📖 Biblical Definition
The jealousy of God is His passionate, exclusive claim on the worship and devotion of His people. It is not the sinful envy of humans but the righteous intensity of a God who will not share His glory with idols. "I the LORD your God am a jealous God" (Exodus 20:5). The prophets consistently use marital language: God is the faithful husband; Israel is the adulterous wife who gives her love to foreign gods. God's jealousy burns not because He is insecure but because He is holy, and idolatry is spiritual adultery. Paul echoes this: "I feel a divine jealousy for you... I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
That passion of peculiar uneasiness which arises from the fear that a rival may enjoy the affection of one whom we desire exclusively.
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JEALOUSY, n. [Fr. jalousie.] That passion of peculiar uneasiness which arises from suspicion of a rival. In Scripture, God's jealousy is His righteous zeal for His own honor and His people's exclusive devotion. It is not a deficiency but a perfection — the proper response of infinite love to the betrayal of worship.
📖 Key Scripture
• Exodus 20:5 — "I the LORD your God am a jealous God."
• Exodus 34:14 — "The LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."
• 2 Corinthians 11:2 — "I feel a divine jealousy for you."
• Ezekiel 16:38 — "I will judge you as women who commit adultery... and I will bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
God's jealousy is dismissed as an embarrassing anthropomorphism or a moral defect.
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Modern theology is often embarrassed by a jealous God. Jealousy is viewed as a negative emotion, unworthy of a deity. But this misunderstands both jealousy and God. Human jealousy is often sinful because it is possessive without right. But a husband's jealousy over his wife's fidelity is not sinful — it is appropriate. God's jealousy is the infinitely righteous version of this: He has exclusive claim on our worship because He alone is God, He alone is the source of life, and He alone deserves our supreme devotion. A God who did not care if His people worshipped idols would be a God who did not love them. Divine jealousy is the intensity of divine love.
Usage
• "God's jealousy is not a weakness — it is the burning love of a husband who will not tolerate His bride's adultery with lesser gods."
• "A God who is not jealous for His people's devotion is a God who does not love them. Divine jealousy is the intensity of divine love."