Hard, Harden, Hardening, Hardness

from skello, "to dry," signifies "trying, exacting:" See AUSTERE.

primarily means "hard to satisfy with food" (dus, a prefix like Eng., un, or mis, indicating "difficulty, opposition, injuriousness," ect., the opposite of, eu, "well," and kolon, "food"); hence, "difficult," Mark 10:24 , of the "difficulty," for those who trust in riches, to enter into the Kingdom of God.

akin to A, No. 1, is rendered "hardness" in Romans 2:5 .

denotes "a hardening," a covering with a poros, a kind of stone, indicating "a process" (from poroo, C, No. 1), and is used metaphorically of dulled spiritual perception, Mark 3:5 , RV, "at the hardening of their hearts;" Romans 11:25 , RV, "a hardening" (AV, "blindness"), said of the state of Israel; Ephesians 4:18 , RV, "hardening," of the heart of Gentiles. See BLINDNESS.

"to make hard, callous, to petrify" (akin to B, No. 2), is used metaphorically, of the heart, Mark 6:52; 8:17; John 12:40; of the mind (or thoughts), 2—Corinthians 3:14 , of those in Israel who refused the revealed will and ways of God in the Gospel, as also in Romans 11:7 , RV, "hardened" (AV, "blinded"), in both places. See BLINDNESS.

"to make dry or hard" (akin to A, No. 1 and B, No. 1), is used in Acts 19:9; in Romans 9:18 , illustrated by the case of Pharaoh, who first persistently "hardened" his heart (see the RV marg. of Exodus 7:13,22; 8:19; text of Exodus 8:32; 9:7 ), all producing the retributive "hardening" by God, after His much long-suffering, Exodus 9:12 , etc., in Hebrews 3:8,13,15; 4:7 , warnings against the "hardening" of the heart.