Word Study for G4456 (πωρόω) | Strong's Concordance

pōróō /po-ro'-o/ Ask about this word

Rootapparently from (a kind of stone)

Meaningto petrify, i.e. (figuratively) to indurate (render stupid or callous)

KJV usageblind, harden.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of pōróō — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Greek word pōróō, represented by G4456, means to petrify or, figuratively, to harden or blind. It is derived from a word for a type of stone and describes a process of rendering something stupid or callous. This word appears 5 times across 5 unique verses in the Bible, indicating a specific and significant theological concept.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In the biblical narrative, G4456 is consistently used to describe a state of spiritual dullness or resistance. For example, the disciples' hearts were hardened after the miracle of the loaves, preventing them from considering its significance Mark 6:52. Jesus later asks them directly, "have ye your heart yet hardened?" when they fail to perceive or understand His teachings Mark 8:17. The term is also used to describe the state of Israel, where "the rest were blinded" Romans 11:7. In a pivotal passage, it is stated that God has hardened their heart, preventing them from seeing, understanding with their heart, and being converted for healing John 12:40. This spiritual condition is also described as their minds being blinded during the reading of the Old Testament 2 Corinthians 3:14.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words clarify the impact of being hardened:

G2588 kardía (heart): Defined as the thoughts or feelings (mind). This is the primary subject of hardening in multiple accounts, as in "their heart was hardened" Mark 6:52 and "hardened their heart" John 12:40.
G3540 nóēma (mind): Meaning a perception or the intellect itself. This word is used in parallel with G4456 to describe how a spiritual dullness affects understanding, as seen in the phrase "their minds were blinded" 2 Corinthians 3:14.
G5186 typhlóō (to make blind): This term, meaning to obscure, is used alongside G4456 to create a fuller picture of spiritual inability. For instance, God "hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart" John 12:40.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of G4456 is significant, pointing to a state of spiritual insensibility.

A Barrier to Salvation: Hardening is explicitly linked to an inability to perceive spiritual truth. It prevents a person from seeing with their eyes G3788, understanding G3539 with their heart G2588, being converted G1994, and ultimately being healed G2390 by God John 12:40.
Affects Heart and Mind: The process of hardening targets the core of human perception and will. Scripture describes both the heart G2588 being hardened (Mark 6:52, Mark 8:17) and the minds G3540 being blinded 2 Corinthians 3:14, indicating a comprehensive dullness.
Divine Action: The use of G4456 points to a divine action or judgment. John 12:40 states, "He hath... hardened their heart," and in Romans 11:7, the blinding of "the rest" is presented as a consequence within God's sovereign plan of election.

Summary

In summary, G4456 is a potent term that goes beyond simple stubbornness to describe a state of spiritual petrification. It signifies a hardening of the heart G2588 and a blinding of the mind G3540 that makes an individual incapable of understanding spiritual realities or responding to God. This condition is presented as a direct obstacle to conversion G1994 and divine healing G2390, making G4456 a crucial word for understanding biblical concepts of unbelief and divine judgment.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Greek New Testament, this word appears as a verb across 5 occurrences, inflected in 5 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form.

Aorist Active Indicative 3rd Singular 1×
Aorist Passive Indicative 3rd Plural 1×
Aorist Passive Indicative 3rd Singular 1×
Perfect Passive Participle Accusative Singular Feminine 1×
Perfect Passive Participle Nominative Singular Feminine 1×

Nominative: The subject of the verb.
Accusative: The direct object of the verb.
Singular: One.
Plural: More than one.
Feminine: Feminine grammatical gender.
3rd: Third person — the one spoken about ("he"/"they").
Aorist: Action viewed as a single whole — usually a simple past event.
Perfect: A completed act whose results continue.
Active: The subject performs the action.
Passive: The subject is acted upon.
Indicative: A plain statement of fact.
Participle: A verbal adjective — describes while carrying the verb's action.

Related Words

Other entries the study above points to — each one is drawn from a reference it makes. Follow the trail to see how the words connect.

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 5 verses across 4 of the 27 books. Most frequent in Mark (2 verses); never once in the other 23.

Mark

John

Romans

2 Corinthians

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.