📖 Biblical Definition
Stiff-necked is the biblical figure for stubbornly refusing instruction or correction, drawn from oxen that will not bend the neck to the yoke. It is God’s repeated diagnosis of Israel under the old covenant: "I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people" (Exodus 32:9; 33:3; 34:9; Deuteronomy 9:6, 13). Stephen leveled the same charge against the Sanhedrin: "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost" (Acts 7:51). The opposite of stiff-necked is teachable, submitted, broken — the disposition Christ blesses in Matthew 5:3-5. Every Christian man must regularly ask the LORD to break his neck, gently, before discipline becomes necessary.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Stubbornly refusing the yoke of God.
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The metaphor drawn from yoke-resistant oxen — stubbornly refusing instruction, correction, or covenant; God's repeated diagnosis of Israel from Sinai onward, brought to climax in Stephen's indictment of his hearers in Acts 7:51.
📖 Key Scripture
Exodus 32:9 — "And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people."
Acts 7:51 — "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye."
Deuteronomy 9:6 — "For thou art a stiffnecked people."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Treated as an obscure idiom; missing how thoroughly it encapsulates the human heart's refusal of God.
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Every nation goes stiff-necked. Israel did; we do. The cure is not lecturing the neck but receiving the yoke that is easy and the burden that is light. Christ offers exchange: come unto Me and I will give you rest. Stiff necks unbend at the cross.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew qesheh-oref — hard of neck.
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['Hebrew', 'H7186', 'qasheh', 'hard']
['Hebrew', 'H6203', 'oref', 'neck']
Usage
"Stiff necks unbend only at the cross."
"Christ's yoke is the cure."