The ten plagues of Egypt : an expression of God’s love and power

Abstract

There have been attempts in order to discover once and for all the whole understanding of hardening: in one view, it has been argued that Israel’s God has always been behind the process and is responsible for the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. They take Exodus 4:21 and 7:3 as their point of reference stating that in these passages God himself has stated ‘I myself will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will not let the people go’ and ‘I myself will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn. According to some scholars these statements serve as proof that it was God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart. This becomes clear in chapter 9 verse 12 ‘But the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn, and as he foretold he refused.’