The phrases to "harden the neck," Proverbs 29:1 , and to be "stiff- necked," like a headstrong brute, illustrate the willful obstinacy of sinners against the instructions and commands of God. The tyrants of ancient days sometimes put their feet on the prostrate necks of princes, in token of their subjugation, trampling them in the dust. Their mischief sometimes returned upon their own heads, Joshua 10:24; Psalm 18:40 .