Kardia or "heart" according to the TDNT

    A.      לֵב, לֵבָב in the OT.

  The use of לֵב and לֵבָב is not promiscue. C. A. Briggs has shown that “the earliest documents use לב.לבב ״ ״ appears first in Isaiah.” For details cf. Briggs and Holzinger.
  1. “Heart” in the literal sense, a. in men and animals, the “neighbourhood of the heart,” “breast,” passim; סְג֥ר לֵב the “caul of the heart,” Hos. 13:8. b. “Seat of physical vitality,” vitalising (סעד) by nourishment, e.g., Gn. 18:5; “physical brokenness,” כָּל־לֵבָב דַּוָּי Is. 1:5.
  2. Fig. the “innermost part of man.” Men look on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart,” 1 S. 16:7; par. to קֶרֶב Jer. 31:33; to talk to oneself, to think (אמר, דבר passim, חשׁב Zech. 7:10, ברך Dt. 29:18; Job 1:5). The heart is the seat of mental or spiritual powers and capacities.
  a. The heart stands firm in bravery and courage (עמד Ez. 22:14): לֵבָך. par. כֹּחַ Da. 11:25, מָצָא אֶת־לִבּוֹ to find the heart, 2 S. 7:27, יִגְבַּהּ לִבּוֹ his courage arose, 2 Ch. 17:6, אַבִּירֵי לֵב the stouthearted, Ps. 76:5. The failure of courage רכך ׃(לֵב) e.g., Dt. 20:3, מסס e.g., Dt. 20:8, חרד e.g., 1 S. 4:13, יצא Gn. 42:28, עוב Ps. 40:12, נפל 1 S. 17:32, מוג Ez. 21:20, דִּבֶּר עַל־לֵב to encourage, e.g., Gn. 34:3. Joy: שִׂמְחַת לֵב e.g., Dt. 28:47. Of merriness of heart: βφψ e.g., Ju. 19:9, טֹוד e.g., 2 S. 13:28, שׂמח e.g., Zech. 10:7. רנן Job 29:13, רחשׁ Ps. 45:1, עלץ 1 S. 2:1. Trouble and sorrow (כְּאֵב לֵב Is. 65:14) lurk in the sides of the heart (קִירֹת לֵב Jer. 4:19). Of sorrow of heart: רעע Dt. 15:10 (רֹעַ לֵב Neh. 2:2), שׁבר ni e.g., Ps. 34:18, חיל Ps. 55:4, הפך ni Lam. 1:20, חמץ hitp. Ps. 73:21, כאב Prv. 14:13, סְחַרְחַר Ps. 38:10, זעק Is. 15:5. Pride: זְדוֹן לֵב Jer. 49:16, רֻם לֵב Jer. 48:29, גֹּבַהּ לֵב 2 Ch. 32:26. Of arrogance of heart, רום e.g., Dt. 8:14, גבהּ e.g., Ez. 28:17, נשׂא 2 K. 14:10. Inclination of heart, הָיָה לֵב אַחֲרֵי 2 S. 15:13, הִטָּה (הֵסֵב) לֵב e. g., 1 K. 8:58; Ezr. 6:22, הֵשִׁיב לֵד לֵב עֵל Mal. 3:24, נָטָה לֵב מֵעִם 1 K. 11:9. Anxious concern: אֶל or שִׁים אֶת־לֵב לְ. 1 S. 9:20; 1 S. 25:25. Sympathy: נֶהְפַּךְ לִדִּי Hos. 11:8. Incitement: חמם e.g., Dt. 19:6, קנא pi Prv. 23:17; dereliction: לֵב מַרְפֵּא Prv. 14:30. Desire: תַּאֲוַת לִבּוֹ Ps. 21:2; lusts: לֵב par. to עֵינַיִם e.g., Nu. 15:39, אַחַר עֵינַי הָלַךְ לִבִּי Job 31:7.
  b. The heart as the seat of rational functions. The heart is given by God לָדַעַת Dt. 29:3. Those who have won understanding (קנה לב Prv. 19:8) are אַנְשֵׁי לֵבָב Job 34:10 or חַכְמֵי לֵב e.g., Job 37:24, with far-reaching insight (רֹחַב לֵב 1 K. 5:9). To them belongs לֵב חָכָם וְנָבוֹן 1 K. 3:12; of them may be said לֵב נָבוֹן יִקְנֶה־דַּעַת Prv. 18:15; they speak out of the treasures of their knowledge (מִלִּבּם Job 8:10). Accordingly לִבּוֹ חָסֵר: his understanding fails him, Qoh. 10:3, חֶסֶר־לֵב (or חֹסֶר־לֵב, cf. BHK2, 3) folly, Prv. 10:21, חֲסַר־לֵב: lacking in understanding, e.g., Prv. 6:22, אֵין לֵב without understanding, e,g., Hos. 7:11, גָּנַב אֶת־לֵב: to deceive someone, e.g., Gn. 31:20, wine takes away understanding יִקַּח לֵב Hos. 4:11, תִּמְהיֹן לֵבָב confusion of mind, Dt. 28:28. Thoughts dwell in the heart רַעְיוֹנֵי לֵבָב Da. 2:30; חִקְרֵי־לֵב Ju. 5:16, including evil thoughts מַשְׂכִּיּוֹת לֵבָב Ps. 73:7, fantasies תַּרְמִית לֵב e.g., Jer. 14:14, self-invented visions חֲווֹן לֵב Jer. 23:16, artistic sense חָכְמַת־לֵב Ex. 35:35 (חֲכַם־לֵב artist, e.g., Ex. 28:3). עָלָה עַל־לֵב to come into the mind, e.g., Is. 65:17, הֵשִׁיב אֶל־לֵב to remember, e.g., Lam. 3:21, שִׂים (שִׁית) לֵב to direct attention to, e.g., Hag. 1:5; Jer. 31:21.
  c. From the heart comes planning and volition (תְזִמּוֹת לֵב e.g., Jer. 23:20): בִּלְבָבוֹ it is in his purpose, Is. 10:7, הָיָה עִם־לֵבָב to have a purpose, e.g., 1 K. 8:17, עָשָׂה בִלְבַב וּבְנֶפֶשׁ to act according to the will, 1 S. 2:35 (כְּלֵב 1 S. 13:14 etc.), נָתַן לֵבָב לְ 1 Ch. 22:19 or הֵכִין לֵבָב לְ Ezr. 7:10, to direct one’s purpose to, שִׂים עַל־לֵב to purpose, Da. 1:8, עָלְתָה עַל־לִבִּי it has been my purpose, e.g., Jer. 7:31. Inner impulse comes from the heart: כָּל־אִישׂ אֲשֶׂר נְשָׂאוֹ לִבּוֹ each whose heart moved him thereto, e.g., Ex. 36:2 (with מלא Est. 7:5), נְדִיב לֵב one who is willing, e.g., Ex. 35:5. לאֹ מִלִּבִּי not of one’s own impulse, e.g., Nu. 16:28. Attitude of will, or character, is rooted in the heart (comprehensively כְּלָיוֹת וָלֵב Jer. 11:20). If the will (דֶּרֶךְ לֵב Is. 57:17; יֵצֶר מַחְשְׁבֹת לֵב Gn. 6:5) is inclined in the right direction (הִטָּה לֵב Ps. 119:36, הֵכִין לֵב e.g., Job 11:13), this is renewal of heart (לֵב חָדָשׁ e.g., Ez. 18:31). The whole man with his inner being and willing is comprised in לֵב: full committal בְּכָל־לֵב (par. to בְּכָל־נֶפֶשׁ e.g., Jos. 22:5, בֶּאֱמֶת 1 S. 12:24, בְּכָל־רָצוֹן 2 Ch. 15:15, בְּכָל־מְאֹד Dt. 6:5) or בְּלֵב שָׁלֵם e.g., 1 Ch. 29:9 (par. to בְּנֶפֶשׁ חֲפֵצָה 1 Ch. 28:9, בֶּאֱמֶת 2 K. 20:3). Thus לֵב can be used for “person,” e.g., Ps. 22:26 (along with כְּלָיוֹת Prv. 23:15 f., כָּבֵד Ps. 16:9, שְׁאֵר Ps. 73:26, בָּשָׂר Ps. 84:2), though with a slightly different nuance.
  d. Religious and moral conduct is rooted in the heart. With the heart one serves God (1 S. 12:20; par. to בֶּאֱמְת 1 S. 12:24; “with the whole heart” passim). In it dwells the fear of God, Jer. 32:40. The heart (לוּחַ לֵב) accepts the divine teachings, Prv. 7:3 (תּוֹרָתִי בְלִבָּם Is. 51:7). The heart of the righteous (יִשְׁרֵי־לֵב e.g., Ps. 7:10) trusts in God. Prv. 3:5, is faithful to Him לֵבָב נֶאֱמָן (Neh. 9:8), and is without fear אמץ hi, Ps. 27:14. We read of the defection of the heart: רחק pi, Is. 29:13, סור e.g., Dt. 17:17, סוג e.g., Ps. 44:18, פנה e.g., Dt. 29:17, פתה Dt. 11:16, זנה Ez. 6:9; of the hardening of the heart, חזק q and pi, e.g., Ex. 4:21; 7:13, כבד and hi, e.g., Ex. 9:7, 8:11, קשׁה hi, e.g., Ex. 7:3, אמץ pi, e.g., Dt. 2:30; the hardened: חִזְקֵי לֵב. 2:4 (par. to קְשֵׁי פָנִים), אַבִּירֵי לֵב Is. 46:12; obduracy: שְׁרִירוּת לֵב e.g., Dt. 29:18, מְגִנַּת לֵב Lam. 3:65. The heart of the sinner (sin is written עַל לוּחַ לִבָּם Jer. 17:1) is uncircumcised: עָרְלַת לֵבָב e.g., Dt. 10:16, עַרְלֵי לֵב Jer. 9:25. Circumcision of the heart (מול e.g., Dt. 10:16) comes with conversion of heart: שׁוב Jl 2:12, הֵשִיב אֶל־לֵב 1 K. 8:47, לֵב נִשְׁבָּר Ps. 51:17. וַיַּךְ לֵב is used for conscience smiting us at 1 S. 24:5, and מִכְשׁוֹל לֵב for a scruple of conscience at 1 S. 25:31. The righteous is pure in heart, בַּר־לֵבָב Ps. 24:4, אֹהֵב טְהָור־לֵב Prv. 22:11; cf. ישֶׁר לֵבָב Dt. 9:5, תָּם־לֵבָב Gn. 20:5, יִשְׁרַת לֵבָב 1 K. 3:6, לֵב טהוֹר Ps. 51:10. He speaks the whole truth, אֶת־כָּל־לִבּוֹ Ju. 16:17. The ungodly man has a corrupt heart, עִקְּשֵׁי־לֵב Prv. 11:20, חַנְפֵי לֵב Job 36:13; he speaks with a double tongue, בְּלֵב וָלֵב Ps. 12:3.
  3. Figur. בְּלֶב־יָם “in the midst of the sea,” passim.
  The various nuances are reproduced in the LXX. The most common renderings apart from καρδία or στῆθος are διάνοια, ψυχή, ἐνδεὴς φρενῶν, νοῦς.

Baumgärtel

    B.      καρδία among the Greeks.

  The word is primarily used 1. lit. for the heart in a physiological sense as the central organ of the body of man or beast, e.g., Hom. Il., 10, 94: κραδίη δέ μοι ἔξω στηθέων ἐκθρῴσκει; 13, 442: δόρυ δʼ ἐν κραδίῃ ἐπεπήγει; Aesch. Eum., 861: καρδίαν ἀλεκτόρων; P. Leid., V, XIII, 24 (Preis. Zaub., XII, 438): καρδία ἱέρακος; Gal. passim; cf. also Plat. Symp., 215d: ἡ καρδία πηδᾷ (also Aristoph. Nu., 1391; Plut. Aud. Poet., 10 [II, 30a]); P. Lond., 1, 46, 157 (Preis. Zaub., V, 156 f.): ὄνομά μοι καρδία περιεζωσμένη ὄφιν.
  It also occurs 2. figur., especially in the poets, infrequently in prose, for the heart as the seat of moral and intellectual life: a. the seat of emotions and passions: anger, Hom. Il., 9, 646: ἀλλά μοι οἰδάνεται κραδίη χόλῳ; Eur. Alc., 837: ὦ πολλὰ τλᾶσα καρδία, courage or fear, Hom. Il., 21, 547: ἐν μέν οἱ κραδίῃ θάρσος βάλε; I, 225: κυνὸς ὄμματʼ ἔχων, κραδίνη δʼ ἐλάφοιο, joy or sadness, Od., 4, 548: κραδίη καὶ θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ; 17, 489: ἐν μὲν κραδίῃ μέγα πένθος ἄεξεν Epict. Diss., I, 27, 21: τὸν δὲ τρέμοντα καὶ ταρασσόμενον καὶ ῥηγνύμενον ἔσωθεν τὴν καρδίαν, love, Sappho, 2, 5 f. (Diehl, I, 329): τό μοι μὰν καρδίαν ἐν στήθεσιν ἐπτόαισεν, Aristoph. Nu., 86: ἐκ τῆς καρδίας υʼ ὄντως φιλεῖς; Theocr. Idyll., 29, 4: οὐχ ὅλας φιλέειν μʼ ἐθέλησθʼ ἀπὸ καρδίας; M. Ant., II, 3: ἀπὸ καρδίας εὐχάριστος τοῖς θεοῖς. b. The seat of the power of thought, Hom. Il., 21, 441: ἄνοον κραδίην ἔχες; Pind. Olymp., 13, 16 ff.: πολλὰ δʼ ἐν καρδίαις ἀνδρῶν ἔβαλον ὧραι … ἀρχαῖα σοφίσμαθʼ …; Corp. Herm., VII, 1: ἀναβλέψαντες τοῖς τῆς καρδίας ὀφθαλμοῖς (cf. IV, 11); VII, 2: ἀφορῶντες τῇ καρδίᾳ εἰς τὸν [οὕτως] ὁραθῆναι θέλοντα, οὐ γάρ ἐστιν … ὁρατὸς ὀφθαλμοῖς, ἀλλὰ νῷ καὶ καρδίᾳ. c. Seat of the will and resolves, Hom. Il., 10, 244: πρόφρων κραδίη καὶ θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ; Soph. Ant., 1105: καρδίας δʼ ἐξίσταμαι τὸ δρᾶν.
  In philosophical terminology we find in Plato a weak trend toward ascribing to the καρδία functions of the soul, cf. Symp., 218a: δεδηγμένος τε ὑπὸ ἀλγεινοτέρου καὶ τὸ ἀλγεινότατον ὧν ἄν τις δηχθείη—τὴν καρδίαν γὰρ [ἢ ψυχὴν] ἢ ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸ ὀνομάσαι πληγείς τε καὶ δηχθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ λόγων, Resp., VI, 492c: ἐν δὴ τῷ τοιούτῳ τὸν νέον, τὸ λεγόμενον, τίνα οἴει καρδίαν ἴσχειν; Tim. Locr., 100a: τῶ δʼ ἀλόγω μέρεος τὸ μὲν θυμοειδὲς περὶ τὰν καρδίαν, τὸ δʼ ἐπιθυματικὸν περὶ τὸ ἧπαρ. But the basic physiological concept is maintained, cf. Tim., 65c: τὰ φλέβια (veins), οἷόν περ δοκίμια τῆς γλώττης τεταμένα ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν. Aristotle, for whom the heart is primarily the centre of the blood-stream, and hence the centre of physical life in general (e.g., De Somno et Vigilia, 3, p. 456b, cf. 458a; Mot. An., 10, p. 703a), locates the emotions in the neighbourhood of the καρδία on the basis of his physiology of the senses, cf. De Sensu et Sensili, 2, p. 439a, 1 f.: καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ τὸ αἰσθητήριον αὐτῶν, τῆς τε γεύσεως καὶ τῆς ἁφῆς, Part. An., II, 10, p. 656a, 28 ff.: ἀρχὴ τῶν αἰσθήσεών ἐστιν ὁ περὶ τὴν καρδίαν τόπος, διώρισται πρότερον ἐν τοῖς περὶ αἰσθήσεως· καὶ διότι αἱ μὲν δύο φανερῶς ἠρτημέναι πρὸς τὴν καρδίαν εἰσίν, ἥ τε τῶν ἁπτῶν καὶ ἡ τῶν χυμῶν, ibid., 656b, 22 ff.: ἔχει δʼ ἐν τῷ ἔμπροσθεν τὸν ἐγκέφαλον πάντα τὰ ἔχοντα τοῦτο τὸ μόριον, διὰ τὸ ἔμπροσθεν εἶναι ἐφʼ ὃ αἰσθάνεται, τὴν δʼ αἴσθησιν ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας, ταύτην δʼ εἶναι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν, καὶ τὸ αἰσθάνεσθαι διὰ τῶν ἐναίμων γίνεσθαι μορίων, φλεβῶν δʼ εἶναι κενὸν τὸ ὄπισθεν κύτος; ibid., III, 4, 666a, 11 ff. (after a physiological discussion of the heart): ἔτι δʼ αἱ κινήσεις τῶν ἡδέων καὶ τῶν λυπηρῶν καὶ ὅλως πάσης αἰσθήσεως ἐντεῦθεν ἀρχόμεναι φαίνονται καὶ πρὸς ταύτην περαίνουσαι. In Stoicism the heart is in some sense the central organ of intellectual life, the seat of reason, from which feeling, willing and thinking proceed, cf. Chrysipp. acc. to v. Arnim, II, 245, 34 ff.: τούτοις πᾶσι συμφώνως καὶ τοὔνομα τοῦτʼ ἔσχηκεν ἡ καρδία κατά τινα κράτησιν καὶ κυρείαν, ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν αὐτῇ εἶναι τὸ κυριεῦον καὶ κρατοῦν τῆς ψυχῆς μέρος, ὡς ἂν κρατία λεγομένη, ibid., 246, 1 f.: ὁρμῶμεν κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος καὶ συγκατατιθέμεθα τούτῳ καὶ εἰς τοῦτο συντείνει τὰ αἰσθητήρια πάντα, cf. ibid., 246, 13 f.: Χρύσιππος δὲ τοῦ ψυχικοῦ πνεύματος πλήρη φασὶν εἶναι τὴν κοιλίαν ταύτην (sc. τὴν ἀριστερὰν τῆς καρδίας), ibid., 244, 18 ff.; 248, 33 ff.; 247, 26 ff., 34 ff.; 249, 5 ff.; 236, 15 and 25 ff., esp. 34 f.: ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τὸ λογιστικὸν ὑπάρχειν; also Diogenes of Babylon, the pupil of Chrysipp., ibid., III, 216, 16 f.: ὃ πρῶτον τροφῆς καὶ πνεύματος ἀρύεται, ἐν τούτῳ ὑπάρχει τὸ ἡγεμονικόν, ὃ δὲ πρῶτον τροφῆς καὶ πνεύματος ἀρύεται, ἡ καρδίὰ ibid., line 9 f.: ἡ διάνοια ἄρα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ, ἀλλʼ ἐν τοῖς κατωτέρω τόποις, μάλιστά πως περὶ τὴν καρδίαν, and other Stoics, cf. v. Arnim, II, 228, 4 f.: οἱ Στωϊκοὶ πάντες ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ ἢ τῷ περὶ τὴν καρδίαν πνεύματι (sc. εἶναι τὸ ἡγεμονικόν); Diog. Laert., VII, 159 (ibid., line 1 ff.): ἡγεμονικὸν δὲ εἶναι τὸ κυριώτατον τῆς ψυχῆς, ἐν ᾧ αἱ φαντασίαι καὶ αἱ ὁρμαὶ γίνονται καὶ ὅθεν ὁ λόγος ἀναπέμπεται· ὅπερ εἶναι ἐν καρδίᾳ. On the whole, however, this discussion does not go beyond the question of the seat of the spiritual life in the body. There is no strict transposition of the concept καρδία into the spiritual realm (cf. v. Arnim, II, 248, 33 ff.: καθʼ ἣν ἔτι φορὰν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγεται πάντα· “ἡψάμην σου τῆς καρδίας” ὥσπερ τῆς ψυχῆς … τῇ δὲ καρδίᾳ καθάπερ ἂν τῇ ψυχῇ χρώμεθα, cf. ibid., 249, 5 ff., 247, 26 ff. and 36 ff.). That is to say, the process of thought is not specifically identified with the καρδία.
  3. Figur. of nature, the “inward part,” the “core” of a plant or “kernel” of a tree, e.g., Theophr. Historia Plantarum, I, 2, 6: καλοῦσι δέ τινες τοῦτο καρδίαν, οἱ δʼ ἐντεριώνην· ἔνιοι δὲ τὸ ἐντὸς τῆς μήτρας αὐτῆς καρδίαν, οἱ δὲ μυελόν, P. Leid., V, XIII, 24 (Preis. Zaub., XII, 438): ἀρτεμισίας (wormwood) καρδία; P. Leid. W., VI, 50 f. (Preis. Zaub., XIII, 262 f.): λαβῶν βάϊν (palm branch) χλωρὰν καὶ τῆς καρδίας κρατήσας σχίσον εἰς δύο.


    C.      The LXX, and Hellenistic and Rabbinic Judaism.

  1. In the LXX καρδία is the true equivalent of the Heb. לֵב or לֵבָב, more rarely translated διάνοια and ψυχή, and very rarely φρένες, νοῦς and στῆθος. Only in a few verses is καρδία used for קֶרֶב (ψ 5:9; 61:5; 93:19; Prv. 14:33; 26:24), for מֵעִים (Lam. 2:11; ψ 39:8 B), for רוּחַ (Ez. 13:3), for בֶּטֶן (Prv. 22:18; Hab. 3:16 vl.), or for עֹרֶף (2 Παρ. 30:8 B). Nowhere in a certain LXX text does καρδία correspond to נֶפֶשׁ (cf. Dt. 12:20 A; ψ 93:19 S; 130:2 A). The wealth of nuances in the underlying Heb. words is reflected in καρδία in the LXX. Thus καρδία is first the principle and organ of man’s personal life. It is the focus of his being and activity as a spiritual personality (cf. Prv. 4:23: πάσῃ φυλακῇ τήρει σὴν καρδίαν· ἐκ γὰρ τούτων ἔξοδοι ζωῆς cf. ψ 21:26). Hence it is also the source and seat of his moral and religious life, Dt. 6:5; 1 Βασ‌. 12:20, 24; Ἰερ. 39:40; Prv. 7:3; 3:5; Jl. 2:12 etc. καρδία is often interchangeable with ψυχή, διάνοια, πνεῦμα, νοῦς etc., but in contrast to even these synonyms it relates to the unity and totality of the inner life represented and expressed in the variety of intellectual and spiritual functions, → ψυχή.
  2. When it follows OT lines of thought, Hellenistic Judaism uses καρδία in the same sense as the LXX, e.g., Test. L. 13:1: φοβεῖσθε κύριον τὸν θεὸν ὑμῶν ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν; Test. Jos. 10:5: εἶχον τὸν φόβον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου; Test. S. 5:2: ἀγαθύνατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ἐνώπιον κυρίου; Test. D. 5:11: ἐπιστρέψει καρδίας ἀπειθεῖς πρὸς κύριον; Test. S. 4:5 (cf. Test. R. 4:1 etc.): ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας; Test. R. 6:10: ἐν ταπεινώσει καρδίας ὑμῶν; Test. Iss. 3:1: ἐν εὐθύτητι καρδίας; Test. N. 3:1: ἐν καθαρότητι καρδίας; Test. Jos. 4:6: κύριος … εὐδοκεῖ … τοῖς ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ … αὐτῷ προσερχομένοις; 17:3: τέρπεται … ὁ θεὸς … ἐπὶ προαιρέσει καρδίας ἀγαθῆς; Test. S. 4:7: ἀγαπήσατε ἕκαστος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγαθῇ καρδίᾳ; Test. G. 5:3: (the righteous and humble) … οὐχ ὑπʼ ἄλλου καταγινωσκόμενος ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας καρδίας; 6:7: ἄφες αὐτῷ ἀπὸ καρδίας; Test. S. 2:4: ἡ γὰρ καρδία μου ἦν σκληρά Test. Jud. 20:5: ἐμπεπύρισται ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας καρδίας; Test. Zeb. 2:5: ἐβόμβει ἡ καρδία μου; Test. Jos. 15:3: ἡ καρδία μου ἐτάκη; Test. D. 4:7: συναίρονται ἀλλήλοις ἵνα ταράξωσι τὴν καρδίαν; Test. Jos. 7:2: πόνον καρδίας ἐγὼ ἀλγῶ; Test. L. 6:2: συνετήρουν τοὺς λόγους τούτους ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου; 8:19: ἔκρυψα … τοῦτο ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου; Test. D. 1:4: ἐν καρδίᾳ μου ἐθέμην; Gk. En. 14:2: νοῆσαι καρδίᾳ; Ep. Ar. 17: ἐπεκαλούμην τὸν κυριεύοντα κατὰ καρδίαν.; cf. 4 Esr. 3:1: “My thoughts pierced to my heart” (cf. Is. 65:17 etc.); 3:30: “Then my heart (I) was startled”; 3:21: Adam had an “evil heart,” hence he sinned (cf. 4:30); similarly his descendants have an evil heart, which “has turned them from life and led them to destruction and to the way of death” (3:20, 26; 7:48).
  Similarly Philo, directly following the OT, can speak of ἀπερίτμητοι τὴν καρδίαν, Spec. Leg., I, 304 (cf. Lv. 26:41), or demand with the Law, τὰ δίκαια … ἐντιθέναι … τῇ καρδίᾳ, Spec. Leg., IV, 137 (cf. Dt. 6:6). He constantly refers to Dt. 30:14: ἔστιν σου ἐγγὺς τὸ ῥῆμα σφόδρα … ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, Poster. C., 85; Virt., 183; Mut. Nom., 237 f.; Som., II, 180; Omn. Prob. Lib., 68; Praem. Poen., 79 f. But the biblical idea that the heart is the centre of the inner life is alien to Philo. To him καρδία is an inexact term. It is merely a symbol of διάνοια or βουλαί (βουλεύματα). In Mut. Nom., 124 the name Caleb is explained in terms of πᾶσα καρδία, but in the allegorical exposition ψυχή replaces καρδία, which Philo knows only in a physiological context. The καρδία, seated in the στήθη (Leg. All., I, 68; cf. also the image in Vit. Mos., I, 189), is one of the 7 inner parts of the body, the entrails (Op. Mund., 118; Leg. All., I, 12). Its significance is as the centre of the blood-stream, Spec. Leg., I, 216 and 218. He has learned of the action of the heart from doctors and scientists: δοκεῖ τοῦ ὅλου σώματος προπλάττεσθαι ἡ καρδία, θεμελίου τρόπον ἢ ὡς ἐν νηὶ τρόπις (keel), ἐφʼ ᾗ οἰκοδομεῖται τὸ ἄλλο σῶμα—παρὸ καὶ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν ἔτι ἐμπηδᾶν φασιν αὐτὴν ὡς καὶ πρώτην γινομένην καὶ ὑστέραν φθειρομένην, Leg. All., II, 6. If there may be seen here the influence of Gk. philosophy on his understanding of καρδία, acquaintance with the anthropology of Hellenistic philosophers (→ 608 f.) may be seen in his frequent mention of the problem whether the ἡγεμονικόν is located in the heart or the brain. Though he occasionally equates καρδία and ἡγεμονικόν (Spec. Leg., I, 305), he leaves the question open (Spec. Leg., I, 214; Som., I, 32; Poster. C., 137; Det. Pot. Ins., 90) even when referring to the Torah of sacrifices, which says nothing about offering the mind or heart, though this would be specially sanctified if the ἡγεμονικόν could be assumed in one or the other according to the will of the legislator, Sacr. AC., 136; cf. Spec. Leg., I, 213 ff. Once with reference to the tree of life in Paradise he mentions the view of those who regard the heart as the ἡγεμονικόν, Leg. All., I, 59: τὴν καρδίαν ζύλον εἰρήσθαι ζωῆς, ἐπειδὴ αἰτία τε τοῦ ζῆν ἐστι καὶ τὴν μέσην τοῦ σώματος χώραν ἔλαχεν, ὡς ἂν κατʼ αὐτοὺς ἡγεμονικὸν ὑπάρχουσα. On another occasions he adopts the strange argument for circumcision that it is designed to conform the organ of generation to the heart, the more valuable inward organ which produces thought, Spec. Leg., I, 6: τὴν πρὸς καρδίαν ὁμοιότητα τοῦ περιτμηθέντος μέρους· πρὸς γὰρ γένεσιν ἄμφω παρεσκεύασται, τὸ μὲν ἐγκάρδιον πνεῦμα νοημάτων, τὸ δὲ γόνιμον ὄργανον ζῷων. But his own opinion, in connection with his religious criticism of reason, is that the seat of the ἡγεμονικόν is not to be found in the human body, and that the heart, the physical organ which alone he has in view, cannot be the seat of the higher life. Joseph. mentions the καρδία exclusively as an organ of the body of men and beasts, after the manner of the Greeks, e.g., Ant., 5, 193: πλήξας δʼ αὐτὸν … εἰς τὴν καρδίαν, 7, 241: τοξεύσας κατὰ τῆς καρδίας ἀπέκτεινεν; 9, 118: τοῦ βέλους διὰ τῆς καρδίας ἐνεχθέντος; cf. 19, 346: διακάρδιον ἔσχεν ὀδύνην. The movement towards a figurative understanding in εὐκαρδίως, “of good heart or courage,” Ant., 12, 373: σφόδρα εὐκαρδίως ἐπʼ αὐτὸν (sc. τὸν ἐλέφαντα) ὁρμήσας; Bell., 7, 358: φέρειν εὐκαρδίως (sc. τὸν θάνατον), is again in accordance with Gk. usage,12 and there is no analogy to it in the LXX. Where the OT has heart, Joseph. uses διάνοια or ψυχή.
  3. Rabb. Judaism follows the OT in its use of לֵב, לֵבָב, Aram. לִבָּא, cf. e.g., Ber., 2, 1: כון לבו, “he thinks of, is aware of”; S. Dt., 33 on 6:6: תץ הדברים האלה על לבבך; S. Dt., 24 on 1:27 (p. 34, Kittel): (proverb) “what you have in your heart against your friend is the same as what he has in his heart against you”; Midr. Qoh. on 1:16: the heart as the centre of life; Ab., 2, 9: “What is the good way to which a man should keep? … A good heart … What is the evil way which he must avoid? … An evil heart”; S. Dt., 41 on 11:13 (p. 95, Kittel): “Is there a service (of God) in the heart? … This is prayer”; M. Ex., 20, 21: כל גבהי לבב קרוים תועבה, “all the proud are called an abomination.” “So long as the Jew spoke of the heart, he had in view the inner life as a unity with all its willing, feeling and thinking.”


