What does σκληρύνω (sklērýnō) mean in the Bible?
σκληρύνω (sklērýnō): Hardening the heart against God's word through willful resistance, not mere intellectual disagreement
Greek · G4645
σκληρύνω
To harden
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σκληρύνω G4645
Pronunciation sklērýnō
What does σκληρύνω (sklērýnō) mean in the Bible?
σκληρύνω (sklērýnō): Hardening the heart against God's word through willful resistance, not mere intellectual disagreement
Full entry for σκληρύνω (G4645) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4645?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include harden (3), He hardens (1), may be hardened (1), stubbornly (1).
Where does σκληρύνω (sklērýnō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 19:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (4), Acts (1), Romans (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It harden 3× Hebrews 3:8, Hebrews 3:15, Hebrews 4:7
He hardens 1× Romans 9:18
may be hardened 1× Hebrews 3:13
stubbornly 1× Acts 19:9
Show sample aligned rows
Acts 19:9 ἐσκληρύνοντο to stubbornly Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Plural Romans 9:18 σκληρύνει to He hardens Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Hebrews 3:8 σκληρύνητε to harden Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural Hebrews 3:13 σκληρυνθῇ to may be hardened Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 3rd Person Singular Hebrews 3:15 σκληρύνητε to harden Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural Hebrews 4:7 σκληρύνητε to harden Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Acts 19:9
Aligned rows 6
Books represented 3
Acts 1 Romans 1 Hebrews 4
Source forms
σκληρύνητε 3x sklērynēte Hebrews 3:8, Hebrews 3:15, Hebrews 4:7
ἐσκληρύνοντο 1x esklērynonto Acts 19:9
σκληρύνει 1x sklērynei Romans 9:18
σκληρυνθῇ 1x sklērynthē Hebrews 3:13
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural 3x Hebrews 3:8, Hebrews 3:15, Hebrews 4:7
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Hebrews 3:13
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x Acts 19:9
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Romans 9:18
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Hardening the heart against God's word through willful resistance, not mere intellectual disagreement
Strong's G4645
Lexical occurrences 6 verses Greek text appearances 6 times Word forms 2 forms 6 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 19:8-10 Source Gloss
to harden
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Hardening the heart against God's word through willful resistance, not mere intellectual disagreement
(σκληρός), [in LXX chiefly for קָשָׁה hi., also for חָזַק ;] to harden. Metaphorical, to harden, make stubborn: with accusative of person(s), Rom.9:18; T. καρδίας (Psa.95:8), Heb.3:8, 15 4:7. Pass., to become hardened: Act.19:9, Heb.3:13.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 19:9 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Passive Indicative
ἐσκληρύνοντο esklhrunonto
I harden
Read verse Romans 9:18 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
σκληρύνει. sklhrunei
I harden
Read verse Hebrews 3:8 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive
σκληρύνητε sklhrunhte
I harden
Read verse Hebrews 3:13 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Subjunctive
σκληρυνθῇ sklhrunqh
I harden
Read verse Hebrews 3:15 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive
σκληρύνητε sklhrunhte
I harden
Read verse Hebrews 4:7 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive
σκληρύνητε sklhrunhte
I harden
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 6 Tenses Aorist, Imperfect, Present Voices Active, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 4×
Aorist Active Heb 3:8 · Heb 3:15 · Heb 4:7 3×
Aorist Passive Heb 3:13 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 2×
Imperfect Passive Acts 19:9 1×
Present Active Rom 9:18 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 4 present 1
Voice
active 4 passive 1
Mood
subjunctive 4 indicative 1
NT Occurrences
Romans 9:18 σκληρύνει present active indicative ongoing Hebrews 3:13 σκληρυνθῇ aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive Hebrews 3:15 σκληρύνητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Hebrews 3:8 σκληρύνητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Hebrews 4:7 σκληρύνητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
To become stubborn or resistant.
to harden
To harden, make stubborn.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
σκληρύνω is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Describes God’s judicial action in confirming persistent rebellion. Acts 19:8-10
Describes moral resistance to God's voice. Hebrews 3:7-19
Describes the spiritual condition of rejecting hearers. Romans 9:14-29
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain