Some Thoughts on an Exodus Theme - 4b: Hard Times Make Strong Men

 

Some Thoughts on an Exodus Theme

Part 4b:  Hard Times Make Strong Men

 

You’ve no doubt seen the memes of this four-part syllogism:

 

Hard times create Strong Men.

Strong men create Good Times.

Good Times create Weak Men.

Weak Men create Hard Times.

 

 

There are so many versions of this, from Classic to Patriotic “Murica” ones.  There’s even a SpongeBob version.

 

But my favorite has to be the Ryan Gosling version:

You might wonder what this final few articles in our series has to do with the meme.  Actually nothing much, really.  Except that there is a connection between the meme’s “hard” and “strong” and our leitmofit in Exodus.  Let me explain.

 

Can One Word Can Paint a Thousand Pictures?

The “hard heart” motif runs throughout the Bible and occurs 19 times in the Exodus story.  We’ve discussed the word for “heart” and it’s nuanced meaning in the Hebrew Bible.  If you need a refresher, you can go back to this earlier piece, or you can explore this series on Hebrew anatomy.  Or you can visit Jeff Benner’s page and find lots of useful information about body parts and meaning.

 

Our English translations of Exodus invariably render the phrase as “hard heart” (and various
renditions of the verb).  Here are three examples of the LORD doing the hardening.

 

The Lord said to Moses, ‘When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do.  But I will HARDEN HIS HEART so that he will not let the people go.

Exodus 4:21

 

But I will HARDEN PHARAOH’S HEART, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt,

Exodus 7:3

 

Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I HAVE HARDENED HIS HEART and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him…

Exodus 10:1

 

What meaning do you take from the phrase?  God is doing the hardening, yes, so we can remove that question from the mix.  But what’s happening when the heart is hardened?

 

The word “hard” can have various meanings.  Just consider it as an adjective.  It can mean solid, tough, or strong.  It can mean difficult or troublesome.  It can also mean bleak, grim, or harsh.  Finally, it can even mean true, sure, or positive.  It you check out a thesaurus, you’ll note even more possibilities.

 

Which meaning of “hard” is intended in the Exodus narrative?  Could there be more than one interpretation, depending on the context?  Here’s an even bigger question: what if our English word “hard” is not even what’s intended in Exodus? 

 

 

You say “potato” I say “tomato”…

In each of the verses cited above, a different Hebrew word lies behind the English word “hard”.  Three.  Different.  Words.  So not only should we be asking which meaning of “hard” could be in play, we ought to ask, “What if “hard is not even the intent?”  As my Yiddish bubbe might say, Oy vey izmir!

 

These three words are, in order, CHAZAQ (Ex 4:21), QASHEH (Ex 7:3), and KABED (Ex 10:1).  Together, these three Hebrew words occur 26 times in the Book of Exodus in the context of a hardened heart.  CHAZAQ occurs most frequently, at 15 times.  QASHEH occurs nine times.  And KABED occurs two times.

 

I am sure you have questions, and answering them might be a little bit of a Red Pill moment for all of us.  Or perhaps it will be stepping out of Kansas into Oz.

 

So, we have three different words which our English translations invariably render as “hard”.  What gives?  Are they synonyms?  Not so much.  So if Hebrew uses three different verbs, why do English translators render them each as “hard”?  The Red Pill is at hand.