Stiff-Necked

Stubbornness is so much a part of the human condition that a variety of very colorful terms have developed to describe it. In English we may speak of someone as bullheaded, hard-nosed, or even pigheaded. In Hebrew, the seriously recalcitrant can be called qĕšēt cōrep, which is translated “stiff-necked.” Here we will explore the image that lies behind this Hebrew term, observe the connotations linked to it, and track the ways in which the biblical authors infrequently but strategically put it to work.

There is not complete agreement on whether the real-world image behind the term stiff-necked is derived from the human or the animal world. Some suggest that the neck of woman is in view. Females depicted in ancient Near Eastern art often have long and exquisitely decorated necks; hence the female neck became a symbol of self-confidence and pride.[253] Certainly the Song of Solomon pays a great deal of attention to this feature of the young woman (Song of Sol. 1:10; 4:4; 7:4), and it becomes a matter of concern for Isaiah when he criticizes the women of Zion who are “haughty, walking along with outstretched necks” (Isa. 3:16). The more likely source for the image, however, is associated with steering a draft animal. The demanding tasks of plowing, threshing, and pulling carts and chariots employed the strength of horses, donkeys, and oxen. Through the use of harness, yoke, and rein the rider or driver put pressure on the draft animal’s neck in order to turn it this way or that.[254] An animal that resisted these commands was said to have a stiff neck. So when humans exhibit resistance, they too can be called stiff-necked.

Strong neck muscles allow animals such as the camel, donkey, and ox to resist the guidance of their handlers.

The idea of stubbornness falls along a continuum that stretches from reticence to full-out rebellion. Where does stiff-necked fit? We turn to the first mention of this condition in the Bible to better understand its connotations. Moses had just received the two tablets that contained the Ten Commandments. Meanwhile below the mountain, the Israelites were breaking the very first of those commandments by worshiping a golden calf. The Lord called the Israelites a “stiff-necked people” and said he was ready to destroy them all and start afresh with Moses (Exod. 32:9–10). Moses intervened, and the people were spared; but just before they left Mount Sinai, the expression surfaced again conveying a similar connotation. The Lord said he was afraid to personally accompany the Israelites to the Promised Land because they were stiff-necked and so he might destroy them on the way (Exod. 33:3–5). These first uses of the expression reveal just how serious this condition is: stiff-necked people are thoroughly rebellious people who live within a hair’s breadth of divine destruction.

From here on out the biblical authors use the term quite infrequently; but when it is used, it marks critical moments in Israel’s history, moments in which the Lord was brought to the very edge of unleashing his anger. Moses used the term three times in Deuteronomy. First he looked back, recalling how rebellious stubbornness nearly brought the Israelites to an end (Deut. 9:13–14). Then he looked ahead, urging them to step away from this condition as they prepared to step into the Promised Land. The final use of the adjective in the Pentateuch foreshadows an ominous future. As Moses prepared to hand leadership off to Joshua, this aging leader observed that the Israelites would all too often be characterized by this stiff-necked disposition in the future (Deut. 31:27).

This gloomy prediction hangs in the air as we turn past many pages of the Bible. Though there are many rebellions between the time of Joshua and the exile of Israel, the term is put away by the biblical authors until the history of rebellion reaches its climax. In the summary that explains the unthinkable defeat and deportation of the northern kingdom, the biblical author brings back the expression to illustrate how bad things had gotten: “But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the LORD their God” (2 Kings 17:14). The southern kingdom trailed behind, but not so very far behind. Jeremiah punctuates his criticism of Judah and threatens extreme judgment by employing this expression repeatedly (Jer. 7:26; 17:23; 19:15). In the end, the exile of Judah is explained with the rare but powerful description of their last king as stiff-necked: “He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel” (2 Chron. 36:13).

In ancient Near Eastern art, females are often portrayed with long necks.

Eventually the Lord brought a remnant of his chosen people back from the exile and began to reestablish them in the Promised Land. As Ezra read the book of the law of Moses, urging them to adopt a pattern of living that was different from their ancestors (Neh. 8:2), it elicited both joy and confession from the gathered Israelites. In a lengthy prayer that was offered as the people confessed their sins, they remembered and eschewed those moments in history marked by the stiff-necked rebellion of their ancestors that led to dramatic divine judgments (Neh. 9:16–17, 29).

The rare but powerful language was set aside once again for a time, only to appear one last time in Scripture, spoken by Stephen. When this witness to the work of the Lord Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin, he offered a remarkable testimony and history lesson. Stephen summarized the history of the Israelites, getting as far as the building of the temple that he had been accused of desecrating (Acts 6:13–14; 7:1–50). At this point, Stephen showed just how serious his detractors’ rejection of Jesus was. In language that was meant to show the gravity of their rebellion, he shouted, “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised” (Acts 7:51). That expression recalled all the serious rebellion of the past and led to the immediate execution of Stephen.