σκληροκαρδία

From the study of Mark 16:14

Range of meaning

Literally 'hardness of heart'. In Hebrew thought the heart (lēv) is the centre of understanding, memory and will, not mainly of emotion. A hard heart is a closed, stubborn mind that will not take in or respond to what God shows it.

Against the English

Modern readers hear 'hard-hearted' as cold, unkind or lacking compassion. NIV's 'stubborn refusal to believe' gets closer to the sense. 'Hardness of heart' is word-for-word accurate but is now heard emotionally.

How it drifted

In modern English 'heart' means the feelings, an emotional sense that grew strong in later centuries, especially from the Romantic era on. So 'hard-hearted' now means unfeeling. In biblical idiom the heart is mostly about thinking and choosing.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint: Deut 10:16 ('circumcise the hardness of your heart'), Jer 4:4, Sirach 16:10. In the New Testament: Mark 10:5 and Matt 19:8, where Moses allows divorce 'because of your hardness of heart'. Related wording: Mark 6:52 and 8:17, where the disciples' 'hearts were hardened' and they did not understand the loaves.

From the study of Matthew 19:8

Range of meaning

Literally "hard-heartedness." In biblical Greek it is not a classical word. It was coined or popularised by the Jewish Greek translators. It means obstinacy, stubbornness, a closed and unteachable will that refuses to yield to God. In Hebrew thought the heart (lev) is where a person thinks, decides and intends, more than where they feel, so a hard heart is a mind and will set against instruction.

Against the English

KJV, ESV and BSB have "hardness of heart(s)". NIV has "your hearts were hard". YLT has "stiffness of heart", which nicely echoes the Old Testament "stiff-necked" image. Modern English "hard-hearted" usually means callous or unsympathetic. That is part of the picture, but it shrinks the biblical idea to emotion.

How it drifted

Since the Romantic period English has treated the heart mainly as the seat of feeling, so "hard-hearted" now suggests coldness or lack of compassion. The biblical term is first about wilful resistance to God, with cruelty toward others as one of its fruits.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Deut 10:16: "Circumcise the hardness of your heart (τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν) and do not stiffen your neck any longer." The Hebrew there is "the foreskin of your heart". The same phrase appears in Jer 4:4 LXX. Sirach 16:10 uses the related adjective of the wilderness generation. Ezek 3:7 LXX calls Israel σκληροκάρδιοι ("hard-hearted"). In the New Testament: Mark 10:5 (parallel) and Mark 16:14 (longer ending), where it is paired with unbelief. Ezekiel's promise to replace the "heart of stone" (Ezek 11:19; 36:26) is the hopeful side of the same image.