    D.      καρδία in the New Testament.


The NT use of the word agrees with the OT use as distinct from the Greek. Even more strongly than the LXX it concentrates on the heart as the main organ of psychic and spiritual life, the place in man at which God bears witness to Himself.
1. The thought of the heart as the central organ of the body and the seat of physical vitality is found only in Lk. 21:34 and the select poetic expressions of Ac. 14:17: ἐμπιπλῶν τροφῆς … τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, and Jm. 5:5: ἐθρέψατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν (cf. 1 K. 21:7; ψ 101:5; 103:15).
2. That the heart is the centre of the inner life of man and the source or seat of all the forces and functions of soul and spirit is attested in many different ways in the NT.
a. In the heart dwell feelings and emotions, desires and passions.

  Joy, Ac. 2:26 (cf. ψ 15:9); Jn. 16:22 (cf. Is. 66:14); Ac. 14:17; pain and sorrow, Jn. 16:6; 14:1, 27 (cf. ψ 54:4; 142:4; Lam. 2:11; Job 37:1); R. 9:2; 2 C. 2:4; Ac. 2:37 (cf. ψ 108:16); 7:54; 21:13; Lk. 4:18 K (cf. Is. 61:1; ψ 33:18), love, 2 C. 7:3; 6:11; Phil. 1:7; desire, R. 10:1; Lk. 24:32 (cf. ψ 72:21; 38:3), of God, Ac. 13:22: ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου (cf. 1 Βασ‌. 13:14); lust, R. 1:24; Jm. 3:14; Mt. 5:28; 6:21 and par..

b. The heart is the seat of understanding, the source of thought and reflection.

  Mk. 7:21 and par.; Mt. 12:34 and par.; 13:15b; Jn. 12:40b and Ac. 28:27b (Is. 6:10); Lk. 1:51 (cf. 1 Ch. 29:18); 24:38 (cf. Da. 2:29 Θʼ); 2:35; 9:47; Ac. 8:22; Hb. 4:12; Ac. 7:23: ἀνέβη ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ, “it came into his mind,” v. 1 C. 2:9 (cf. Ἰερ 3:16; 51:21; Is. 65:16; 4 Βασ‌. 12:5); Lk. 2:19, 51 (cf. Da. 7:28 Θʼ); Mt. 9:4 (cf. Da. 1:8); Mk. 11:23; λέγειν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ, “to think,” Mt. 24:48 and par.; R. 10:6; Rev. 18:7 (cf. Is. 47:8; ψ 13:1; Dt. 8:17; 9:4; 1 Βασ‌. 27:1); R. 1:21; Lk. 24:25.

c. The heart is the seat of the will, the source of resolves.

  2 C. 9:7; Ac. 11:23; 1 C. 4:5 (cf. Sir. 37:13); 1 C. 7:37; Lk. 21:14: θέτε οὖν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, “then propose,” v. Ac. 5:4 (cf. Hag. 2:15; Mal. 2:2; Da. 1:8 Θʼ); Jn. 13:2; Rev. 17:17 (cf. 2 Esr. 17:5); Ac. 5:3; Col. 4:8; Eph. 6:22.

Thus καρδία comes to stand for the whole of the inner being of man in contrast to his external side, the πρόσωπον, 1 Th. 2:17; 2 C. 5:12 (cf. 1 Βασ‌. 16:7), to his mouth and lips, Mk. 7:6 and par. (Is. 29:13); Mt. 15:18; R. 10:8 ff. (Dt. 30:14); 2 C. 6:11; R. 2:29: περιτομὴ καρδίας in contrast to the ἐν τῷ φανερῷ ἐν σαρκὶ περιτομή, v. 28; Ac. 7:51 (cf. Ἰερ. 9:25; Ez. 44:7, 9; Lv. 26:41). Ac. 4:32: καρδία … μία (cf. 2 Ch. 30:12). The heart, the innermost part of man, represents the ego, the person, Col. 2:2; 1 Jn. 3:19 f.; 1 Pt. 3:4: ὁ κρυπτὸς τῆς καρδίας ἄνθρωπος.

  καρδία phrases are often used for personal or reflexive pronouns, e.g., Mk. 2:6: ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν == v. 8: ἐν ἑαυτοῖς; cf. Jn. 16:22; Col. 4:8; Jm. 5:5.

d. Thus the heart is supremely the one centre in man to which God turns, in which the religious life is rooted, which determines moral conduct.

