Adamant

Adamant in the UPDV is a stone harder than flint, used twice in the prophets as the figure for an unyielding face or heart. In Ezekiel it is given to the prophet as a gift; in Zechariah it is taken on by a stubborn people in refusal of the word.

The Prophet's Forehead Made Adamant

When Yahweh sends Ezekiel to a rebellious house, he steels the prophet's face against their looks: "As an adamant harder than flint I have made your forehead: don't fear them, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house" (Eze 3:9). The adamant is named explicitly as harder than flint, and the gift of that hardness is set against the prophet's fear of his audience.

A People's Heart Made Adamant

In Zechariah the same image moves to the human heart, but as judgment on those who refuse the word: "Yes, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which Yahweh of hosts had sent by [his Speech] by the former prophets: therefore there came great wrath from Yahweh of hosts" (Zec 7:12). The same stone that is divine gift on the prophet's forehead is here self-imposed shielding against hearing, and "great wrath" follows.