The Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart in Exodus 4-14

ALEXANDRE VIEIRA

Mail Box: 324

THE HARDENING OF PHARAOHS HEART IN EXODUS 414

EO-895

Independent Study / Research Project

August 12, 2013

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION....

TEXTS WITH THE HARDENING MOTIF..

Translation

Translation Notes

Hardening terminology

Considerations on the Septuagint handling of the verses

MAIN VIEWS ON THE HARDENING MOTIF

Source-critical approach

The narrative unity of Exodus

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY.....

1

3

3

7

12

19

21

21

25

34

36

1

INTRODUCTION

How can the merciful God do something that is not essentially good? Moses asks

Yahweh: Why, o Lord, have you brought evil upon this people? (Exodus 5:22) Moses

lack of understanding is shared by those who contended with the apostle Paul in

Romans 9 that maybe God is not as just as we might have thought or hoped: What

shall we say? Is there injustice with God? (Romans 9:14)

Upon reading the plagues narrative in the book of Exodus one cannot help but to

wonder about the hardenings of heart statements that appear throughout the story. The

hardening motif has led men of all ages ask concerning the relationship of divine

predestination to mans free will.1 How can Gods foreknowledge and sovereignty be

reconciled with mans autonomy and culpability? The heart of the issue is that there is,

A difficult problem, which the exegetes, and especially the medieval philosophers, have struggled hard to resolve. It may be formulated thus: If it is the Lord who makes strong (or hardens) the heart of Pharaoh, the latter cannot be blamed for this, and consequently it is unethical for him to suffer retribution. A similar question may be asked with regard to iii 19: And I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go. If the Lord knows a priori how Pharaoh will act, it follows that it is impossible for the latter to do otherwise. In that case, it is unjust that he should be punished for his actions.2

These questions are what motivated me to research on the hardening motif in

order to learn more from and about God. However, since no consensus has yet been

reached, I will not be so bold as to suggest new answers or to solve the problems.

Instead, I will present a study of the text as well as the main interpretations so as to

have an idea of what we can affirm with certainty about the hardening motif.

1 James Plastaras, The God of Exodus: the Theology of the Exodus Narratives, (Milwaukee, The Bruce

Publishing Company, 1996), 134. 2 Umberto Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus, (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew

University. 1967), 55.

2

To achieve my goal, this paper is divided in two chapters. The first will deal with

matters concerning the text. All the twenty3 verses which are considered to be part of

the hardening passages will be translated with notes; the verse numbers will follow the

Hebrew text. Following the notes, there will be a discussion of the key terminology. After

that, I will briefly present a description of the Septuagint handling of our passages, since

that version was probably influential in the theological debates about the hardening

motif.

The second chapter will be a presentation of the main approaches to the

hardening. First, the source-critical perspective, which was predominant until recently.

Then, the main views of those who read the text of Exodus as a whole.

3 I will include 13:15, although some scholars maintain that it is not part of the hardening discussion for

the word for heart does not appear. See Charles David Isbell, The Function of Exodus Motifs in Biblical

Narratives: Theological and Didactic Drama, (Lewiston: Edwin Mellen, 2002), 34-35.

3

TEXTS WITH THE HARDENING MOTIF

We start by looking at the verses that have the hardening terminology. Since

these verses are spread in the context of Exodus 414, the translation below will not

reflect the context of each passage. Following the translation is a section with notes.

The translation notes will tend to be less detailed towards the end of the section in order

to avoid repetition, for the verses are very similar. There will also be a section dedicated

to the exposition of the specific hardening terms.

Translation

And Yahweh said to

Moses, When you go

back to Egypt, see that

you do all the miracles

that I have put in your

hand before Pharaoh,

and I will strengthen his

heart, and he will not let

the people go.

And Yahweh said to

Moses, In your going to

return to Egypt, see all

the miracles I put in your

hand that you do them

before Pharaoh, and I

will harden his heart and

he will not send the

people away.

4:21

And I will harden

Pharaohs heart that I

may multiply my signs

and miracles in the land

of Egypt.

And I will harden

Pharaohs heart and I

will make many my

signs and my miracles in

the land of Egypt.

7:3

And Pharaohs heart

was strong and he did

not listen to them, just

as Yahweh had said.

And Pharaohs heart

grew hard, and he did

not listen to them, as

Yahweh had said.

7:13

4

Then Yahweh said to

Moses: Pharaohs heart

is heavy; he refuses

to let the

people go.

And Yahweh said to

Moses: Heavy is

Pharaohs heart, he

refused to send away

the people.

7:14

But the magicians of

Egypt did the same with

their enchantments, and

Pharaohs heart was

strong, that he did not

listen to them, just as

Yahweh had said.

And so the magicians of

Egypt did by their

mysteries, and the heart

of Pharaoh grew hard,

and he did not listen to

them, as Yahweh had

said.

7:22

When Pharaoh saw that

there was relief, and

made his heart heavy so

that he would not listen

to them, just as Yahweh

had said

And Pharaoh saw that

there was relief, and he

made his heart heavy

and did not listen to

them, as Yahweh had

said.

8:11

Then the magicians said

to Pharaoh, It is the

finger of God! But

Pharaohs heart was

strong and he did not

listen to them just as

Yahweh had said.

And the magicians said

to Pharaoh, It is

finger of God! And

Pharaohs heart grew

hard and he did not

listen to them as

Yahweh had said.

8:15

But Pharaoh made his

heart heavy this time

also and did not let the

people go.

And Pharaoh made his

heart heavy also this

time and did not send

the people away.

8:28

Pharaoh sent out and

saw that not even one

And Pharaoh sent and,

behold, from the cattle of

9:7

5

animal from the cattle of

Israel died. And

Pharaohs heart was

heavy and he did not let

the people go.

Israel even one did not

die. And Pharaohs heart

was heavy and he did

not send the people

away.

And Yahweh

strengthened Pharaohs

heart so he did not listen

to them, just as Yahweh

had said to Moses.

And Yahweh hardened

Pharaohs heart and he

did not listen to them as

Yahweh had said to

Moses

9:12

When Pharaoh saw that

the rain, the hail and the

thunder had ceased, he

continued to sin, that is,

he made his heart

heavy, he and his

servants.

And Pharaoh saw that

the rain, and the hail and

the sound ceased, he

added to sin and made

his heart heavy,

he and his

servants.

9:34

Now Pharaohs heart

was strong and he did

not let the children of

Israel go, just as

Yahweh had said

through Moses.

And Pharaohs heart

grew hard and he did

not send the sons of

Israel away, as Yahweh

had said by Moses

hand.

9:35

And Yahweh said to

Moses, Go to Pharaoh,

for I have made his

heart heavy, and the

heart of his servants so

that I may perform these

signs of mine

among them.

And Yahweh said to

Moses, Go to Pharaoh,

because I made his

heart heavy and the

heart of his servants in

order that I may do

these my signs

among him.

10:1

6

Then Yahweh


heart, and he did not let

the children of Israel go.

And Yahweh made

Pharaohs heart hard

and he did not send the

sons of Israel away.

10:20

But Yahweh


heart that he was not

willing to let them go.

And Yahweh made

Pharaohs heart hard

and he was not willing to

send them away.

10:27

So Moses and Aaron did

all these miracles

before Pharaoh, and

Yahweh strengthened

Pharaohs heart

and he did not let

the children of Israel go

from his land.

And Moses and Aaron

did all these miracles

before Pharaoh, and

Yahweh made

Pharaohs heart hard

and he did not send the

sons of Israel away from

his land.

