קָשֶׁה

Genesis 42:7 קָשׁ֗וֹת harsh

And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.”

Genesis 42:30 קָשׁ֑וֹת harsh

“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.

Exodus 1:14 קָשָׁ֗ה hard

and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.

Here: 'Hard', meaning crushing and oppressive. The same root later describes Pharaoh's 'hardened' heart, and the phrase 'hard labor' returns in Exod 6:9 and Deut 26:6.

Exodus 6:9 קָשָֽׁה׃ פ hard

Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him.

Exodus 18:26 הַקָּשֶׁה֙ <the> difficult

And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.

Exodus 32:9 קְשֵׁה־ stiff of

The LORD also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.

Here: "Hard of" (neck). In Exodus this word belongs to Egypt: the "hard labor" of slavery (1:14; 6:9) and the hardening of Pharaoh's heart (7:3; 13:15). Israel now shows the same hardness.

Exodus 33:3 קְשֵׁה־ stiff of

Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.”

Here: Joined to the next word: "hard-of-." It describes something rigid that will not bend.

Exodus 33:5 קְשֵׁה־ stiff of

For the LORD had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I should go with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.’”

Here: 'Hard' in the sense of rigid and unbending. Together with the next word it makes the fixed expression 'hard of neck'.

Exodus 34:9 קְשֵׁה־ stiff of

“O Lord,” he said, “if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our iniquity and sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”

Here: Hard or rigid. Together with the next word: 'hard of neck'.

Deuteronomy 9:6 קְשֵׁה־ stiff of

Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Here: "Hard of…", which is linked to the next word. It means rigid and unyielding.

Deuteronomy 9:13 קְשֵׁה־ stiff of

The LORD also said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.

Here: 'Hard of': rigid, unyielding. The same root describes the hardening of Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 7:3), so Israel now shows the trait of the oppressor they were rescued from.

Deuteronomy 26:6 קָשָֽׁה׃ hard

But the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us, putting us to hard labor.

Deuteronomy 31:27 הַקָּשֶׁ֑ה <the> stiff

For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are already rebelling against the LORD while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after my death!

Here: 'The hard one': a neck that will not bend. Put together, the phrase pictures a draft animal that refuses to be turned or led.

Judges 2:19 הַקָּשָֽׁה׃ <the> stubborn

But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

Here: 'Hard, stiff'. It recalls the wilderness label 'a stiff-necked people' (qesheh-oref, Exod 32:9; Deut 9:6, 13; 31:27): an ox that will not bend its neck to the yoke. Their way of life is rigid and will not be turned.

Judges 4:24 וְקָשָׁ֔ה and hard

And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.

1 Samuel 1:15 קְשַׁת־ hard of

“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have not had any wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.

Here: "Hard of": weighed down, in a severe or harsh state. With 'spirit' it describes pressure and anguish inside her, not a stubborn character.

1 Samuel 20:10 קָשָֽׁה׃ ס hard

Then David asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”

Here: A feminine adjective used as an adverb ('harshly') or as a noun ('a hard thing'). It is the standard way of describing a hostile, threatening reply, as in 1 Kings 12:13, where Rehoboam 'answered the people harshly.'

1 Samuel 25:3 קָשֶׁ֛ה [was] hard

His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.

2 Samuel 2:17 קָשָׁ֥ה severe

The battle that day was intense, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.

2 Samuel 3:39 קָשִׁ֣ים [are too] hard

And I am weak this day, though anointed as king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil!”

Here: 'Hard', the direct opposite of David's 'soft'. It means ruthless and stubborn, and also too hard to manage.

1 Kings 12:4 הַקָּשָׁ֗ה <the> hard

“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you must lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

1 Kings 12:13 קָשָׁ֑ה hard

And the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the elders

1 Kings 14:6 קָשָֽׁה׃ hard

So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet entering the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you disguised? For I have been sent to you with bad news.

2 Chronicles 10:4 הַקָּשָׁ֗ה <the> hard

“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you must lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

2 Chronicles 10:13 קָשָׁ֑ה hard

And the king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders

Job 30:25 לִקְשֵׁה־ for [the] hard of

Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?

Here: "For the hard-of …": the preposition l- ("for, over") plus the adjective "hard," bound to the next word. It describes a person by what is hard about him.

Psalm 60:3 קָשָׁ֑ה a hard [thing]

You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.

Here: A feminine adjective used as a noun: 'a hard thing.' The same word describes Egypt's 'hard labour' (Exod 1:14) and Joseph's 'harsh' words (Gen 42:7). Here it means something crushing and hard to bear, which in context is military defeat and national upheaval (v.1–2).

Song of Songs 8:6 קָשָׁ֥ה [is] severe

Set 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.

Here: 'Hard': unbending, relentless, impossible to soften or argue with. It is feminine to match 'jealousy'. It does not mean malicious; it means it will not give way.

Isaiah 14:3 הַקָּשָׁ֖ה <the> hard

On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced,

Isaiah 19:4 קָשֶׁ֑ה cruel

I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of a harsh master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.

Isaiah 21:2 קָשָׁ֖ה severe

A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”

Here: 'Hard' in the sense of harsh, heavy, painful to take in. It warns from the start that what follows is grim to see, and verses 3–4 show it crushing the prophet.

Isaiah 27:1 הַקָּשָׁ֜ה <the> fierce

In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.

Here: Basically 'hard': tough, unyielding, harsh in effect. It describes the sword's ruthless force more than its edge, so 'sharp' (BSB) is a loose rendering.

Isaiah 27:8 הַקָּשָׁ֖ה <the> fierce

By warfare and exile You contended with her and removed her with a fierce wind, as on the day the east wind blows.

Here: 'Hard, harsh, fierce.' It agrees with the feminine 'ruach' and describes a wind that is rough and unrelenting.

Isaiah 48:4 קָשֶׁ֖ה [were] stubborn

For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.

Here: "Hard." In Exodus and Deuteronomy this is the word in the stock phrase qesheh-ʿoref, "hard of neck" (stiff-necked). Here the prophet takes that phrase apart: first "hard are you," then he spells out the neck.

Ezekiel 2:4 קְשֵׁ֤י [are] stern of

They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’

Here: "Hard of": something that will not give or bend. It is the same adjective used in the stock phrase "stiff-necked" (qesheh oref) for Israel in the wilderness.

Ezekiel 3:7 וּקְשֵׁי־ and stern of

But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

Here: 'And stiff of…', the word used for the 'stiff-necked' people of the wilderness stories. It means unbending and resistant.