mishneh Torah (Deuteronomy), it mentioned them according to the severity of the sin and the evil. For the most evil coveting is the coveting of a man for his fellow's wife, like the desire of David for Bathsheba. And after it in evil is the coveting of a man for his fellow's house, and afterwards the field. For even if a man does not live in it - like he lives in his house - it is surely the place of his nourishment and the inheritance of his ancestors, as it was in the matter of Ahab with the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. And after the field, it mentioned the slave and the maidservant that are not as esteemed as the field; and afterwards, the ox and donkey, which do not speak; and after them, it wanted to group all of the movable property that is not living - "and everything that is your fellow's." And I have already mentioned that these last five Commandments came with extreme terseness, because they are things that the human intellect understands, and because the first three of them were from the commandments that the Children of Noah were [already] commanded. Hence it does not say the word, "your fellow" here - meaning to say, "You shall not murder your fellow, you shall not commit adultery with your fellow's wife; you shall not steal from that which is your fellow's." As the whole world was already prohibited about [these things], whereas the Israelites were [deemed] fellows from the angle of the Torah which they received and by which they were united. However, with the commandment, "You shall not testify," it stated, "Your fellow" - and likewise with "You shall not covet." For the Holy One, blessed be He, added these two commandments to command them now to the Israelites, given that they were beloved fellows from once they received the Torah. And from that angle, and since they were the Children of Jacob - the seed of the blessed one of the Lord, it was fit that they not perpetrate injustice and that there not be expressions of deceit and bad desires in their mouths and hearts. And I also say that a double prohibition come upon coveting - in that it states, "You shall not covet your fellow's house; you shall not covet your fellow's wife" - because, as mentioned by the Medini (Aristotle), love and desire [of something] can be [because it is] useful or [because it is] enjoyable. And since they are different things, the negative commandment mentions [coveting] twice, as if it were saying, do not covet something wrong from that which is useful like a house or a field, and do not covet something wrong from that which is enjoyable like a woman. And with this, the second question is resolved. And Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra already mentioned a different opinion about these Ten Commandments - that they are corresponding to the heavenly spheres, and he related each one to its sphere; and he felt that it was about this that it stated (Exodus 20:19), "you saw that I spoke to you from the heavens." But because these are tangible things, 'my soul is bewildered by them.' Hence I did not mention them here.

Concerning this the Talmud Sotah 9 comments that “if someone covets something that is not appropriate for him to have, he will wind up losing even what was appropriate for him to own.” He becomes cursed. This is what happened to the serpent who seduced Chavah. It wanted to replace Adam as Chavah’s husband and instead it wound up having to crawl on its belly and to eat dust. Thus far the Midrash.
Had it not been for the fact that robbery is an integral aspect of coveting and on account of this it deserved to be included in the Ten Commandments, the outright prohibition of robbery would have had to be included in the Ten Commandments, seeing that robbery is such a wide-spread a sin and so severe an infraction of G’d’s laws.
Furthermore, robbery is a sophisticated sin similar to murder, adultery, theft, and false testimony. However, seeing that coveting conceptually includes robbery as a person does not commit robbery until he has first coveted the object he robs, it was not included specifically in the Decalogue. The proof for the close linkage between coveting and committing robbery is found in Micah 2,2 where the prophet places the two sins side by side when he writes: “they covet fields and seize them, houses and take them away.” A further reason why the Torah preferred to include the prohibition of coveting in the Ten Commandments over the alternative of including “do not commit robbery,” is that the prohibition to covet is more all embracing and the Torah wanted to make plain that it views a person eyeing other people’s property with an eye to acquiring it as being guilty of such a severe sin that it was included in the Ten Commandments and inscribed by G’d Himself on the stone tablets. The Torah wanted man to use a little logic and to realise that if G’d took such a dim view of someone who only eyes other people’s property as something he wants for himself, how much more so would G’d react to someone who actually made a move to commit robbery to possess the property in question!
Still, there are occasions when coveting is a character trait which is permitted. Coveting the opportunity to perform certain commandments of the Torah is not only permissible but is praiseworthy. This is what our sages had in mind (Baba Batra 21) when they said קנאת סופרים תרבה חכמה, “the envy displayed by scholars of the knowledge of other scholars who are their superiors leads to an all-round increase in wisdom.” This kind of jealousy and coveting such knowledge possessed by another is not only permissible but is rewarded by G’d. Included in this type of permissible desire is the desire for one’s friend’s (unmarried) daughter to be married to one’s son. When the Torah writes first: “do not covet the house of your fellow,” this is a general prohibition; when it continues with detailing: “his wife, his field, his house, his servant or maidservant,” these are details. Just as these details are matters which cannot possibly become yours unless their present owner so agrees, so the same rule applies to what is described in the כלל, i.e. in the introduction to this legislation, coveting a house. This, however, excludes one’s fellow’s daughter (if she has reached the age of puberty, 12 and a half years of age) to become the wife of your son or vice versa as neither requires the permission of a second party to become married to the other party seeing they are not presently “owned” by anyone. This concludes my commentary on the last five of the Ten Commandments. I have demonstrated that they are all conceptually linked to one another commencing with the warning not to murder.
One must not decrease the world’s population even if one thinks the world is overpopulated. Having understood this a person might say to himself that it must be G’d’s will to increase the human population on earth even at the cost of engaging in illicit sexual relations, [even if well meant, such as impregnating a married woman with her sterile husband’s consent in order for them to have a child. Ed.] The Torah therefore warns you that any form of adulterous relationship is taboo; so much so that the penalty is death.
A person may then reason that if increasing the world’s population by adulterous means is forbidden, he might at least effect a population exchange by acquiring an existing human being (through stealing it). All he would be doing is to transplant that human being from one city or country to another. He would then sell such a person in a different location. He would reason that at worst he had committed a minor offense involving financial damage to the first owner. The Torah therefore included this sin in the Ten Commandments to make clear that it views such conduct as a capital offense, not merely a commercial misdemeanor. Having appreciated the seriousness of the sin of kidnapping, one might still think that an offense such as uttering false testimony is minor, seeing that it involves only words, not deeds. To prevent us from thinking along these lines the Torah had to include the legislation that one must not be involved in false testimony as part of the Ten Commandments. Finally, even if one had understood that causing damage to a second party by deceitful use of one’s mouth, one’s words, is serious indeed, one might think that harboring only evil thoughts such as contemplating property belonging to someone else would certainly not be considered criminal, so the Torah disabuses us of such thoughts by legislating the law of לא תחמוד as so important that it is included in the Ten Commandments.