Used metaphorically to describe the state of man by nature under the influence of Satan, 2 Corinthians 4:4; also a professing Christian who hates his brother, 1 John 2:11; also the state of Israel in their heartless profession, Matthew 23:16-26; and the judicial blindness on Israel. John 12:40 . In Romans 11:7,25; 2 Corinthians 3:14; Ephesians 4:18 , it is rather 'obdurateness or hardness,' from πωρόω,'to harden.'