The story
- Hebrew · calque ofקשה ערף
- English todaystiff-necked
From stiff + neck + -ed. (figurative): Calque of Hebrew קשה ערף (Exodus 33). A biblical term similar to Swedish styvnackad, Ancient Greek σκληροτράχηλος (sklērotrákhēlos), Russian жестоковыйный (žestokovyjnyj), German halsstarrig etc.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.