βαρέως (bareōs)
bareōs
difficultly
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The adverb barōs describes an action performed heavily or with significant difficulty. Derived from the root word for "heavy," it conveys a sense of weight that impedes movement or perception. In the New Testament, this term appears only twice, both times to depict a spiritual condition marked by resistance and dullness.
Its usage is strikingly consistent with the Septuagint’s rendering of Isaiah 6:10, where hearing is described as heavy or difficult. This connection appears in Matthew 13:15 and Acts 28:27, where the people’s hearts are described as having grown dull. The word suggests that their inability to understand is not merely intellectual but carries a moral weight, a heaviness of heart that prevents them from seeing or turning back.
Translators typically render barōs as "hardly" or "with difficulty," capturing the physical sensation of burden applied to spiritual receptivity. It serves as a vivid metaphor for the resistance that comes when truth is met with indifference, highlighting the serious consequences of persistent unbelief.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word βαρέως describes a heaviness that makes spiritual perception difficult. It is not just a lack of intelligence, but a weight on the heart that blocks understanding. When we encounter truth with indifference, our minds can feel burdened and slow to respond.
This condition is visible in Matthew 13:15 and Acts 28:27. The text says people’s ears are dull of hearing because their hearts have grown callous. It reminds us that spiritual clarity requires a light heart, open to God’s voice rather than weighed down by stubbornness.
May you find freedom from this heaviness. Let your heart remain soft and receptive, so you can perceive the truth with clarity and peace.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- barely2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- βαρέως2×
Key Verses
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Matthew 13:15
for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again, and I would heal them.’
This verse uses βαρέως to explain why some listeners could not understand Jesus' parables, linking their dull hearing to a hardened heart.
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Acts 28:27
For this people’s heart has grown callous. Their ears are dull of hearing. Their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again, then I would heal them.’
Paul quotes this phrase here to show that the people’s failure to turn to God was due to a spiritual heaviness that closed their eyes and ears.