Hebrew word · H7188

קָשַׁח

hikshiach

to harden

In the causative form: to make hard, to treat harshly.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to make hard, treat hardly, treat severely

1a) (Hiphil)

1a1) to make hard, make stubborn

1a2) to treat hardly, treat roughly

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 63:17

Range of meaning

In the causative form: to make hard, to treat harshly. It occurs only here and in Job 39:16, where the ostrich 'deals harshly with her young, as if they were not hers.' It appears to be a rare variant of, or closely related to, the far more common qāšāh, 'to be hard, stiff, stubborn.' That verb is used of the 'stiff neck' (Deut 10:16) and of hardening hearts (Ps 95:8) and Pharaoh's heart (Exod 7:3).

Against the English

All the major English versions say 'harden.' That is accurate, but English readers usually hear it with 'heart' as emotional coldness. In Hebrew, the pairing means a mind and will that have become stiff and unresponsive to God.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Job 39:16 the word describes a creature acting against its own offspring, an unnatural harshness. The related verb is used for God hardening Pharaoh's heart in Exod 7:3 ('I will harden [ʾaqšeh] Pharaoh's heart'). Isaiah's own call narrative has the prophet sent to 'make the heart of this people fat' so they do not understand and turn (Isa 6:9–10), and Isa 29:10 speaks of God pouring out 'a spirit of deep sleep.'

Where it appears

Job · 1

  1. Job 39:16 הִקְשִׁ֣יחַ it treats roughly

    She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 63:17 תַּקְשִׁ֥יחַ do you harden?

    Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.

    Here: 'Do you make hard?' This is a very rare verb, found elsewhere only in Job 39:16, where the ostrich is harsh toward her own young. It is a close relative of the verb used when God hardens Pharaoh's heart (Exod 7:3). Israel feels it has been put in Pharaoh's place.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.