11:10

And when Pharaoh

made it difficult to let us

go, Yahweh killed

All first-born

In the land of Egypt

And it was because

Pharaoh hardened to

send us away, Yahweh

killed all first-born in the

land of Egypt

13:15

And I will strengthen

Pharaohs heart that he

will pursue them, then I

will be honored because

of Pharaoh and because

of his entire host, and

the Egyptians will know

that I am Yahweh. And

thus they did.

And I will make

Pharaohs heart hard,

and he will pursue after

them, and I will be

honored in Pharaoh and

in all his host, and the

Egyptians will know that

I am Yahweh. And they

did so.

14:4

And Yahweh And Yahweh made the 14:8

7

strengthened the heart

of Pharaoh king of

Egypt, and he pursued

the children of Israel, but

the children of Israel

went out powerfully.

heart of Pharaoh, king of

Egypt, hard, and he

pursued after the sons

of Israel, and the sons of

Israel went out with a

high hand.

I, behold, I am

strengthening the heart

of the Egyptians so that

they will go after them,

and I will be honored

because of Pharaoh, all

his chariots and his

horsemen.

And I, behold, am

making hard the heart of

the Egyptians, and they

will go after them, and I

will be honored in

Pharaoh and in all his

host, in his chariots and

in his horsemen.

14:17

Translation notes

4:21 The preposition having an infinitive construct as the object is

introducing a temporal clause.4 In the temporal construction, the pronominal suffix turns

into the subject of the sentence.

This verb, which means to see, is also used in Hebrew in constructions

where the English idea is see that.5 When used this way, it usually has as its object a

clause introduced by or sometimes .6 However, at times, as is the case here, the

clause is asyndetic.

It is better not to read this as an adversative7 (But I) as some scholars8

and many popular translations of the Bible do.9 The idea is that in the narrative that

4 Ronald J. Williams, Williams Hebrew Syntax, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded by John C. Beckman.

(Toronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press, 2007), 97 (par. 241) and 179 (par. 504). 5 William Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: William

B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), . See especially the definitions under Qal 6. 6 Williams, Syntax, 174-175 (par. 490).

7 John I. Durham, Exodus, (Waco: Word, 1987), 53.

8 See Cassuto, Book of Exodus, 55.

9 In English, see KJV, NIV and ESV.

8

follows, all characters will have their part. Moses will perform signs, while Yahweh will

strengthen Pharaohs heart, and Pharaoh will refuse to let the people go.

The Piel stem of this verb usually presents a positive nuance: make firm,

strengthen, sustain, fortify, etc.10 The only examples that dictionaries cite for which they

suggest the word harden are the verses being translated here, which are connected to

Pharaohs heart.11

I take this as coordinative12 and not adversative for the reasons

explained above.

7:3 Although my translation at this point leaves the ambiguity of the sense of

time when the action that follows takes place, I concur with Durham when he says, The

narrative of events these verses anticipate makes abundantly plain that the

negotiations of Moses and Aaron, the stiffening of Pharaohs resolve, and Yahwehs

mighty deeds belong together as coordinate actions, not in line as sequential events.13

This root has the sense of hard, difficult. It appears again in 13:15, but

not with Yahweh as the subject, and that verse is not always included in the hardening

passages.

This seems to be introducing a purpose clause14 which is subordinated

to I will harden The context supports this interpretation, for the hardening of

10

Francis Brown; Samuel Rolles Driver; Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs

Hebrew and English Lexicon, (electronic ed. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 2000), ;

Ludwig Khler, Walter Baumgartner, M. E. J. Richardson, and Johann Jakob Stamm. The Hebrew and

Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 5 vols., (Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill, 1994), ; Holladay,

Concise Lexicon, . 11

BDB, Enhanced Lexicon, 4.a and Piel 5; Khler, HALOT, Piel 1.f; Holladay, Concise Lexicon,

Piel 1.f. 12

Williams, Syntax, 152 (par. 430a). 13

Durham, Exodus, 85. Durham translates the copula and pronoun with At the same time. Others (see

Brevard S. Childs, The Book of Exodus, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974), 109), take the as

adversative. 14

For more details on this use of the waw copulative, see A. E. Cowley, ed. and trans., Gesenius Hebrew

Grammar, As Edited and Enlarged by the Late E. Kautzsch, Second English Edition, (Oxford: Clarendon

Press, 1910), 503 (par. 165).

9

Pharaohs heart was not an end in itself, but a means for the display of signs, which

were an important part in Gods self-revelation in the narrative.15

7:13 Qal stative. The grammatical subject is , but it does not do any actual

action. Because of that, some interpreters16 translate the action of the verb with a

passive tone: was hardened.17 The rendering was strong is literal, but there is no

reason to change it.

7:14 This is a nominal phrase. is either a participle or a pure adjective.

Either way, the idea of a heart being heavy is that it does not function in the way it is

supposed to. This is the first time this root is used to describe Pharaohs so-called hard

heart.

7:22 It starts with an adversative . This phrase is in contrast to in

7:20, where Moses and Aaron are the subject of the verb. Here, the magicians do the

same as they did.

Instrumental , which can be translated with either by or with.18

Same as in 7:13

8:11 A temporal clause suits the context, since Pharaoh made his decision to

not listen to them only when or after he saw there was relief.

This is the first time Pharaoh appears as the subject of a hardening verb.

The nuance of this root in this context is the same of 7:14: Pharaoh purposefully made

sure his heart would refuse to respond correctly to the situation. The Masoretic Text has

an infinitive absolute here. However, the text of the Samaritan Pentateuch, which has

(Hiphil impf.), is probably a better alternative, for the other two times (8:28; 9:34)

where Pharaoh is the subject of the hardening verb, Hebrew employs the same root and

it always is Hiphil imperfect.

This is being taken as a purpose clause.

8:15 Exactly the same phrase (except for the Maqqeph) as in 7:13

(see above).

15

The connection between the hardening motif and the signs will be discussed later in this paper. 16

See Childs, Exodus, 122; ESV. 17

See Durham, Exodus, 89, who prefers to over explain, in my opinion, what is being stated in Hebrew,

and put it this way: was unchanged. 18

Williams, Syntax, 98 (par. 243).

10

8:28 See notes for 8:11.

9:7 The Septuagint has (BHS note 9:7a). Childs tells us that

send here is being used elliptically as send to inquire.19

I follow Durhams translation at this point: saw.20

Some versions, including the Samaritan Pentateuch and the

Septuagint add (BHS note 9:7b).

Emphatic .21

See comments on 7:13 above. Even though the root here is

and not (as in 7:13), and therefore it is describing a different aspect of Pharaohs

heart, the grammatical considerations are the same.

9:12 This is the first time Yahweh appears doing something

to Pharaohs heart in the narrative. There may be discussions about the fact that

Pharaohs heart was already described as strong and heavy before, and those

instances might have been the fulfillment of 4:21. However, as far as the literary aspects

of the narrative are concerned, this is the first time Yahweh is explicitly involved in

hardening (later we will discuss whether this is an appropriate term).

9:34 The Hiphil stem of this root implies that the action of the verb that

complements it is not being performed for the first time: continued to, increased, carried

on.22

There is no positive idea entailed in this root. The fact that Pharaoh

continued to sin tells us that he is not seen as innocent as the narrative develops.

I think this clause starts with an epexegetical waw23 that explains how

Pharaoh continued to sin. This is the last time Pharaoh appears as the subject of the

hardening (see 8:11 and 8:28 for the other two occurrences).

9:35 Again, is the grammatical subject of the hardening verb (see 7:13,

7:22 and 8:15).

19

Childs, Exodus, 129. 20

Durham, Exodus, 116. 21

Williams, Syntax, 120 (par. 314). 22

BDB, Enhanced Lexicon, . 23

Williams, Syntax, 154 (par. 434).

11

This construction can mean through and is used as an intensifying

expression.24

10:1 The use of the independent personal pronoun in addition to the 1st person of

the verb is emphatic.25

The use of the root is noteworthy because it

is the only time in the hardening context where Yahweh is its subject. This is even more

striking because it comes two verses after 9:34, where Pharaoh and his servants

their hearts. However, it is unclear by the context whether 9:34 and 10:1 refer to the

same moment.

In place of the singular pronominal suffix, the Septuagint (), Syriac

and Targum have a plural form.

10:20 With respect to the , I see no reason to take it as adversative or

disjunctive in any way. It makes perfect sense to take it as coordinating sequentially

Yahwehs actions in 10:19 and 20.

Regarding the verbal root, see notes on 9:12.

10:27 See 9:12.

Even though this is being taken as a result clause, the root

denotes Pharaohs own state of mind, or heart, showing that he willed to refuse.

11:10 It is better to read these actions in a

complementary sense, rather than adversative (see note for 4:21 above). Each part

had their role in what was happening, and the author is describing what their roles were.

13:15 Literally it came to pass because. Both constructions have a temporal26

(although the can function in different ways) force, and that is what my rendering is

conveying.

As noted above (see 7:3), the root means hard, difficult.

The plus the infinitive construct of are functioning as the object of the Hiphil of

. This means that Pharaoh makes difficulties27 to let them go.

24

Khler, HALOT, 5.b.iii. 25

Durham, Exodus, 132. 26


Khler, HALOT, Hiphil 2.a.

12

14:4 This clause is the result of the strengthening of Pharaohs heart

( ).

Unfortunately translations cannot show the irony in this passage the

same way that Hebrew does. Up to this point in the narrative, the root has been

used several times, but only in relation to Pharaoh imposing heavy work on the

Israelites (5:9) and to talk about his heart (7:14; 8:11, 28; 9:7, 34; 10:1). All of those

passages are supposed to depict Pharaoh negatively and show why he is at war

against Yahweh. Now, towards the end of the conflict, the same root is used in the

Niphal with Yahweh as the subject, in a positive sense. This form appears only twice in

the Bible, here and in 14:17 both showing Gods glory () over Pharaohs heaviness

().

I am taking both occurrences of the prefixed preposition as

of cause.28 Yahweh will be honored because of what will happen to them.

14:8 Literally with a high hand. This expression is figurative and denotes a

symbol of might.29

14:17 Very emphatic.

The Piel participle of this root is rare, it appears only here and in 2 Kings

12:8 in the Hebrew Bible. In this context, it conveys an emphatic idea that Yahweh is

the one that can do the action to Pharaohs heart.

Same form as it appears in 14:4 (see note above).

Hardening terminology

The paragraphs that follow aim to offer a description of the key terminology in the

hardening passages and their uses. This discussion is necessary in view of the frequent

overlooking of the matter. As one surveys the literature, it is noticeable that, even

though scholars tend to agree that the different terms used have specific nuances of

their own, their translations often put that aside in favor of a meaning that, allegedly,

overlaps the three roots used: harden. It is easy to find, after a brief description of each

term, statements such as there does not appear to be any obvious reason as to why

28


BDB, Enhanced Lexicon, .

13

one word is used rather than another in the different hardening statements, and thus

there appears to be no material differences between the terms.30

In an attempt to do justice to the message of Exodus, the goal of this section is to

highlight those aspects of each term that may serve us as background to understand

their use in the specific verses we are concerned with. This section will not attempt to

present all the nuances of the terms, nor will it deal with the theological consequences

of their translation. Later in this paper we will talk about the interpretation of the

hardening passages.

Despite Fords opinion that we do not need to discuss the meaning of as the

centre of a persons will or resolve, except to note that the modern idiom hard-hearted

in the sense of cruel or pitiless is not an appropriate understanding here,31 we can

probably add more to it. Durham, for instance, says that refers to heart as the

center of reason and intelligence,32 in contemporary usage, mind, and not to heart as

the center of the emotions.33 Other definitions that are not related to the physical organ

30

William A. Ford, God, Pharaoh and Moses, (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2007), 11-12. Along these lines, see

John Piper, The Justification of God: an Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23, (Grand

Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983), 140-142. Also, Shupaks article (Nili Shupak, Hzq, Kbd, Qsh Leb, the

Hardenig of Pharaoh's Heart in Exodus 4-15:21: Seen Negatively in the Bible but Favorably in Egyptian

Sources." (PDF version accessed at http://fontes.lstc.edu/~rklein/Documents/hardening.pdf), 2), which

offers insights into the borrowing of Egyptian expressions by the Israelite narrator, concludes that in

Hebrew all the expressions carry a negative connotation and mean stubbornness and disobedience.

Most commentators and translations consulted seem to agree with that and do not do justice, in my

opinion, to the nuances of the terminology employed. Stuarts summary of the use of the terms represents

the reasons why this discussion is necessary: All three terms essentially function synonymously in

Exodus, and although all three are typically rendered in most English translations as one variation or

another of harden the heart, that is, following the KJV literalistic wording, their meaning in normal

modern English is simply be/make stubborn. (Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, (Nashville: B&H Publisher,

2006), 147) 31

Ford, Pharaoh, 11. 32

Slightly different nuance from Fords will or resolve. 33

Durham, Exodus, 85.

14

are: character, disposition, inclination, determination, courage, intention, purpose,

attention, consideration, understanding.34

Beale provides us with a survey of the usage of this word in the OT: [it] may

denote intellectual activity (204 times) emotional activity (166 times), volitional activities

(195 times) and personality or character.35 One should note, then, that Pharaohs heart

is not (although it may include) his spiritual or emotional state, but comprises his own

choices, decisions and intentions. In a more broad definition, it is the whole of humanity

that is referred to.36

The basic meaning of this root is to be or grow firm, strong, strengthen.37 The

idea of strength conveyed by the use of this verb in the Old Testament means

essentially having power to accomplish a function or it may secondarily refer to a

strong desire which is prerequisite for accomplishing something.38

In the hardening contexts, this verb occurs eight times in the Piel (4:21; 9:12;

10:20, 27; 11:10; 14: 4, 8, 17) and four times in the Qal (7:13, 22; 8:15; 9:35). The Piel

forms always have Yahweh as the subject and 39 as the direct object. In the Piel stem,

this root may communicate the idea of causing someone or something to enter into a

strengthened state.40 In the verses where the Qal stem is used, it always follows the

same formula ( ): it never has an agent and the grammatical subject is

always Pharaohs heart. is stative in the Qal and the Hebrew Bible employs [it]

to denote a state of strength [emphasis added] or occasionally an increase in strength,

depending on the syntactical context.41

34

Holladay, Concise Lexicon, . 35

Gregory K. Beale, "An exegetical and theological consideration of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart in

Exodus 4-14 and Romans 9." Trinity Journal 5, no. 2 (September 1, 1984), 132. 36

Matthew McAffee, "The heart of pharaoh in Exodus 4-15." Bulletin For Biblical Research 20, no. 3

(January 1, 2010), 338. 37

BDB, Enhanced Lexicon, . 38

Beale, Hardening, 131. See n10 for OT examples. 39

in 4:21, in 9:12; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:8 and in 14:17. 40

McAffee, The heart of pharaoh, 334. McAffee lists the following meanings in the Piel stem: to fortify,

repair, maintain, encourage, support, assist, tie, fasten, or hold fast to something. 41

Ibid.

