Why Did God Harden Pharaoh's Heart? 6 Biblical Reasons

How did you feel when you first read or heard that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart? Were you relaxed, or were you perplexed? Did you bother to ask questions?

The question, "Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart?" is one of the most frequently asked questions regarding the nature of God in the Old Testament. I have asked these same questions repeatedly, faced with the challenge of reconciling the answers the scriptures give versus the comfortable answers we often want to hear.

This topic can be challenging. However, we can get through it and come out with a deeper understanding of the biblical narrative. Let us dive into the text.

Did God Actually Harden Pharaoh’s Heart?

Sometime in the past, I found myself embroiled in the affairs of conflicting Christian theological ideas. The two most challenging perspectives were those of the Calvinists and the Arminians.

While I view this as a strictly biblical matter, the nature of the debate often forces you into one camp or the other.

• Calvinists: Emphasize the absolute sovereignty of God over man’s will.
• Arminians: Emphasize the free will of man within God’s sovereignty.

The story of the Exodus, involving Yahweh, Moses, and Pharaoh, is the frequent reference point for this debate. The question, "Did God harden Pharaoh’s heart?" poses a vital problem for those who believe in absolute free will. Why? Because the Bible explicitly says He did.

The Biblical Evidence: Language and Count

Did God harden Pharaoh’s heart? Yes. But to understand how, we must look at the specific Hebrew words used and the progression of the narrative.

​1. The Hebrew Nuance: Kaved vs. Chazaq

​The English word "harden" is used to translate different Hebrew concepts that add depth to the story:

• ​Kaved (To be Heavy): This suggests the heart became heavy, insensitive, or unresponsive. It implies a dullness to spiritual things.
• ​Chazaq (To be Strong/Tight): This suggests a strengthening of resolve. When God "hardens" Pharaoh in the later plagues, He is often strengthening Pharaoh's resolve to do what he really wants to do, preventing him from collapsing under pressure so the full judgment can play out.

​2. The Progression: Who Hardened Whom?

​The hardening is referenced 19 times in the Exodus narrative. In the first few plagues, the text emphasizes Pharaoh hardening his own heart. As the plagues progress, the text explicitly shifts to God hardening Pharaoh's heart to bring about the final conclusion.

​Here is the complete list of every reference in the text:

#	Reference	Agent of Hardening	Context
1	Ex 4:21	God (Prediction)	God tells Moses He will harden Pharaoh.
2	Ex 7:3	God (Prediction)	God repeats He will harden Pharaoh.
3	Ex 7:13	Passive / Neutral	Staff turning to snake.
4	Ex 7:14	Passive (Diagnosis)	Heart is "heavy" (stubborn).
5	Ex 7:22	Passive / Neutral	Plague 1 (Blood)
6	Ex 8:15	Pharaoh	Plague 2 (Frogs)
7	Ex 8:19	Passive / Neutral	Plague 3 (Gnats)
8	Ex 8:32	Pharaoh	Plague 4 (Flies)
9	Ex 9:7	Passive / Neutral	Plague 5 (Livestock)
10	Ex 9:12	God	Plague 6 (Boils) (The Turning Point)
11	Ex 9:34	Pharaoh	Plague 7 (Hail)
12	Ex 9:35	Passive / Neutral	Summary of Plague 7.
13	Ex 10:1	God	Plague 8 (Locusts)
14	Ex 10:20	God	Plague 8 (Locusts)
15	Ex 10:27	God	Plague 9 (Darkness)
16	Ex 11:10	God	Plague 10 (Firstborn)
17	Ex 14:4	God (Prediction)	God plans the Red Sea pursuit.
18	Ex 14:8	God	The pursuit into the Red Sea.
19	Ex 14:17	God	Hardening the hearts of the Egyptian army.

Before the events even began, God informed Moses in Exodus 4:21 that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. However, as the table shows, the narrative describes Pharaoh hardening his own heart (or remaining neutral) nine times before God steps in as the active agent during the sixth plague (Boils).

Theologically, this is often viewed as Judicial Hardening, meaning God gave a person over to the stubbornness they have already chosen, confirming them in their rebellion.

The Purpose: As The Lord Had Said

When you consider the verses where it says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, one theme is consistent. It is the emphasis that the hardening happened "as the Lord had said."

Exodus 4:21 (WEB)

"Yahweh said to Moses, ‘When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go."

God determined the outcome before the negotiation began. This brings us to the core of the article. Why?

6 Biblical Reasons Why God Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart

I once listened to a preacher suggest that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to lead the Egyptians to salvation. While a nice sentiment, the text does not support this. The narrative depicts judgment on the gods of Egypt and the liberation of Israel.

Here are six reasons derived directly from the text explaining why God hardened Pharaoh's heart:

1. To Prolong the Conflict for a Greater Display

If Pharaoh had given up immediately, the full scope of God's power would not have been displayed. God hardened his heart to ensure Pharaoh did not "give in" prematurely before the full miraculous display was complete (Exodus 4:21, 10:27).

2. To Multiply Signs and Wonders

The hardening allowed for the full sequence of the ten plagues. Each plague targeted a specific Egyptian deity, dismantling their worldview piece by piece (Exodus 7:22, 11:9).

To truly understand why God hardened Pharaoh's heart to complete the full cycle of ten plagues, we must understand the spiritual warfare at play. The Bible suggests these were not merely punishments, but judgments "against all the gods of Egypt" (Exodus 12:12).

