Jealousy and Envy in the Bible

• Jealousy enrages a husbandProv 6:34
  The verses

  Prov 6:34For jealousy enrages a husband, and he will show no mercy in the day of vengeance.
• Anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?Prov 27:4
  The verses

  Prov 27:4Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?
• Envy rots the bonesProv 14:30
  The verses

  Prov 14:30A tranquil heart is life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
• Labor and success spring from envy of one’s neighborEccl 4:4
  The verses

  Eccl 4:4I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
• Love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as SheolSong 8:6
  The verses

  Song 8:6Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all.
• Where jealousy exists, there is disorderJas 3:16
  The verses

  Jas 3:16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
• The Law’s test for a wife suspected by a jealous husbandNum 5:12–31
  The verses

  Num 5:12–31“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him by sleeping with another man, and it is concealed from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she was not caught in the act), and if a feeling of jealousy comes over her husband and he suspects his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he suspects her even though she has not defiled herself— then he is to bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring for her an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of memorial as a reminder of iniquity. The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD. Then he is to take some holy water in a clay jar and put some of the dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse. But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority and have defiled yourself and lain carnally with a man other than your husband’— and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse—‘then may the LORD make you an attested curse among your people by making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell. May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’ And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and cause her bitter suffering. The priest shall take from her hand the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar. Then the priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that he is to have the woman drink the water. When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people. But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children. This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law. The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

Examples

• Cain, angry that Abel’s offering is accepted, kills himGen 4:4–8
  The verses

  Gen 4:4–8while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell. “Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.” Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
• Pregnant Hagar despises Sarai, and Sarai mistreats herGen 16:4–6
  The verses

  Gen 16:4–6And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me.” “Here,” said Abram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.
• The Philistines envy Isaac’s flocks and herdsGen 26:14
  The verses

  Gen 26:14He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.
• Rachel envies Leah: “Give me children, or I will die!”Gen 30:1
  The verses

  Gen 30:1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
• Joseph’s brothers are jealous of him and sell himGen 37:4, Gen 37:11, Gen 37:18–28
  The verses

  Gen 37:4When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

  Gen 37:11And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

  Gen 37:18–28Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him. “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. “Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!” When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said. “Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it. And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed. So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
• Moses to Joshua: “Are you jealous on my account?”Num 11:28–29
  The verses

  Num 11:28–29Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”
• Miriam and Aaron: “Does the LORD speak only through Moses?”Num 12:1–2
  The verses

  Num 12:1–2Then Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married, for he had taken a Cushite wife. “Does the LORD speak only through Moses?” they said. “Does He not also speak through us?” And the LORD heard this.
• The men of Ephraim resent Gideon and Jephthah for not calling themJudg 8:1, Judg 12:1
  The verses

  Judg 8:1Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.

  Judg 12:1Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!”
• Saul resents the song “David his tens of thousands”1 Sam 18:7–9
  The verses

  1 Sam 18:7–9And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” And Saul was furious and resented this song. “They have ascribed tens of thousands to David,” he said, “but only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingdom?” And from that day forward Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
• Joab kills Abner, whom David had sent away in peace2 Sam 3:24–27
  The verses

  2 Sam 3:24–27So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you dismiss him? Now he is getting away! Surely you realize that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you and to track your movements and all that you are doing.” As soon as Joab had left David, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David was unaware of it. When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.
• Israel and Judah quarrel over who brought the king back2 Sam 19:41–43
  The verses

  2 Sam 19:41–43Soon all the men of Israel came to the king and asked, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and bring the king and his household across the Jordan, together with all of David’s men?” And all the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, “We did this because the king is our relative. Why does this anger you? Have we ever eaten at the king’s expense or received anything for ourselves?” “We have ten shares in the king,” answered the men of Israel, “so we have more claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of restoring our king?” But the men of Judah pressed even harder than the men of Israel.
• The older brother of the prodigal son refuses to go inLuke 15:25–30
  The verses

  Luke 15:25–30Meanwhile the older son was in the field, and as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what was going on. ‘Your brother has returned,’ he said, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has him back safe and sound.’ The older son became angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed a commandment of yours. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
• Pilate knew they had handed Jesus over out of envyMatt 27:18
  The verses

  Matt 27:18For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
• The high priest and the Sadducees are filled with jealousyActs 5:17
  The verses

  Acts 5:17Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out
• Jealous crowds oppose Paul in Antioch and ThessalonicaActs 13:45, Acts 17:5
  The verses

  Acts 13:45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.

  Acts 17:5The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people.