15

There are a few other instances in the Hebrew Bible in which the root and

appear in the same context.42 In those passages we see that,

The firm heart or mind is one that is steadfast, unswerving in its purpose,

unchanging, and courageous (Pss 27:14; 31:25[24]; Josh 11:20) Thus,

the description of firmhearted can be either positive or negative,

depending on the point of view of the person using the description.43

In consonance with the explanation above, one can understand the hard heart44

of Pharaoh in Exodus as a description of the strong will that Pharaoh exhibited in

refusing to let Israel go.45 English has equivalents such as the phrases to strengthen

his resolve or to become firmly determined and they too depend on the context to

indicate whether the condition is positive or negative.46 To say that someones heart is

hard with this root does not mean stubborn or implies a sin. The idiom is neutral and

depends on the heart or mind in order to be viewed as something negative (which is the

case with Pharaoh, for he does not listen to Yahwehs demands).

Another aspect of the verb is that it is common in military contexts, in which it

is usually translated by to make strong, to sustain, to fortify.47 Gilbert points out

that,

This verb does not usually denote some sort of emotional insensitivity which the English expression to harden suggests. In fact, with the exception of Joshua 11:20, scholars translate the verb zq by harden only when the verb is used in connection with Pharaoh There are no compelling reasons here to translate zq by the verb to harden.48

42

Those passages differ, however, from Exodus 414 in the fact that is not the object of . 43

Robert R. Wilson, "Hardening of Pharaoh's heart." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 41, no. 1 (January 1,

1979), 23. 44

Whenever and are used. 45

Beale, Hardening, 131. 46

Dorian Coover Cox, "The hardening of Pharaoh's heart in its literary and cultural contexts." Bibliotheca

Sacra 163, no. 651 (July 1, 2006), 306. 47

Pierre Gilbert, "Human free will and divine determinism: Pharaoh, a case study." Direction 30, no. 1

(March 1, 2001), 80. 48

Ibid.

16

The basic meaning of this verb is to be heavy. In Exodus 414 this word

appears six times referring to the hardening of Pharaohs heart. Four times it is in the

Hiphil stem, three of which have as the subject (8:11, 28; 9:35). The three times in

which Pharaoh (Hiphil) his heart follow the same pattern in the narrative: they are

used to describe his reaction to a relief the cessation of plagues. The other

occurrence in the Hiphil has as subject (10:1). At this point, Yahweh is the one who

(Hiphil) Pharaohs and his servants hearts. This root also appears twice in the

context where no source or agent is specifically mentioned49 one as an adjective for

Pharaohs heart (7:14) and the other in the Qal, conveying its stative sense (9:7).50

Scholars generally agree that when describing an action done to or a state of a

bodily organ, this verb indicates that the organ in question is not functioning

normally.51 In Exodus 4:10 Moses tells the Lord that he would not be able to talk to

Pharaoh because he was (heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue),

which means that he could not speak well. eyes and ears also fail to do what

should be natural to them (Genesis 48:10; Isaiah 6:10, 51:1).52 In this sense, to say that

a heart is heavy refers to an organ of perception that is no longer receiving outside

stimuli.53 In this context the word means immovable, unyielding,54 or even the word

inoperative applies.55

Just as it was observed about the root , also has positive nuances to it,

as seen in the translation section above. However, as it relates to the heart of Pharaoh

in the context of Exodus 414, one can say that demonstrates the disposition of a

king bunkered down in his position, that is, his entire being exhibits insensitivity to the

49

Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "Divine Hardening in the Old Testament." Bibliotheca Sacra 153, no. 612

(October 1, 1996), 412. 50

It is noteworthy that in Exodus 414 this root appears in reference to Gods plagues agains Egypt. As

Forster and Marston point out, Ironically, God sent during the plagues a kabed swarm of flies, a kabed

cattle plague, a kabed hailstorm and a kabed swarm of locusts. (Roger T. Forster and V. Paul Marston,

Gods Strategy in Human History. (PDF version accessed at http://ywamambassadors.com/media/gods-

strategy.pdf), 99) 51

Wilson, "Hardening, 22. 52

Cox, The Hardening, 305. 53

Wilson, "Hardening, 22. 54

Chisholm, Divine Hardening, 419 n26. 55

Cox, The Hardening, 305.

17

demands Yahweh imposes on him.56 Although many commentators and Bible

translators would agree with the statement above, some fail to recognize that it is not

altogether accurate to simply gloss the term hard57 every time this root appears in

reference to Pharaohs heart. In this respect, I side with McAffee who affirms, The

nuance of insensitivity or dullness should be maintained alongside the others in ones

analysis of Pharaohs heart.58

As a verb,59 this root appears only twice in Exodus and both times in the

hardening context. From the two times the verb is used (7:3 and 13:15), only the first is

referring to the hardening of Pharaohs heart. It is the Hiphil imperfect form, having

Yahweh as the subject and as the object.

Regarding its meaning, the primary use of q in the OT revolves around the

idea of being difficult.60 With that in mind, Wilson affirms that unlike zaq, q

almost always has negative connotations and is best translated stubborness.61

Unlike and , which are not common to the language of the

Bible,62 ,

Is mentioned in conjunction with an act of rebellion at the time of Exodus from Egypt (Ps 85:8)63 [sic]; it also appears in passages that have no connection to Egypt: Hard of Heart are the people who refuse to hearken to the words of the prophet (Ezek 3:7); and about the man who hardens his heart, it is said that misfortune will befall him (Prov 28:14).64

56

McAffee, The heart of pharaoh, 339. 57

Ibid., 339. 58

Ibid. 59

The same root appears as a noun and adjective after the Exodus. 60


Wilson, "Hardening, 23. To support this this explanation, he cites the following verses: Ezek 2:4; 3:7; 2

Chr 36:13; Deut 2:30; 10:16; 2 Kgs 17:14; Jer 7:26; Neh 9:16-17, 29; 2 Chr 30:8; Ps 95:8; Prov 28:14;

Job 9:3. 62

Shupak, Hzq, Kbd, Qsh Leb, 2. 63

The right verse is 95:8. 64

Shupak, Hzq, Kbd, Qsh Leb, 2.

18

There is no doubt that in the Hebrew Bible this root is employed to describe a

stubborn and unyielding disposition, most usually as it relates to the will of God.65 In

the hardening context, it appears to refer to the severely stubborn nature of Pharaohs

volition which made his decision in favor of Israels release too difficult ever to be

reached.66

Egyptian influence

Some scholars67 have pointed out that the terminology used to describe the

hardening of Pharaohs heart was borrowed from the Egyptian culture. Shupak

contends that most studies on the hardening motif concentrate on either the terms as

they are used in the Hebrew Scriptures or on the attempt to explain the terms in view of

an Egyptian background.68 In her opinion, however, only a combination of the two could

succeed in shedding light on the use of these expressions in the Bible.69

After surveying the Egyptian material and offering some examples, she

concludes:

(a) The Egyptian expressions equivalent to heavy, strong, and hard hearted in the Bible, when used with a positive connotation, represent exemplary, praiseworthy behavior. (b) These expressions were commonly used in the Egyptian sources. They are especially prevalent in the phraseology of the royal court, in the Wisdom Literature and in autobiographies. O the other hand, use of terms meaning strength combined with heart is not common in the Bible Rather the use of these expressions in the Bible is generally limited to passages having an Egyptian background.70

The next step in Shupaks methodology in order to determine whether Hebrew

borrowed or was influenced by this Egyptian background is to analyze the Hebrew

terminology in their biblical contexts. She concludes that and are most

likely in accordance with the Egyptian motif, for their use in the Bible is always

65



In addtition to Shupaks article which will be the basis of our consideration here, see also Cox. 68

Shupal, 2. 69

Ibid. 70

Ibid., 3.

19

associated with Egyptian background.71 However, there is no mechanical borrowing of

Egyptian terminology but an adoption and adaptation,72 because Hardness of heart,

which in Egypt generally symbolized reserved behavior and self control, was

transformed in the Bible into a disagreeable characteristic, standing for obduracy and

disobedience.73

It is unclear to me why Shupak74 just takes for granted that the terminology is

intrinsically negative when connected to Pharaohs heart. If it could be proved that the

Israelites borrowed those expressions from the Egyptian culture, the narrative in Exodus

would gain an extra layer of irony by stating that the things Pharaoh values (a strong

hard, for example) are being given to him by his enemy and will ultimately lead to his

destruction. It is undeniable by the context that those things are bad for him and both

the writer and the reader of Exodus understood that. However, just assuming they are

negative and thus translate with harden seems to oversimplify the text and leaves the

question regarding the necessity of three different ways to say the same thing without a

satisfactory answer.

The value of this approach75 is that it helps to shed light on the possible

background of expressions that may be otherwise unknown in the Hebrew literature.

Still, it is important not to expect that the lights shed by this sort of study will illuminate

completely all the characters in Exodus and do away with the darkness of the

theological issues that theologians have had to deal with throughout the centuries.

Considerations on the Septuagint handling of the verses

Since part of the theological discussion regarding the hardening motif is due to

Pauls use of it in his argument in Romans 9, which is written in Greek, it is important to

investigate how the Septuagint deals with the different terminology and how this affects

ones reading of the text.

71

Ibid. 72

Ibid. 73

Ibid. 74

And many others, as shown above. 75

Due to the limitations of this paper no support for her conclusions were presented. This should not lead

the reader to disregard this sort of approach or to jump to premature conclusions.

20

The term that is used most often in the hardening verses is . It appears

fourteen times out of the twenty verses. It translates the root almost every time (with

the exception of 7:13), both times, and once in 10:1. This verb means literally

harden, but in biblical literature it is only used in the figurative sense: to cause to be

unyielding in resisting information.76 Besides being a frequent verb in the OT, it appears

also in the New Testament in a few passages, including the one where Paul talks about

the hardening of Pharaohs heart: Acts 19:9; Romans 9:18; Hebrews 3:8, 13, 15; 4:7.

The second most frequent verb is . It translates four times, in 8:11,

28; 9:7, 34. This form is used only in the OT, and its meaning is to cause pressure

through someth. weighty, burden, weigh down.77 It translates well the Hebrew

when the sense of heaviness is intended.

Finally, the Septuagint employs two other verbs, one time each. is used to

translate in 7:14. There seems to be no real semantic difference between this and

. , however, appears only once in the OT and is more frequent in the NT.78

And the other verb that appears only once in the hardening passages is it

translates in 7:13. This appears to be fitting, for means 1. to have the

strength or capability to obtain an advantage, be dominant, prevail [or] 2. to have the

capability to defeat, win a victory over.79 This is a common verb in the Septuagint,

appearing only three times in the NT,80 conveying one of the two basic meanings.

Above we see that the Septuagint does not differentiate between and

(except in 7:13). If there is any nuance that the Hebrew is trying to convey by the use of

different verbs, the Greek text simplifies (or complicates) things by employing

most of the time.

76

Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature.

Edited by Frederick W. Danker. 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), . 77 BDAG, . 78

Matthew 26:43; Luke 9:32; 21:34; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 5:4; 1 Timothy 5:16. 79

BDAG, . 80

Matthew 16:18; Luke 21:36; 23:23.

21

MAIN VIEWS ON THE HARDENING MOTIF

Source-critical approach

The approach to the hardening of Pharaoh which dominated the debate until

recently was based on source-critical analyses of Exodus. Driver explains that the Book

of Exodus, like the other books of the Hexateuch,81 is composed by different sources

which were put together by various redactors at different points in time. The compilation

of the Hexateuch is believed to have included three main stages: first, J and E were

combined by a compiler, RJE; secondly, the discourses of Deuteronomy were combined

with the whole thus formed by a second compiler, RD; and thirdly, P was combined with

JED, or the whole formed by JE and D, by a third compiler, RP.82

Below we present a discussion of the hardening motif in Exodus as reported by

the source-critical approaches.

Hardening motif in J

Two things may be observed about the hardening motif in J: a) the terminology

used for hardening is always some form of the verb (verbal adjective in 7:14 and

9:7, and the Hiphil form in 8:11, 28; 9:34)83 and b) God is never the one who hardens

Pharaohs heart, but Pharaoh himself. The first observation above shows some

consistency in thought, but it is the second that makes the point based on source-critical

analysis that each source had its own theology regarding Gods dealings with men. In J,

the hardening appears consistently at the end of the plague episodes, betraying the fact

that the writer does not view the hardening as the cause of the plagues, but as the

81

S. R. Driver, The Book of Exodus: in the revised version with introduction and notes. (Cambridge:

University Press, 1911), x. The Hexateuch comprises the Pentateuch and Joshua. 82

Ibid., xii. 83

Heikki Risnen, The Idea of Divine Hardening: a comparative study of the notion of divine hardening,

leading astray and inciting to evil in the Bible and the Qurn. (Helsinki: Finnish Exegetical Society, 1976),

53.

22

reaction to them.84 Hence, hardness for J is not a state of mind, but a specific negative

reaction to the signs from God.85

In J, the contexts where Pharaoh hardens his heart and does not listen to Gods

agents, the plagues have a punitive function and are used by God to break Pharaohs

resistance.86 Some scholars will also say that the plagues have a pedagogical character

in the sense that they are used by God not only to break Pharaoh, but to change his

mind.87 In his discussion of the contents of each source, Drivers observations serve as

an illustration of the pedagogical character mentioned above. He notes the pattern in

the beginning of each plague account which is recorded in J (plagues 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and

9). He marks that pattern by the repetition of the phrase, After notice given by Moses to

Pharaoh.88 The ninth plague is the only one that has a different structure, about which

Driver comments that at this point Js announcement and description of the plague

itself are not preserved.89 Childs notes that both the manner of the signs (7:17, 8:18)

and their removal (8:6, 9:29) are functioning as revelatory to Pharaoh to show who

Yahweh is.90

If we take the supposed J source at its face value, we see that Yahweh is never91

the one who hardens Pharaohs heart. The hardening is either something that may be

observed as Pharaoh does not let the people go, or it is Pharaohs own doing.

84


Ibid., 172. 86

Risnen, The Idea, 53. See also Driver, Exodus, xxiv. 87

Ibid., 54. We do not need to go as far as believe that Yahweh is looking to make himself known to

Pharaoh in a way that the Egyptian king will, at the end, believe in God and become a follower. The

pedagogical aspect of the plagues are mainly to teach Pharaoh something that he claimed not to know:

Who is Yahweh, that I should hear his voice and send Israel away? I do not know Yahweh and,

moreover, will not send Israel away! (5:2) Yahweh does affirm that teaching Pharaoh is the purpose of

the plagues: Thus says Yahweh: By this you shall know that I am Yahweh (7:17) What comes after

this introduction is a description of the first plague. 88

Driver, Exodus, xxxxii. 89

Ibid., xxii. 90


At this point it is opportune to point out that Driver (Exodus, 53) seems to have a slightly different take

on this. He sees God as the agent of hardening even in J, although he is not strongly assertive about it.

He says that God is spoken of as hardening Pharaohs heart by E in iv.21, x.20, 27, by J (or RJE

) in x.1

[emphasis added], and by P in vii.3, ix.12, xi.10, xiv.4, 8, by P also as hardening the heart of the

23

Hardening motif in E

The highly fragmented so-called source E does not offer enough material that

one could draw conclusions from its writers theology and agenda.92 What is widely

agreed upon is that hardening appears three times: twice Yahweh is the subject of the

verb in the Piel (10:20, 27) and Pharaoh is the subject of the Qal form of in

9:35.93 Little can be said about the exact function of the hardening and the plagues in E,

but one should notice that both the terminology for hardening and the subject who

performs the action are different from J.

Hardening motif in P

If above we have two distinct views of the responsible for Pharaohs hard heart

(Pharaoh in J and Yahweh in E), those who hold to the source-critical view of Exodus

see that the Priestly Code (P) maintains both perspectives in its tradition. The idea that

it was Pharaoh who hardened himself occurs three times (713, 722, 815; every time

hzaq). On the other hand, Yahweh is mentioned six times as the initiator of the

hardening (73 hiq;94 912, 1110, 144.8.17 hizzaq).

95 As a result of the tension created by

the combination of the different views of J and E in P, some scholars argue that Ps

writer consciously chose to arrange it this way in order to present both theological

interpretations of the hardening.96

Egyptians so that they followed Israel into the sea in xiv.17. This verse is usually attributed to a redactor.

See Chisholm, Divine Hardening, 412. 92

Although this is generally true, Wilson does present an analysis of this source and his conclusions in

the overall hardening motif that E develops. See Wilson "Hardening, 27-29. He insists that E added the

verses 4:21-23 early in the narrative in order to give cohesion to the plague episodes that would follow.

By stating in the beginning that Pharaoh will refuse to let the people go because Yahweh will harden his

heart, E forces the reader to read even Js hardening statements (where Pharaoh is the agent) as the

work of Yahweh. Wilson presents more arguments to demonstrate that Childs non-treatment of E and

other scholars simplistic suggestions that E does not have much to offer in this discussion are mistaken. 93

Risnen, The idea, 54. 94

This is the only instance where is used in connection with in Exodus. The same idiom is found in Proverbs 28:14 and Ezekiel 3:7. 95


Ibid. This view is not unanimous.

24

It is consensus that the hardening motif is closely connected with the

plagues/signs.97 P is not different from J in this respect. What does differ is that the

hardening and plagues seem to function in a diverse way. The hardening comes at the

end of the sign episodes, serving as the reason for what comes next: another sign.

Pharaoh is hardened in order to effect plagues. His refusal to hear results in the

multiplying of the signs.98 In this sense, the plagues are not intended to reveal Yahweh

to Pharaoh as in J. The P source wants to show that Yahweh chose to act that way in

order to free his people from Egypt. He will show his power by hardening Pharaoh and

therefore effecting more signs as he deems necessary.99 This view is supported by

the fact that there is no demand to let the people go and no warning of the plague

should he refuse. Yhwh simply instructs Moses and/or Aaron to effect the plague, and

they do so.100

Concluding remarks

From a source-critical perspective, the hardening motif in Exodus should not be

investigated with the purpose of solving the theological issues that are raised when one

reads the complete text of Exodus. Instead, one needs to approach the text aware that

each layer of tradition is trying to explain why different plagues sent upon the Egyptians

kept failing their purpose. The answer one finds in all sources for the failure of the signs

is the heart of Pharaoh, but each has its own way of presenting it. In their explanation, it

is possible to see that there were theological developments which included even

Yahweh as the subject (P) of the hardening motif.101

In more technical terms, the primary conclusions of source criticism in Exodus 4

14 are as follows:

When the various expressions of the hardening motif in Exod 4-14 are placed in their proper chronological sequence, two trends emerge. First, the word kbd virtually disappears in the later sources and is replaced

97


Ibid., 173. 99


Claire Mathews McGinnis, "The hardening of Pharaoh's heart in Christian and Jewish interpretation."

Journal of Theological Interpretation 6, no. 1 (March 1, 2012), 44-45. 101

Childs, Exodus, 174.

25

by zaq or, rarely, by q. Second, the later sources tend to see Yahweh as the agent of the hardening.102

The paragraphs above are merely descriptive in their purpose for two reasons.

First, because I do not hold to the source-critical view of the Pentateuch. Second, as

some source-critical scholars admit, the hope [of resolving the problem of the

hardening] has been frustrated and no major breakthrough has emerged.103 At the end

of the day, after trying to uncover the theology behind each source, those who have a

view of the Bible as a book which reveals God both in the Old and the New Testament

will still have to deal with the fact that Paul, for example, brings up the hardening motif

in his theological discussion without referencing a particular source. With that in mind, I

echo Beales words: The present approach assumes unity of authorship, since this was

presumably the way Paul would have viewed Exodus.104

The narrative unity of Exodus

Purpose of hardening

In the beginning of the book of Exodus Yahweh calls Moses (chapters 3 and 4) to

act on his behalf as he delivers his people from slavery in Egypt. God tells Moses that

Egypt will not let the people go unless they are forced by a strong hand ( ) and

therefore God will stretch out his hand and strike Egypt with all his wonders and after

that they would let the people go. What follows, then, is a series of exchange between

Moses (and Yahweh) and Pharaoh and the plagues narrative. It is striking, though, that

what was supposed to be the release of the people is delayed by a sequence of

apparently failed attempts to convince the Pharaoh by displaying Gods wonders.105

Why would God need to strike Egypt so many times before he could accomplish His

purpose of saving Israel? Why did the narrator think it was important to report all the

displays of wonders and their apparent failure, instead of just jumping to the end of the

story? This is where the hardening of Pharaohs heart enters the picture.

102

Wilson, "Hardening, 23-24. 103


Beale, Hardening, 131 n.9. 105

Plastaras, The God of Exodus, 134.

26

God knew from the beginning that Pharaoh would not let the people go until the

last plague, as he later explains his larger purpose quite clearly106 in 9:16: But for this

reason I have raised you up: to show you my power, so that my name be proclaimed in

all the earth. This reason God gives for his interaction with Egypt in the plagues

narrative is a frequent refrain that goes along with the hardening motif.107 God

intentionally used the delay in the release of his people to accomplish the purpose of

revealing himself to all the earth, in a way that resulted in his reputation being greatly

increased.108 He did not want to be known only as the deliverer, but as powerful and

victorious. Therefore, his purpose in preventing Pharaoh from giving in too easily and

too early was to allow himself fully to demonstrate his sovereignty over Pharaoh.109

As Piper puts it,

Gods intention apparently is that, by hardening Pharaohs heart, there be an extended occasion for the multiplication of Gods signs and wonders and then a mighty act of deliverance with great judgments. In all of this the name of Yahweh is to be exalted as the one who has sway over Egypt.110

Who is the ultimate cause of the hardness of Pharaohs heart?

Although the approaches below can be somewhat different from each other, it is

important to have in mind that the line which divides them is not discernible at all times.

For example, one may stress Yahweh as the hardener and still hold Pharaoh

accountable. Or, conversely, one may stress Pharaohs autonomy and at the same time

hold Yahweh ultimately responsible.

Yahweh as the sole responsible for the hardening

The advocates of the thesis that Yahweh is always the ultimate cause of

Pharaohs hardness tend to emphasize both the prediction of the hardening in 4:21 (and

to a lesser degree in 7:3) and the just as Yahweh had said statements. Isbell argues

vehemently, regarding 4:21, that this verse introduces the hardening motif with a clear

statement of the intentions of YHWH that cannot be ignored and that is never changed

106

Chisholm, Divine Hardening, 415. 107

See 6:6; 7:5; 9:16; 10:1-2; 11:19; 14:4. 108


Stuart, Exodus, 146-147. 110

Piper, Justification, 144.

27

throughout the story.111 The use of the emphatic personal pronoun is meant to

underscore the agent of the hardening in the mind of the reader.112 As with the first

prediction (in 4:21), 7:3 also uses the pronoun to emphasize that Yahweh is the

hardener. These two verses predict for the reader what is about to happen and

specifically identify the cause of that future action to be YHWH.113 It is argued that if the

author wanted to leave the possibility of another agent, he would have used different

wording. Already at this point in the argument, Isbell contends that it is simply not

accurate to assert that the biblical narrative portrays a freely choosing individual whose

wrong choices at the outset escalate him into a situation which he learns only too late

that he cannot control.114

What to say about the times which Yahweh is not the subject of a hardening

verb? Proponents of this view claim that the phrase just as Yahweh had said functions

as an attribution clause that identifies Yahweh as the agent in the verses where it

appears. The rationale is as follows,

It is widely recognized that for YHWH to speak a thing is tantamount to His creation of that very thing, for in the biblical idiom, anything spoken by YHWH must inevitably come to pass. If the plain sense of this attribution clause be taken seriously, then, one cannot avoid the conclusion that in the view of the narrator, the Pharaoh did not, could not, in fact freely choose to harden his own heart.115

Chisholm shows his strong conviction that the attributive clause116 ascribes the

agency to Yahweh when he says, The active verbal construction, when combined with

the refrain as the Lord had said, makes it even clearer that Pharaoh was a pawn

[emphasis added] in the hands of the One whose authority he mocked and denied.117

There are, of course, those who believe that Yahweh is the ultimate hardener of

Pharaohs heart but who maintain at the same time that Pharaoh was willingly refusing.

Beale, who offers one of the most detailed recent discussions118 of Yahweh as the

111

Isbell, Function of Exodus, 29. 112

Ibid. 113

Ibid. 114

Ibid., 30. 115

Ibid., 30-31. 116

He does not use this terminology. 117


Ford, Pharaoh, 7.

28

ultimate cause, also argues that the formula just as Yahweh said leads the reader to

the understanding that even when Pharaoh is the subject or when there is no subject

involved, Yahweh is the one who started the hardening.119 However, he sees that

Pharaoh is still accountable for his choices:

The fact that Pharaoh is viewed as performing the hardening is a comment by the writer on the historical integrity of the narration and about the dispositional reality of Pharaohs genuine choice, i.e., his hardened heart refusals are not mechanistic mock action. Nevertheless, Pharaoh must be viewed as YHWHs agent, who truly hardens himself however, never independently, but only under the ultimate influence of Yahweh.120

To explain the verse 8:28, where Pharaoh is the grammatical subject and there is

no attributive clause, it is said that the text makes clear that Yahweh is the agent by the

use of the phrase also this time, which means that this incident was exactly like all the

others.121

Verse 11:10, which is known as the summary of what happened up to that point,

is also used as evidence that Yahweh is the cause of the hardness throughout the

previous chapters:122 Moses and Aaron did all these miracles before Pharaoh, and

Yahweh strengthened Pharaohs heart and he did not let the children of Israel go from

his land. In the same way, the last hardening passage, 14:17, summarizes what comes

before it and at the same time refers the reader back to the first prediction in 4:21. The

verse emphasizes the first person in an unusual way (I, behold, I) and this leads

some scholars to conclude that surely this last hardening reference is intended to call

to mind the first one in 4:21 as well as all of the other first person references

underscoring , YHWH, as the doer of the hardening.123

Piper sees in chapter 5 an indication that even Moses considered Yahweh to be

the responsible for Pharaohs hardness and affirms that the prophet hints his difficulty to

understand Gods involvement. This happens after the first exchange between Moses

and Pharaoh. In 5:1 Moses and Aaron deliver Gods message to Pharaoh, Thus says

Yahweh, the God of Israel, let my people go And Pharaohs response in 5:2 is, I will

119


Ibid., 143. 121

Isbell, Function of Exodus, 32. 122

Ibid., 34. 123

Ibid., 37.

29

not let Israel go. Piper concludes that the result of this first encounter with Pharaoh is

thus probably intended to be read as a fulfillment of Gods predicted action in Ex

4:21.124 He cites as evidence for this conclusion the reaction of Moses after Pharaoh

increases the labor (5:7-9) of the people instead of releasing them: Why have you done

evil to this people? Why did you then send me? (5:22). Moses sees the inevitable

conclusion, namely, God said he would harden Pharaohs heart so that he would not

send Israel away (4:21); he does just that (5:2), and, therefore, the worsened plight of

the Israelites is an evil from God.125

Pharaoh as the sole responsible for the hardening

There are those who emphasize that Pharaoh is always responsible for the

hardening, and even when Yahweh appears as the subject of a hardening verb, he is

not causing the hardness. One of the most influential scholars to hold to this position is

Cassuto.

Cassuto contends that the theological issues that surround a God who hardens

hearts is mainly the product of philosophy. According to him, the reader of Exodus must

realize that the text is not dealing with philosophical issues such as the relationship

between the free will of man and Gods prescience, or the justification of reward and

punishment for human deeds that God himself brought about.126 The Torah was written

long before Greek philosophy and Greek logic,127 and therefore it is anachronistic to

approach the text with the kinds of questions that were not yet formulated. With that in

mind, he explains that when people of the OT read Exodus 3:19, for example, they

would not see Gods foreknowledge as an impediment in Pharaohs way of acting. Even

if they perceived inconsistencies, they would resolve superficially by holding that Gods

prescience was his ability to discern peoples nature and therefore he knows how one,

because of his attributes and facing specific situations, will act. This does not mean

people are not responsible for their actions.128

In his comment about the hardening of the heart Cassuto recognizes that God is

the ultimate cause of it as much as he is the ultimate cause of everything that happens

124

Piper, Justification, 142. 125

Ibid., 143. 126

Cassuto, Book of Exodus, 55. 127

Ibid. 128

Ibid., 56.

30

in creation. He claims that this is the natural way that ancient Hebrew expresses

itself.129 He says,

Of a barren woman it is said that the Lord had shut up her womb (I Sam. i 5); of an accident in which one person kills another unintentionally, it is said that God brought it opportunely into his hand (Exod. Xxi 13), and the like. Every happening has a number of causes, and these causes, in turn, have other causes, and so on ad infinitum; according to the Israelite conception, the cause of all causes was the will of God, the Creator and Ruler of the world.130

The same way, he argues, to say that Yahweh hardens someones heart or

someones heart is hard is essentially the same thing.131 Driver had suggested the

same when he says that the Hebrews, with their vivid sense of the sovereignty of God,

were in the habit of referring things done by man to the direct operation of God In this

case, the meaning will be that God hardened Pharaoh just in so far as he hardened

himself.132

Although the argument above has been influential to many scholars who argue

for Pharaohs responsibility, it has been given a secondary importance in more recent

studies. The attention now has turned to Pharaoh and his deserved punishment;133 this

approach usually starts with Pharaohs earlier sins. Cassuto also used this in his

argument. He lists Pharaohs sins as follows: Pharaoh sinned in that he imposed a

hard bondage on the children of Israel, and decreed that their infant sons should be

destroyed; for this he was punished, not on account of his hardness of heart.134 The

conclusion drawn from this is that his punishment was well-deserved because of those

sins; and the punishment, in turn, proves to the world that there is a moral law, and a

Judge who requites every man according to his deeds.135

129

Ibid. 130

Ibid. 131

Ibid. 132

Driver, Exodus, 53. 133

This is not exclusive of recent studies or of those who advocate for Pharaohs responsibility. It is fair to

say that almost all interpreters will agree that Pharaoh is depicted as the villain in the narrative. What is

being said is that Pharaohs natural hard heart is focused on as a way to show that God did not change

his fate, but Pharaoh is acting in consonance with his character during the plagues narrative. 134

Cassuto, Book of Exodus, 57. 135

Ibid.

31

In favor of this view is the fact that Moses shows his anger against Pharaoh in

11:18: And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. This would make no sense if

Moses did not think Pharaoh had free choice in his acts. Cox maintains that Moses

anger was not just the fact that he was upset about the way Pharaoh had treated him,

but he expressed anger because Pharaoh was not listening to Gods message and

letting the people go.136 It is reasonable to infer from this that, since Moses knew about

the hardening, his anger, to be rational, must build on the belief that Pharaoh was still

accountable for his attitudes and actions.137 Furthermore, this happens in a stage of the

text where Yahweh has now been explicitly said to be the hardener. The fact that

Moses held him accountable here, so late in the course of events, tends to undermine

theories that free Pharaoh from responsibility because of the Lords hardening his

heart.138

In short, this approach does not deny Gods actions in hardening Pharaohs

heart.139 However, it tries to demonstrate that there is no theological contradiction in the

way God acted. The narrator of Exodus does not portray Pharaoh as the powerless

victim of the divine will, but as the architect of his own destiny. If Pharaoh is the enemy

of God and his people, it is not as a result of some devious divine plot.140 Even with the

involvement of Yahweh, the text does not allow us to read it as if Pharaoh is a good man

who is being prevented from repenting because of Gods implacable predestination.141

First Pharaoh, then Yahweh

Among Forsters and Marstons claims which try to demonstrate how Yahweh is

not the culprit for Pharaohs hardness, is the fact that the first instance of any act of

God on Pharaohs heart does not come until Exodus 9:12, after Pharaoh himself has

repeatedly rejected Gods requests.142 In fact, aside from the predictions in 4:21 and

7:3, this verse is the first where Yahweh is explicitly mentioned as the subject of a

hardening verb. Likewise, Sarna argues that divine intervention begins only after the

sixth plague, and stresses the fact that for the first five plagues the Pharaohs obduracy

136

Cox, The Hardening, 300. 137

Ibid. 138

Ibid., 300-301. 139

Maybe Cassutos approach relativizes it more than others would like. 140

Gilbert, Pharaoh, a case study, 83. 141

Cox, The Hardening, 310-311. 142

Forster and Marston, Gods Strategy, 101.

32

is the product of his own volition.143 And the passages after the sixth plagues that have

Pharaoh as the hardener are meant to show the reader that, even after Gods

intervention, the Egyptian king is still responsible for his decisions.144

This point of view takes 9:12 as the fulfillment of the prediction in 4:21 (and

maybe 7:3). It is observed that since 4:21 uses the personal pronoun and the verb

, the only verse that can be compared to it is 9:12, where Yahweh is specifically

mentioned as the subject of that verb: .145 All the other hardening passages

between the predictions and 9:12 should be attributed to Pharaoh exclusively.

Piper disagrees with the transition and sees in the fact that Pharaoh appears

both before and after the sixth plague as the subject of the hardening as an indication

that there is no real transition, real change in subject.146 McAffee, who argues for the

shift, says that the interruption of the Yahweh-as-subject statements by the Pharaoh-as-

subject affirmation in 9:34 is the narrators intentional way of stressing the interplay

between human volition and divine intervention.147

One of the major objections to the transition is the as Yahweh had said refrain.

As we saw above, that phrase seems to link the hardening passages to the predictions

in 4:21 and 7:3, stressing Yahwehs role in every verse. McAffee responds by

suggesting that this refrain does not refer to the hardening but to Pharaohs

stubbornness. In a quite interesting way, he demonstrates that five out of six times that

the phrase as Yahweh had said appears (7:13, 22; 8:11, 15; 9:12), it comes right after

a twofold statement, which contains both the hardening of the heart (always first) and

the phrase and he did not listen to them (always second). The other time follows the

same pattern, but instead of and he did not listen to them it has he did not let the

children of Israel go (9:35).148 In favor of his suggestion is the fact that Pharaohs

stubbornness is mentioned as a problem from the beginning (3:19) and that in three of

the six verses which contain the refrain, the Masoretes place a disjunctive accent at the

143

Nahum M. Sarna, Exploring Exodus: the Origins of Biblical Israel. (New York: Shocken Books, 1996),

64. 144

Ibid. 145


Piper, Justification, 143. 147


Ibid., 350.

33

end of the hardness of heart statement (7:13; 9:12, 35), indicating that they view

as a modifier of Pharaohs stubbornness.149

There are still other nuances of this approach that stress the transition in the

hardening statements.150 However, most of them, despite their different emphasis and

arguments, would agree with Sarnas assessment: In brief, the idea of Gods hardening

Pharaohs heart is that he utilizes a mans natural proclivity to evil; he accentuates the

process in furtherance of his own historical purposes.151

149

Ibid., 350-351. 150

For a brief summary of them, see Ford, Pharaoh, 9-10. 151

Sarna, Exploring Exodus, 65.

34

CONCLUSION

So, who is responsible for the hardening of Pharaohs heart? Was God unjust?

Whatever happened to free will? These are certainly not the kind of questions the

author of Exodus was trying to respond when he wrote the book. Nonetheless, since

those questions are raised by modern readers, Christians or not, we offer now a

summary that may help as one thinks through the theological issues of the hardening.

First, a note about the terminology employed. It has been my intention in the first

chapter to show that the word harden does not translate well all the verbs used in the

verses analyzed. By using that word repeatedly instead of trying to pick up the nuances

of the Hebrew verbs most translations make it difficult for the reader to understand the

wordplay and irony intended as Yahweh defeats Pharaoh and the Egyptian gods. By

this I do not mean that hardening never happens. The text is quite clear that Pharaohs

heart is hardened by both himself and Yahweh. Therefore, interpretations which attempt

to get God off the hook for theological purposes miss the point that Yahweh is being

depicted as the one who can do whatever he wants, even mess with Pharaohs heart.

Furthermore, the fact that in Romans 9 there seems to be a dilemma about Gods

actions regarding Pharaoh should be enough to show that God did harden.

Having said that, it is also good to remember that the God who hardens does not

necessarily do it in a way that is contrary to his attributes, [which] would be

inconsistent with the character of a righteous God.152 The narrative of Exodus makes it

clear from the beginning that Pharaoh was not an innocent man who was being used by

a God whose only intention was to display his power. Pharaoh was not morally

righteous or neutral,153 but a rebel who refused to listen to God.

The two paragraphs above present in a nutshell the heart of the matter: God

hardened Pharaoh, Pharaoh hardened himself. How was this accomplished? What

should we emphasize? Was there a transition? This paper does not offer an answer to

these questions both because of my weakness in understanding the text and because

152

Driver, Exodus, 53-54. 153

Chisholm, Divine Hardening, 411.

35

of a growing conviction that the most fruitful theological approach to this narrative may

be not to try to resolve its tensions fully.154

Honestly, as simplistic as this may sound, at the end of the day this is what one

can learn from the hardening in Exodus:

So then, what if God and Pharaoh had not hardened Pharaohs heart? It seems safe to answer that Pharaoh would not have been an essentially different or a better person. He would simply have experienced fewer plagues The plagues and hardening serve as an opportunity for displaying whos who, with the result that if the Lord had not hardened Pharaohs heart, readers would know less about Pharaoh and less about the Lord.155

154

McGinnis, "The hardening, 61. 155

Cox, The Hardening, 311.

36

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