The War of Gods: The 10 Plagues vs. The Egyptian Deities

Plague	The Event	Egyptian Deity Challenged	Significance
1. Blood	The Nile turns to blood.	Hapi (Spirit of the Nile)	The Nile was the source of life in Egypt. Yahweh turned their source of life into death.
2. Frogs	Frogs cover the land.	Heqet (Frog goddess)	Frogs were sacred symbols of fertility. God made their sacred symbol a repulsive stench.
3. Gnats	Dust turns into lice.	Geb (God of the Earth)	The Egyptian priests could not duplicate this, acknowledging it was "the finger of God."
4. Flies	Swarms of insects.	Khepri (God of creation)	God showed He controlled the borders, as the flies did not touch the land of Goshen.
5. Livestock	Death of cattle.	Hathor (Cow goddess)	Cattle were sacred and economically vital. Yahweh destroyed the pride of their economy.
6. Boils	Sores on man and beast.	Sekhmet (Goddess of epidemics)	The magicians could not even stand before Moses because of their own boils.
7. Hail	Storms of fire and ice.	Nut (Sky goddess)	The Egyptian gods believed to control the weather were rendered powerless.
8. Locusts	Crops devoured.	Seth (God of storms)	What the hail left behind, the locusts ate. Total devastation of the food supply.
9. Darkness	Darkness aims at the sun.	Ra (The Sun God)	Ra was the chief deity. Yahweh blocked out their highest god for three days.
10. Firstborn	Death of the firstborn.	Pharaoh (God King)	Pharaoh was worshipped as a god. By taking his heir, Yahweh broke the line of succession.

3. To Execute Judgment on the Firstborn

God had a specific judgment in mind, the death of the firstborn, which mirrored Pharaoh’s earlier command to kill the Hebrew male infants. The hardening ensured the timeline reached this climactic judgment (Exodus 4:22-23, 12:4-7).

4. To Provoke the Final Pursuit

Even after letting them go, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart one last time to make him pursue the Israelites into the Red Sea. This set the stage for the final deliverance (Exodus 14:4, 8).

5. To Bring Destruction upon the Oppressors

The hardening was a means to bring total destruction upon Pharaoh’s army, thereby honoring God’s name through justice against the oppressor (Exodus 14:17, 26-28).

6. To Declare His Name in All the Earth

This is arguably the most significant theological reason.

Exodus 9:16 (KJV)

"And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth."

God used Pharaoh as a backdrop to display His supremacy, ensuring that the reputation of the God of Israel would spread to the surrounding nations.

The Difficulty of Divine Sovereignty

I once asked a friend, "Why did God have to harden his heart if Pharaoh was already a hard-hearted man?" The answer lies in the specific control God exerted over the events.

For instance, in Exodus 10, after the plague of locusts, Pharaoh was ready to break. He confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness. But scripture says:

"But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go." (Exodus 10:20)

To the modern reader, and indeed to many believers, this is frustrating. It seems that just as Pharaoh was ready to yield, God tightened the grip of stubbornness to ensure the next phase of the plan came to pass.

Even the Israelites were not entirely willing participants. In Exodus 14:11-12, they complained, wishing to serve the Egyptians rather than die in the wilderness. This suggests that the Exodus was not driven by human will, neither Pharaoh’s willingness to release them nor Israel’s willingness to leave, but by God’s covenantal will.

Conclusion: Mercy and Judgment

Was God merciful to the Egyptians? It is difficult to argue for mercy when looking at the death of the firstborn. However, proponents of the text argue this was Divine Justice, a "reaping what was sown" for the years of brutal slavery and infanticide committed against the Hebrews.

Exodus presents a God who is:

• Mighty to save (His people).
• Mighty to judge (His enemies).
• Sovereign over the human heart (Proverbs 21:1).

One would think an all-powerful God could emigrate His people without conflict. Yet, the biblical narrative insists that God chose this path of confrontation to demonstrate His supremacy over the greatest superpower of the ancient world.

To the believer, this is a story of the awesome, terrifying power of God to keep His promises. To the skeptic, it challenges the definition of benevolence.

Ultimately, the story of Pharaoh serves as a sober reminder that, according to the Bible, history is the canvas upon which God paints His glory, sometimes through salvation, and sometimes through judgment.

Frequently Asked Questions What is the main theological purpose of the hardening? The primary purpose, according to Exodus 9:16, was to prolong the conflict so God could fully display His power against the Egyptian gods. This ensured that the name of Yahweh would be declared throughout the earth, establishing Him as the supreme God over the nations. Did God violate Pharaoh's free will? This is a nuanced theological issue. The text indicates that Pharaoh hardened his own heart first (Exodus 8:15). God’s subsequent hardening is often described as "judicial hardening," confirming Pharaoh in the stubbornness he had already chosen to ensure the final judgment took place. How many times was Pharaoh's heart hardened in the narrative? The hardening is referenced 19 times. In the first few plagues, the text emphasizes Pharaoh hardening his own heart. As the plagues progress, the text explicitly shifts to God hardening Pharaoh's heart to bring about the final conclusion. Was it fair for God to punish Pharaoh for a hardened heart? The Bible presents this as an act of divine justice rather than unfairness. Pharaoh was already guilty of mass slavery and the genocide of Hebrew infants. The hardening was the mechanism God used to ensure Pharaoh faced the specific judgment, the death of the firstborn, that fit his earlier crimes.