δύσκολος
difficult
Definition
The adjective δύσκολος primarily means 'difficult' or 'hard.' In its most basic sense, it describes things that are arduous or troublesome to accomplish. When applied to people, it takes on the meaning of being 'hard to please,' 'peevish,' or 'grudging.' In the New Testament, its sole occurrence in Mark 10:24 uses it to describe the extreme difficulty for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God, emphasizing the formidable nature of that spiritual challenge.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the New Testament, in Mark 10:24. Jesus employs it in the context of his conversation with the rich young ruler, stating, 'Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!' Here, it describes the objective, profound difficulty of a spiritual action—salvation for those trusting in wealth—rather than describing a person's temperament.
Etymology
Derived from the Greek prefix δυσ- (dys-), meaning 'bad,' 'hard,' or 'ill,' combined with κόλος (kolos), which can relate to 'food' or 'nourishment.' Literally, it suggests something 'hard to take in' or 'hard to digest.' This original sense evolved to describe anything that is generally difficult, troublesome, or, when describing people, hard to please.
Semantic Range
Though used only once, δύσκολος carries significant theological weight in its context. It starkly highlights the spiritual peril of wealth and self-reliance, contrasting human possibility with divine grace. Jesus's statement underscores that salvation is fundamentally a work of God's power, as what is 'difficult' for humans is possible for God (Mark 10:27). It enriches reading by emphasizing the radical demands of discipleship and the impossibility of earning salvation through human means.
In the Greco-Roman world, wealth was often seen as a sign of divine favor or virtue. Jesus's declaration that it is 'difficult' for the wealthy to enter God's kingdom would have been counter-cultural and shocking, directly challenging a common assumption about status and blessing. The word's connotation of something being 'hard to swallow' fits this provocative teaching.
σκληρός (sklēros, G4642) — emphasizes harshness, roughness, or stubbornness, often of people or words. βαρύς (barys, G926) — focuses on weight, heaviness, or burdensomeness.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Dodson Greek-English Lexicon, a concise public-domain resource suitable for introductory word study. Brief glosses are supplemented by STEPBible TBESG data (CC BY 4.0). For advanced research, standard scholarly references include BDAG (Danker, 3rd ed.) and LSJ.
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