Keluaran 4:21

4:21 The Lord said ¹  to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, ²  see that you ³  do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control. ⁴  But I will harden ⁵  his heart ⁶  and ⁷  he will not let the people go.

Keluaran 7:3

7:3 But I will harden ⁸  Pharaoh’s heart, and although I will multiply ⁹  my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt,

Keluaran 7:13

7:13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard, ¹⁰  and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

Keluaran 9:12

9:12 But the Lord hardened ¹¹  Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted to Moses.

Keluaran 10:1

The Eighth Blow: Locusts

10:1 ¹² The Lord said ¹³  to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display ¹⁴  these signs of mine before him, ¹⁵ 

Keluaran 11:10

11:10 So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not release the Israelites from his land.

Keluaran 14:17

14:17 And as for me, I am going to harden ¹⁶  the hearts of the Egyptians so that ¹⁷  they will come after them, that I may be honored ¹⁸  because ¹⁹  of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen.

[4:21]  ¹ tn Heb “And Yahweh said.”

[4:21]  ² tn The construction may involve a verbal hendiadys using the two infinitive forms: “when you go to return” (בְּלֶכְתְּךָ לָשׁוּב, bÿlekhtÿkha lashuv). The clause is temporal, subordinated to the instruction to do the signs. Therefore, its focus cannot be on going to return, i.e., preparing or beginning to return.

[4:21]  ³ tn The two verb forms in this section are the imperative (רְאֵה, rÿ’eh) followed by the perfect with the vav (וַעֲשִׂיתָם, va’asitam). The second could be coordinated and function as a second command: “see…and [then] do”; or it could be subordinated logically: “see…so that you do.” Some commentators who take the first option suggest that Moses was supposed to contemplate these wonders before doing them before Pharaoh. That does not seem as likely as the second interpretation reflected in the translation.

[4:21]  ⁴ tn Or “in your power”; Heb “in your hand.”

[4:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “strengthen” (in the sense of making stubborn or obstinate). The text has the expression וַאֲנִי אֲחַזֵּק אֶת־לִבּוֹ (va’ani ’akhazzeq ’et-libbo), “I will make strong his will,” or “I will strengthen his resolve,” recognizing the “heart” as the location of decision making (see Prov 16:1, 9).

[4:21]  ⁶ sn Here is the first mention of the hardening of the heart of Pharaoh. God first tells Moses he must do the miracles, but he also announces that he will harden Pharaoh’s heart, as if working against Moses. It will help Moses to know that God is bringing about the resistance in order to bring a greater victory with greater glory. There is a great deal of literature on this, but see among the resources F. W. Danker, “Hardness of Heart: A Study in Biblical Thematic,” CTM 44 (1973): 89-100; R. R. Wilson, “The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart,” CBQ 41 (1979): 18-36; and R. B. Chisholm Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament,” BSac 153 (1996): 410-34.

[4:21]  ⁷ tn Or “so that.”

[7:3]  ⁸ tn The clause begins with the emphatic use of the pronoun and a disjunctive vav (ו) expressing the contrast “But as for me, I will harden.” They will speak, but God will harden.

[7:3]  sn The imperfect tense of the verb קָשָׁה (qasha) is found only here in these “hardening passages.” The verb (here the Hiphil for “I will harden”) summarizes Pharaoh’s resistance to what God would be doing through Moses – he would stubbornly resist and refuse to submit; he would be resolved in his opposition. See R. R. Wilson, “The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart,” CBQ 41 (1979): 18-36.

[7:3]  ⁹ tn The form beginning the second half of the verse is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, הִרְבֵּיתִי (hirbeti). It could be translated as a simple future in sequence after the imperfect preceding it, but the logical connection is not obvious. Since it carries the force of an imperfect due to the sequence, it may be subordinated as a temporal clause to the next clause that begins in v. 4. That maintains the flow of the argument.

[7:13]  ¹⁰ tn This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq); see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53.

[7:13]  sn For more on this subject, see B. Jacob, Exodus, 241-49. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 53) notes that when this word (חָזַק) is used it indicates a will or attitude that is unyielding and firm, but when כָּבֵד (kaved) is used, it stresses the will as being slow to move, unimpressionable, slow to be affected.

[9:12]  ¹¹ tn This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq); see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53.

[10:1]  ¹² sn The Egyptians dreaded locusts like every other ancient civilization. They had particular gods to whom they looked for help in such catastrophes. The locust-scaring deities of Greece and Asia were probably looked to in Egypt as well (especially in view of the origins in Egypt of so many of those religious ideas). The announcement of the plague falls into the now-familiar pattern. God tells Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh but reminds Moses that he has hardened his heart. Yahweh explains that he has done this so that he might show his power, so that in turn they might declare his name from generation to generation. This point is stressed so often that it must not be minimized. God was laying the foundation of the faith for Israel – the sovereignty of Yahweh.

[10:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[10:1]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is שִׁתִי (shiti, “I have put”); it is used here as a synonym for the verb שִׂים (sim). Yahweh placed the signs in his midst, where they will be obvious.

[10:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in his midst.”

[14:17]  ¹⁶ tn הִנְנִי (hinni) before the participle gives it the force of a futur instans participle, meaning “I am about to harden” or “I am going to harden” their heart.

[14:17]  ¹⁷ tn The form again is the imperfect tense with vav (ו) to express the purpose or the result of the hardening. The repetition of the verb translated “come” is interesting: Moses is to divide the sea in order that the people may cross, but God will harden the Egyptians’ hearts in order that they may follow.

[14:17]  ¹⁸ tn For the comments on this verb see the discussion in v. 4. God would get glory by defeating Egypt.

[14:17]  ¹⁹ tn Or “I will get glory over.”