σκληρο-καρδία G4641
hardness of heart; stubborn resistance to God's will, spiritual insensitivity or obstinacy
A compound term (literally 'hard-heart') describing spiritual stubbornness and moral insensitivity. Jesus uses it twice in identical contexts—explaining why Moses permitted divorce (Matt 19:8, Mark 10:5)—and once when rebuking the eleven for not believing resurrection reports (Mark 16:14). The word diagnoses a condition where the heart becomes calloused and unresponsive to divine truth, unable or unwilling to bend. It's not intellectual doubt but willful resistance, a hardening that prevents both obedience and faith.
Senses
1. sense 1 — All target languages preserve the compound structure: Spanish 'dureza-de-corazón', French 'dureté-de-cœur', German 'Herzenshaerte'. This unanimity reveals a technical term for a specific spiritual condition. The hyphenated English rendering 'hardness-of-heart' captures how the ancient world located moral responsiveness in the cardiac organ—the heart could become petrified, losing its capacity to respond to God's voice or commands. 3×
AR["قَسَاوَةَ-قُلُوبِهِمْ", "قَسَاوَةِ-قُلُوبِكُمْ"]·ben["কঠিন-হৃদয়তা", "কঠিন-হৃদয়তার", "কঠোর-হৃদয়তা"]·DE["Herzenshaerte", "σκληροκαρδίαν"]·EN["hardness-of-heart"]·FR["dureté-de-cœur"]·heb["קְשִׁי-לֵב", "קְשִי־לֵבָבְכֶם"]·HI["कठोर-हृदय", "कठोर-हृदयता", "कथोर-ह्रिदयत"]·ID["kekerasan-hati", "kekerasan-hatimu"]·IT["sklerokardian"]·jav["atos-aten", "atos-manah"]·KO["마음-의-완고함", "완고함", "완고함을"]·PT["dureza-de-coração"]·RU["жестокосердие", "жестокосердия"]·ES["dureza-de-corazón"]·SW["ugumu-wa-mioyo", "ugumu-wa-moyo", "wenu"]·TR["katı-yürekliliklerini", "katı-yürekliliğiniz", "katı-yürekliliğinize"]·urd["سخت-دلی"]
Related Senses
H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H1245 1. seek, search for (200×)G1097 1. know, be acquainted with (196×)H2142 1. Qal: remember, recall (173×)G2588 1. heart (inner self, mind, will) (158×)H0977 1. choose, select (Qal active) (145×)G2147 1. find, discover (144×)G5590 1. soul, inner self (100×)H4672 2. Niphal: be found, be discovered (99×)H1875 1. seek, search for (96×)H5315 2. life, vitality (94×)H1847 1. knowledge, discernment (90×)H2450 1. wise, prudent (84×)H7911 1. Qal: to forget (83×)H3684 1. fool, dullard (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
σκληρο-καρδία, ἡ, hardness of heart, LXX+NT