Exodus 10:27 Commentary: God Hardens Pharaoh's Heart

The ninth plague of darkness (Ex 10:21-23) sets the immediate scene. For three days a palpable darkness covered Egypt, while the Israelites had light in their dwellings. Pharaoh, shaken, calls Moses and offers a compromise: the people may go to worship, but the livestock must stay (v.24). Moses refuses: not a hoof may be left behind (v.26). Enraged, Pharaoh banishes Moses and threatens death if he returns (v.28). At this moment, verse 27 records that Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart.

This is the fifth time God is said to harden Pharaoh (see Ex 4:21; 9:12; 10:1; 10:20; also 14:8). Earlier, Pharaoh hardened his own heart five times (Ex 7:13-14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 34-35). In the ancient Near East, Pharaoh was considered a divine figure, the son of Ra. His refusal to submit to Yahweh was not merely stubbornness but a cosmic defiance. The darkness directly challenged the Egyptian sun god Ra. God's hardening, then, is both judgment on Pharaoh's pride and a demonstration that Yahweh alone is God. The pattern, human resistance first, then divine hardening, matches Paul's argument in Romans 1:24-28, where God 'gives people over' to their sinful desires as judgment.

The Hebrew verb lō ʾāḇāh (לֹא אָבָה) indicates a settled unwillingness: 'he was not willing.' This is the same verb used earlier of Pharaoh (Ex 7:14; 8:2; 9:2). The hardening does not create a new disposition; it confirms and strengthens the one already present.

The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Exodus 10:27. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The Septuagint (LXX) renders the verse similarly: ἐσκλήρυνεν δὲ κύριος τὴν καρδίαν Φαραώ ('the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart'). No variant readings affect the interpretation.

This verse has been a flashpoint in discussions of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. John Calvin, in his commentary on Exodus, vigorously opposed the view that God merely permitted the hardening, calling it a 'frivolous evasion' and insisting that Scripture ascribes the hardening directly to God. The Geneva Bible's marginal note simply refers the reader back to earlier instances. In the broader tradition, Augustine used similar language to argue that God hardens by abandoning the sinner to their own desires (see his City of God). Medieval interpreters like Thomas Aquinas distinguished between God's causation and the sinner's responsibility. In modern times, the verse is often cited in debates over predestination and free will, with Arminian commentators like Adam Clarke emphasizing the permissive aspect. The passage also echoes in Christian liturgy and hymnody, though not frequently; it remains a theological reference point for the mystery of God's justice.

Three-Point Outline

1. Sin's Progression: Pharaoh begins by hardening his own heart; eventually God hardens it. Sin, left unchecked, leads to a point where God gives notice, just as Paul says in Romans 1.
2. God's Sovereign Justice: God hardens as a judicial act, not a capricious one. He is the judge who confirms the sentence already earned.
3. The Unwilling Heart: The verb lō ʾāḇāh (was not willing) shows that hardening leads to refusal. The will, once locked in rebellion, cannot repent.

Five-Point Outline

1. Context: The plague of darkness and Pharaoh's broken promise.
2. The Hardening Hand of God: Active or permissive? The text says God hardened, the agency is unmistakable.
3. Pharaoh's Prior Choices: He hardened his own heart first; God's hardening follows his persistent resistance.
4. The Purpose: God declares in Exodus 10:1-2 that this is 'so that I may show these signs among them, and that you may tell your children….' Hardening serves revelation.
5. For Our Hope: If God can harden, He can also soften. The same power that locks a rebel loose a captive (Ezekiel 36:26).

Illustration Hooks

• A child repeatedly refuses to wear a helmet while biking. Each time the parent warns, the child scoffs. One day the parent stops warning. The child, now hardened in habit, crashes. The parent's silence was judgment, not cruelty.
• A driver ignores flashing flood warnings on the road. The barrier lowers. She keeps driving until she hits the barrier. The barrier didn't cause the flood; it sealed the consequence of ignoring the warnings.

Questions Your Congregation Is Asking

• If God hardened Pharaoh's heart, was Pharaoh responsible for his sin?
• Does this mean some people are predestined to be lost, no matter what they do?
• Why does the Bible use such strong language ('God hardened') instead of saying God allowed it?

Exodus 10:27 raises one of the hardest questions in Scripture: How can God harden a person's heart and still hold them accountable? The question isn't new, Paul wrestles with it in Romans 9. This passage demands humility. We are not meant to resolve the tension quickly, but to marvel at a God who is both sovereign and just. As you discuss, keep the focus on what the text actually says and what it reveals about God and sin.

Discussion Questions

1. Read Exodus 10:24-29. What was Pharaoh's final offer to Moses, and why did Moses refuse it?
2. Look at verse 27. What does it mean that Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart? Use the Hebrew verb wayyḥazzeq (he made strong) in your answer.
3. Compare this verse with Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34. Who hardened Pharaoh's heart earlier? What does this progression tell us about the nature of sin?
4. How would you explain the difference between God actively hardening and God permitting hardening? Which view do you find more biblical, and why?
5. Read Romans 9:17-18. How does Paul use the hardening of Pharaoh to discuss God's sovereignty and mercy?
6. Does this passage make you uncomfortable? If so, what does that discomfort reveal about how you view God's justice?
7. How does knowing that God can both harden and soften hearts (Ezekiel 36:26) give you hope in your own life or in praying for someone who resists God?