σκληρός G4642
skleros -- hard, harsh, severe; describing something rigid, unyielding, or difficult to accept
The adjective skleros (from which English derives 'sclerosis') covers a range from physically hard to metaphorically harsh or severe. In the New Testament it applies to persons, words, and forces: a 'hard master' who reaps where he did not sow (Matt 25:24), a 'hard saying' that offends the disciples (John 6:60), the 'hard' goads against which Saul kicks (Acts 9:5; 26:14), harsh winds driving ships (Jas 3:4), and the 'harsh things' ungodly sinners speak against God (Jude 15). Spanish duro, French dur, and German hart all descend from the same Indo-European root for physical hardness, showing how naturally this semantic range bridges the literal and figurative.
Senses
1. hard, harsh, severe — Hard, harsh, severe, or unyielding -- applied both to persons and to things that are difficult to bear or accept. The parable's 'hard master' (Matt 25:24) describes an exacting, pitiless character; the 'hard saying' of John 6:60 is one the disciples find intellectually and spiritually intolerable; the 'goads' of Acts 9:5 and 26:14 are sharp, unyielding instruments; the 'harsh' wind of James 3:4 is a violent natural force; and Jude 15 uses the neuter plural for 'harsh things' spoken against God. Spanish duro, French dur, and German hart all converge on this unified semantic range spanning physical rigidity and metaphorical severity. 6×
amh["ጽኑ"]·AR["القاسية", "صَعْبٌ", "عاصِفَةٍ", "قَاسٍ"]·ben["কঠিন", "কঠোর", "কঠোর-কথার", "প্রচণ্ড"]·ces["tvrdých-slov"]·dan["hårde-ting,"]·DE["hart", "harten-Worte", "{σκληρόν", "σκληρόν", "σκληρὸς"]·ell["σκληρών,"]·EN["Hard", "hard", "harsh"]·FR["dur", "dures-choses,"]·guj["કઠોર,"]·hat["di"]·hau["masu-tsanani"]·heb["קָשִׁים", "קָשֶׁה", "קשות"]·HI["कठिन", "कठिनहै", "कठोर", "कठोर-बातों-के", "प्रचण्ड"]·hun["kemény-szavakról"]·ID["Keras", "Sulit", "kata-kata-kasar", "keras", "{keras"]·IT["dure", "duro", "sklērōn"]·jav["Angel", "atos", "awrat", "keras", "{awrat"]·JA["厳しいこと"]·KO["가혹한-것-이다", "거센", "매우-힘든", "어려운", "엄한", "완악한-말들"]·mar["कठोर,"]·mya["ကြမ်းတမ်းသော"]·nld["harde-woorden"]·nor["harde"]·pnb["سخت"]·pol["twardych"]·PT["duras-palavras", "duro", "fortes"]·ron["aspre,"]·RU["Жестокое", "Трудно", "жестоких", "жёстких", "суровый", "трудно"]·ES["Dura", "duras-palabras", "duro", "fuertes"]·SW["Ngumu", "magumu", "mgumu", "mkali", "ni-ngumu", "vigumu"]·swe["hårda"]·tam["கடினமான"]·tel["కఠినమైన"]·tgl["matitigas"]·TH["รุนแรง"]·TR["Sert", "sert", "zor"]·ukr["жорстокі"]·urd["تیز", "سخت", "سخت-باتوں", "مشکل", "ہے"]·VI["lời-cứng-cỏi"]·yor["líle,"]·yue["剛硬-嘅"]·ZH["刚硬话"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
σκληρός, ά, όν, also Doric dialect, Refs 5th c.BC+, hyperdorian mode σκλᾱρός Refs 5th c.BC+:— hard, opposed to μαλακός in all senses: __I hard to the touch, ξύλον σ. ἢ μαλακόν Refs 6th c.BC+; ἐλαία Pi.[same place]; γῆ Refs 5th c.BC+ __I.2 of sound, harsh, σκληρὸν ἐβρόντησε Refs 8th c.BC+ __I.3 of taste and smell, harsh, bitter, σ. ὕδατα (springing from a rocky soil) Refs 5th c.BC+; of wine, dry,…