English · KJV
H7188

קָשַׁח

qâshach /kaw-shakh'/ Ask about this word
Roota primitive root
Meaningto be (causatively, make) unfeeling
KJV usageharden.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of qâshach — 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 Hebrew word qâshach, represented by H7188, is a primitive root meaning to be (causatively, make) unfeeling; harden. It is a rare term, appearing only 2 times across 2 unique verses in the Bible, but it carries significant weight in describing both natural and spiritual conditions.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In its biblical usage, H7188 illustrates a state of being unfeeling or unresponsive. In the natural world, it describes an animal that "is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers" Job 39:16, indicating a lack of natural affection and care. The second instance applies this concept to the human spiritual condition, appearing in a lament to God: "O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear?" Isaiah 63:17. Here, it signifies a heart made spiritually unfeeling and distant from God.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words provide context for the state of being hardened:

  • H3820 lêb (the heart): This is the object that is hardened in Isaiah 63:17. It is used widely for feelings and the will, and scripture commands to "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" Proverbs 4:23.
  • H3374 yirʼâh (fear; morally, reverence): This is what the hardened heart is separated from in Isaiah 63:17. This fear is not simple terror but a form of reverence that is described as "the beginning of wisdom" Proverbs 9:10.
  • H8582 tâʻâh (to... stray... err): This word is used in parallel with H7188 in Isaiah 63:17, linking the act of going astray with the hardening of the heart. It is famously used to describe humanity's fallen state: "All we like sheep have gone astray" Isaiah 53:6.
  • H6343 pachad (a... alarm... dread... fear): In contrast to reverential fear, this word appears in the Job passage, where the hardened animal's "labour is in vain without fear" Job 39:16. It often refers to a sudden alarm or terror, as in Psalms 91:5.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H7188 is concentrated on the concept of spiritual unresponsiveness.

  • Hardness of Heart: The primary theological use of H7188 is to describe a heart that has become unfeeling toward God. In Isaiah 63:17, a hardened heart H3820 is one that is closed off from the reverential fear H3374 of the Lord.
  • A Consequence of Erring: The pairing of being "made to err" H8582 and having a hardened heart in Isaiah 63:17 suggests that straying from God's ways leads directly to this condition of spiritual insensitivity.
  • An Unnatural State: The example in Job 39:16 frames hardness as an unnatural condition. A creature that is hardened against its own offspring acts contrary to its created purpose, providing a powerful physical metaphor for the spiritual unnaturalness of a heart that is hardened against its Creator.

Summary

In summary, H7188 is a concise and powerful term for being unfeeling and hardened. Though it appears only twice, its uses in Job and Isaiah paint a clear picture. It illustrates both the unnatural behavior of a creature detached from its young and, more significantly, the grave spiritual condition of a human heart that has been made unresponsive to the fear and reverence of God.

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 Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a verb across 2 occurrences, inflected in 2 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

  • תַּקְשִׁיחַ
  • הִקְשִׁיחַ

Related Words

Related

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.

H3820 לֵב a form of לֵבָב; the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; like H3374 יִרְאָה feminine of יָרֵא; fear (also used as infinitive); morally, reverence; [idiom] dreadful, [idiom] exceedingly, fear(-fuln H8582 תָּעָה a primitive root; to vacillate, i.e. reel or stray (literally or figuratively); also causative of both; (cause to) go as H6343 פַּחַד from פָּחַד; a (sudden) alarm (properly, the object feared, by implication, the feeling); dread(-ful), fear, (thing) gre

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 2 verses across 2 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Job and Isaiah (1 verse each); never once in the other 37.

1
Job
1
Isaiah

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, by grammatical form, 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.