Original Word: מְגִנָּה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: mginnah
Pronunciation: meh-gin-nah'
Phonetic Spelling: (meg-in-naw')
KJV: sorrow See also H4043
NASB: hardness
Word Origin: [from H4042 (מָגַן - delivered)]

1. a covering (in a bad sense), i.e. blindness or obduracy

sorrow

From magan; a covering (in a bad sense), i.e. Blindness or obduracy -- sorrow. See also magen.

see HEBREW magan

see HEBREW magen

Word Origin
from ganan
Definition
a covering
NASB Translation
hardness (1).

מְגִנָּה noun feminine covering, מְגִנַּתלֵֿב Lamentations 3:65 covering of heart, i.e. a hard shell about the heart = obstinacy, so Ges (compare Qor 6:25 ) RV; or, covering of the understanding, blindness of the heart, so Ew Ke Näg Che.

Scriptural Setting

Meginnah occurs once, in Lamentations 3:65, within Jeremiah’s poetic lament over Jerusalem’s destruction. The word is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as “hardness of heart” (“Give them hardness of heart; may Your curse be upon them!” Lamentations 3:65). In context, the prophet petitions the Lord to impose a spiritual covering that dulls perception, a fitting consequence for foes who have rejected His covenant mercies.

Historical Background

Lamentations flows out of the Babylonian siege of 586 BC. The city lay in ruins, the temple burned, and survivors deported. Jeremiah, witness to decades of ignored prophetic warnings, now pleads for justice. The single use of meginnah captures the climactic moment when God’s patience with persistent rebellion ends and judicial hardening commences (compare Jeremiah 17:1). Thus the word belongs to the vocabulary of covenant sanctions stipulated in Deuteronomy 28:15–68.

Conceptual Nuances in Lamentations

1. Defensive imagery flipped. Elsewhere Scripture employs shield language for protection (Psalm 3:3; Ephesians 6:16). Here the “covering” turns inward, sealing the heart against repentance—protection from conviction rather than from danger.
2. A divinely imposed veil. As a “cover,” meginnah parallels the “veil” over unbelieving Israel in 2 Corinthians 3:14-15 and the “spirit of stupor” in Romans 11:8. The petition is not mere vindictiveness; it recognizes God’s prerogative to confirm a settled disposition (Exodus 14:17).
3. Curse association. The second cola of Lamentations 3:65 equates the hardening with God’s “curse,” showing that spiritual insensitivity is itself punitive, not merely a prelude to punishment.

Relationship to Divine Judgment

Hardening is never capricious. Persistent refusal of grace provokes God to hand people over to the consequences of their choices (Romans 1:24-28). Meginnah thus illustrates the moral law of reciprocity—what the enemies did to Judah now boomerangs upon them (Obadiah 15). The word reinforces the prophetic theme that the heart is the battleground of covenant loyalty (Proverbs 4:23).

Implications for Spiritual Formation and Ministry

• Urgency of response: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts (Hebrews 3:15). Procrastination risks the very judgment meginnah depicts.
• Intercessory realism: While believers are to bless their enemies (Matthew 5:44), prophetic prayer also pleads for righteousness. Lamentations 3 legitimizes appeals for God to restrain evil, even through hardening when necessary.
• Pastoral caution: Continual exposure to truth without obedience dulls sensitivity. Shepherds must couple doctrinal instruction with calls to repentance (James 1:22-25).
• Evangelistic hope: The veil can be removed “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:14). The same God who hardens also softens hearts by the New Covenant promise (Ezekiel 36:26).

Related Scriptures

Exodus 7:13; Deuteronomy 29:4; Psalm 81:12; Isaiah 6:9-10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26-27; Romans 11:7-10; 2 Corinthians 3:14-16; Hebrews 3:7-19.

Typological and Christological Observations

Christ endured the full weight of the curse (Galatians 3:13), removing the ultimate meginnah for all who believe. The pierced heart of the Savior (John 19:34) stands in stark contrast to the shielded hearts of the impenitent; His openness secures access for those once veiled (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Summary

Meginnah, though a hapax legomenon, conveys a profound theological truth: God may shield the unrepentant heart from further light as an act of judgment. Its lone appearance in Lamentations 3:65 crystallizes the seriousness of persistent rebellion, underscores the moral logic of covenant justice, and calls every reader to cherish a tender, responsive heart before the Lord.

מְגִנַּת־ מגנת־ mə·ḡin·naṯ- meginnat məḡinnaṯ-Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts