Exodus 7:3
But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse doesn't just state God will harden Pharaoh's heart; it links this action directly to multiplying signs and wonders. This isn't about God making Pharaoh evil, but rather about using an abundance of divine displays to solidify Pharaoh's stubbornness, creating a dramatic stage for His power to be revealed.
God has just commissioned Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites, but Moses is already expressing doubt due to Pharaoh's stubbornness. In response, God assures Moses that He will empower them with signs and wonders, and directly addresses Pharaoh's resistance by stating He will harden his heart, all to demonstrate His power to both Egypt and Israel. This sets the stage for a series of escalating plagues and divine interventions designed to break Pharaoh's will and reveal the sovereignty of the Lord.
Have you ever wondered how God can harden someone's heart, and how that relates to their own choices? This verse touches on a profound theological tension.
The Bible presents a complex picture of God's interaction with human will, especially in Pharaoh's case.
God's Active Role
Exodus 7:3 states, 'I will harden Pharaoh's heart.' This isn't passive allowance; it's God's active involvement. Commentators suggest that 'hardening' can mean permitting stubbornness to remain, or even strengthening Pharaoh's resolve – not to force him into sin, but to steel him against yielding. This is so Pharaoh's defiance can serve God's larger purpose.
Pharaoh's Own Responsibility
Crucially, this divine hardening doesn't negate Pharaoh's own culpability. The narrative later shows Pharaoh repeatedly hardening his own heart (Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:7). God's sovereign action works with and through Pharaoh's existing will and choices. It's a divine judgment that aligns with Pharaoh's established rebellion. Think of it like a strong wind that can either fill a sail for a ship moving forward or push a ship determined to go in the opposite direction even harder off course.
Why did God plan to send not just one miracle, but 'signs and wonders'? This verse hints at a deeper strategy.
The multiplying 'signs and wonders' mentioned in Exodus 7:3 were not random displays of power. They were strategic acts with specific purposes:
Credentials and Confirmation
These miracles served as 'signs' – credentials to authenticate Moses and Aaron as God's messengers. They were proofs that their authority came directly from Jehovah (Exodus 4:8-9). This helped convince the Israelites and demonstrated God's power to the Egyptians.
Revealing God's Identity
Beyond credentials, these were 'wonders' (or 'portents') meant to reveal Jehovah's unique power and nature. The goal, as hinted in the surrounding context, was for 'the Egyptians to know that I am the LORD' (Exodus 7:5). By displaying a series of increasingly severe plagues, God exposed the impotence of Egypt's gods and magnified His own supreme authority.
Understand the original words
qashah · Hebrew Verb
To make stubborn, resolute, or unresponsive; it often involves God confirming a person’s existing rebellious trajectory to fulfill His sovereign purposes in judgment or redemption.
mopheth · Hebrew Noun
Extraordinary events or miracles that serve as supernatural evidence of divine power, intended to authenticate a message or messenger and reveal the character of God.
This verse is spoken at the very beginning of the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh. The hardening of Pharaoh's heart is presented not as a sudden divine act, but as a response to escalating signs and wonders, highlighting the purpose of these miracles: to reveal God's supreme power to both Egyptians and Israelites.
c. 1446 BC
Israelite Sojourn in Egypt
The Israelites have been living in Egypt for centuries, growing into a large population that begins to concern the ruling Egyptians.
c. 1446 BC
Moses's Commission at the Burning Bush
God calls Moses to confront Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites from slavery, promising signs and wonders.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
Moses and Aaron Confront Pharaoh
Moses and Aaron deliver God's demand to Pharaoh, who dismisses them and increases the burden on the Israelite slaves.
c. 1446 BC
The First Plagues Begin
Following Pharaoh's refusal, God begins to unleash a series of plagues upon Egypt to demonstrate His power and compel Israel's release.
This passage directly echoes the Exodus narrative, stating that God 'has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens whom he chooses,' highlighting God's sovereignty in both mercy and judgment, much like with Pharaoh.
Deuteronomy 2:30This verse describes a similar situation where God 'hardened the spirit and made the heart stubborn' of King Sihon, showing a pattern of God's sovereign action in resisting human opposition to His plans.
John 12:37-40Jesus quotes from Isaiah, explaining that even though He performed many signs, the people did not believe because God had blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, illustrating the divine sovereignty that can accompany human unbelief.
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12This passage speaks of God sending a powerful delusion on those who do not love the truth, leading them to believe a lie, which parallels the hardening of Pharaoh's heart as a judgment for rejecting God's truth and signs.
clarkeExodus 7:3: "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt."
I will harden Pharaoh's heart - I will permit his stubbornness and obstinacy still to remain, that I may have the greater opportunity to multiply my wonders in the land, that the Egyptians may know that I only am Jehovah, the self-existent God. See Clarke's note on Exodus 4:21 .
ellicottExodus 7:3: "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt."
(3) I will harden Pharaoh’s heart. —See the comment on Exodus 4:21 . My signs and my wonders.—“Signs” (‘othoth) were miracles done as credentials, to prove a mission (Exodus 4:8-9; Exodus 4:30). “Wonders” (môphôth) were miracles generally; niphle’oth, also translated” wonders” (Exodus 3:20), were miracles, wrought in the way of punishment. These last are called also shôphëtiin, “judgments…
The verse doesn't just state God will harden Pharaoh's heart; it links this action directly to multiplying signs and wonders. This isn't about God making Pharaoh evil, but rather about using an abundance of divine displays to solidify Pharaoh's stubbornness, creating a dramatic stage for His power to be revealed.
God has just commissioned Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites, but Moses is already expressing doubt due to Pharaoh's stubbornness. In response, God assures Moses that He will empower them with signs and wonders, and directly addresses Pharaoh's resistance by stating He will harden his heart, all to demonstrate His power to both Egypt and Israel. This sets the stage for a series of escalating plagues and divine interventions designed to break Pharaoh's will and reveal the sovereignty of the Lord.
God has just commissioned Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites, but Moses is already expressing doubt due to Pharaoh's stubbornness. In response, God assures Moses that He will empower them with signs and wonders, and directly addresses Pharaoh's resistance by stating He will harden his heart, all to demonstrate His power to both Egypt and Israel. This sets the stage for a series of escalating plagues and divine interventions designed to break Pharaoh's will and reveal the sovereignty of the Lord.
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Escalating Judgment
Some commentators also note that 'wonders' could refer to portents that brought judgment. As the plagues progressed, they became more devastating, acting as divine punishment and a demonstration of God's judgment against Egypt's oppression.
c. 1446 BC
Pharaoh's Heart is Repeatedly Hardened
Despite experiencing numerous devastating plagues, Pharaoh's heart remains resistant, leading to further divine judgment.
c. 1446 BC
The Exodus
After the tenth plague, Pharaoh finally allows the Israelites to leave Egypt, but later pursues them.
c. 1446 BC
Crossing the Red Sea
God miraculously parts the Red Sea for the Israelites to escape, then drowns the pursuing Egyptian army.
"But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt," — The verse doesn't just state God will harden Pharaoh's heart; it links this action directly to multiplying signs and wonders. This isn't about God making Pharaoh evil, but rather about using an abu…