  Lk. 16:15 (cf. 1 Βασ‌. 16:7; 1 Ch. 28:9); R. 8:27; 4 Th. 2:4 (cf. ψ. 11:20); Rev. 2:23 (cf. ψ 7:9; Ἰερ. 17:10); Gl. 4:6; R. 5:5; 2 C. 1:22; Eph. 3:17; Hb. 8:10; 10:16 (Ἰερ. 38:33); 2 C. 3:3 (cf. Prv. 7:3); R. 2:15; Lk. 8:15; Mt. 13:19; 2 C. 4:6; Eph. 1:18; Ac. 16:14 (cf. 2 Macc. 1:4); Ac. 15:9 (cf. Sir. 38:10); Hb. 10:22b; 2 Pt. 1:19; R. 10:9 f.; 1 C. 14:25; Mk. 12:30 and par. (Dt. 6:5); Mt. 18:35 (cf. Is. 59:13; Lam. 3:33); R. 6:17; 1 Pt. 1:22. The heart of natural sinful man, Mk. 7:21 and par.; Mt. 13:15a and Ac. 28:27a (Is. 6:10); Mk. 3:5; 6:52; 8:17; Jn. 12:40; Eph. 4:18; Jm. 1:26; Ac. 8:21 (though cf. ψ 7:10; 10:2); 2 C. 3:15; Hb. 3:12; R. 1:21, 24; 2:5; 1 Jn. 3:20 (→ 610); 2 Pt. 2:14; Ac. 7:39. The heart of the redeemed as it ought to be, Mt. 11:29 (cf. Da. 8:25); 5:8 (cf. ψ 23·4); 1 Tm. 1:5; 2 Tm. 2:22 (cf. ψ 50:10); Hb. 10:22a (cf. Is. 38:3); Lk. 6:45; Ac. 2:46; 1 Th. 3:13; Col. 3:22; Eph. 6:5; 1 Pt. 3:15; Jm. 4:8 (cf. Sir. 38:10); 5:8 (cf. ψ 30:24; 111:8; Sir. 22:16); Hb. 13:9; Col. 3:15; Phil. 4:7; 2 Th. 3:5 (cf. 1 Παρ. 29:18; 2 Παρ. 19:3; Sir. 49:3).

3. Mt. 12:40: ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς γῆς, “in the inward part, the bosom, of the earth,” cf. Jon. 2:4; Ez. 27:4, 25 f.; 28:2; 4 Esr. 13:3 etc.

  † καρδιογνώστης.

  Only in the NT and early Christian lit., Herm. m., 4, 3, 4; Act. Pl; et Thecl., 24; Act. Thaddaei., 3; Didasc., 7; 15; 18; 24 (cf. Const. Ap., II, 24, 6; III, 7, 8; IV, 6, 8; VI, 12, 4); Const. Ap., VIII, 5, 6. In explanation of the word Cl. Al. Strom., V, 14, 96, 4 adduces Thales: τὸ “καρδιογνώστην” λέγεσθαι πρὸς ἡμῶν ἄντικρυς ἑρμηνεύει. ἑρωτηθείς γέ τοι ὁ Θάλης, … εἰ λανθάνει τὸ θεῖον πράσσων τι ἄνθρωπος “καὶ πῶς,” εἶπεν “ὅς γε οὐδὲ διανοούμενοσ;”



The designation of God as ὁ καρδιογνώστης, “the One who knows the heart,” expresses in a single term (Ac. 1:24; 15:8) something which is familiar to both NT and OT piety (Lk. 16:15; R. 8:27; 1 Th. 2:4; Rev. 2:23 of Christ, cf. 1 Βασ‌. 16:7; 3 Βασ‌. 8:39; 1 Παρ. 28:9; ψ 7:9; Ἰερ. 11:20; 17:10; Sir. 42:18 ff.), namely, that the omniscient God knows the innermost being of every man where the decision is made either for Him or against Him (→ 609; 612).

  † σκληροκαρδία → σκληρός, σκληρότης, σκληρύνω.

  “Hardness of heart,” “obduracy.” Coined in the LXX for the Heb. עָרְלַת לֵבָב, Dt. 10:16; Ἰερ. 4:4; cf. Sir. 16:10 (3:26f.: καρδία σκληρά); the adj. to which it corresponds is σκληροκάρδιος, Prv. 17:20; Ez. 3:7 (cf. σκληρὸς τὴν καρδίαν, Prv. 28:14); analogous is σκληροτραχηλία, Test. S. 6:2 (vl.) from σκληροτράχηλος, Ex. 33:3, 5; Dt. 9:6, 13; Prv. 29:1 etc.; Ac. 7:51. Philo Spec. Leg., I, 305 adduces Dt. 10:16 and refers σκληροκαρδία to the περιττεύουσαι φύσεις τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ, ἃς αἱ ἄμετροι τῶν παθῶν ἔσπειράν τε καὶ συνηύξησαν ὁρμαὶ καὶ ὁ κακὸς ψυχῆς γεωργὸς ἐφύτευσεν, ἀφροσύνη. The term is also found in the OT pseudepigrapha (e.g., Gr. En. 16:3; Test. S. 6:2), but apart from this it occurs only in the NT and early Christian authors, Herm. v., 3, 7, 6; Just. Dial., 18, 2; 45, 3; 46, 7; 137, 1; Act. Thom., 166 etc.



At Mk. 10:5 and par.; 16:14 (here with ἀπιστία, cf. R. 2:5: τὴν → σκληρότητά σου καὶ → ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν) σκληροκαρδία denotes the persistent unreceptivity of a man to the declaration of God’s saving will, which must be accepted by the heart of man as the centre of his personal life (→ 612).


, vol. 3, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley and Gerhard Friedrich, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964-), 606-14.