Exodus 10:27 Meaning: Why God Hardened Pharaoh's Heart
But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he wouldn’t let them go.
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.
But Jehovah hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.
And Jehovah strengtheneth the heart of Pharaoh, and he hath not been willing to send them away;
But Jehovah made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, and he would not let them go.
Meaning in one sentence
Exodus 10:27 shows God hardening Pharaoh's heart as a just judgment after Pharaoh's own persistent rebellion.
Context
This verse comes near the end of the ninth plague, a darkness so thick it could be felt. Earlier in the chapter, God told Moses He had hardened Pharaoh's heart so that His signs might be shown among the Egyptians (Exodus 10:1). Through the plagues, Pharaoh had repeatedly refused to let Israel go, sometimes seeming to yield only to harden his heart afterward. Now, after Moses rejects Pharaoh's last compromise, letting the people go but keeping the livestock, Pharaoh erupts in anger and banishes Moses from his presence (Exodus 10:28). Verse 27 sits between that outburst and Pharaoh's threat of death. Moses then departs, knowing that a final, devastating blow is coming. The hardening here is not a new act; it is the culmination of a pattern God announced from the start (Exodus 4:21).
Key Words
Two Hebrew words carry the weight of this verse. The verb translated “hardened” is cha.zaq (חָזַק), which means to strengthen, make firm, or make hard. In a positive sense it can mean to encourage or support. Here it describes God strengthening Pharaoh’s will in the direction he had already chosen. The word does not suggest God injected evil into a neutral heart, but that He confirmed and settled what was already set against Him.
The second key word is a.vah (אָבָה), translated “wouldn’t” or “was unwilling.” It means to be willing, consent, or desire. With the negative, “he would not”, it points to a resolute refusal. This is the same word used to describe a person who simply will not yield. The combination is sobering: God strengthens a will, and that will chooses stubborn refusal. The two actions are not competing; they are the account of how judgment works when a person persists in rejecting God.
How Christians Read This Verse
Readers across the Christian tradition have wrestled with this verse. John Calvin (Reformed) insisted that God actively gave Pharaoh over to greater obstinacy, not by inspiring fresh evil, but by withdrawing restraint and handing a rebel over to his own sin. Adam Clarke (Methodist) described it as God “permitting the natural obstinacy of Pharaoh’s haughty heart to have its full sway,” after every gracious influence had been resisted. The Cambridge Bible (Anglican) notes the pattern of divine hardening repeated throughout the narrative. Both views agree that the hardening followed Pharaoh’s own persistent choice to rebel. They differ on how directly God acts, but neither treats Pharaoh as an innocent victim. All point to a God who is just and a king whose responsibility remains his own.
A common misunderstanding
A common misreading is that God made Pharaoh sin against his will, turning him into a puppet, and that therefore God is unjust. In fact, the Bible records that Pharaoh hardened his own heart multiple times before God is said to harden it (Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34). God’s hardening comes after Pharaoh’s persistent rebellion. It is a judicial act: God gives the king over to the stubbornness he already chose. Pharaoh remains accountable, and God remains just.
Main takeaway: God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was a just judgment on a king who had already chosen rebellion against Him.
Questions People Ask
What does it mean that God hardened Pharaoh's heart?
It means God strengthened Pharaoh’s will to persist in the rebellion he had already chosen. God did not force Pharaoh to sin; He confirmed the direction Pharaoh himself had set. This is a judicial act, not an arbitrary one.
Is it fair for God to harden someone's heart?
Christians see it as fair because it comes after Pharaoh had repeatedly hardened his own heart. God gave Pharaoh opportunities to repent, but Pharaoh refused. The hardening is God’s judgment on a person who has already rejected Him, not an unfair imposition on an innocent person.
Did Pharaoh have any choice if God hardened his heart?
Yes. The narrative shows Pharaoh freely making choices, he calls for Moses, he negotiates, he changes his mind. God’s hardening does not destroy human willing; it secures a will that is already set against God. Pharaoh is still held responsible for his actions.
Why does Exodus say both that Pharaoh hardened his heart and that God hardened it?
Both statements are true and work together. Pharaoh hardened his heart by resisting God’s command. God then hardened it by giving him over to his own stubbornness. The Bible uses both perspectives to show that human sin and divine sovereignty are not in conflict.
How does this verse relate to the problem of evil?
This verse raises the question of God’s role in human sin. The Bible presents God as holy and just, who judges sin but does not cause it. God hardening Pharaoh is a form of judgment, not the origin of evil. Pharaoh’s own heart was already opposed to God. The hardening reveals both God’s justice and human responsibility.
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