Exodus 9:35 · Bible study
Exodus 9:35 Commentary: Hardened Heart, Divine Purpose
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the interplay of human choice and divine sovereignty in Pharaoh's hardening, grounded in Hebrew grammar and commentary.
Research Summary
- Meaning: After the seventh plague, Pharaoh’s heart was set in stubborn resistance, fulfilling God’s prophetic word through Moses.
- Key words: chazaq (strengthened/hardened), lev (heart), shalach (let go), yad (hand/agency of Moses).
- Main debate: Divine sovereignty vs. human responsibility, who ultimately hardened Pharaoh?
- Theological theme: God’s justice and mercy work together, even through human obstinacy.
- Best use: Teaching on the interplay between human choice and divine purpose, with pastoral caution not to reduce the mystery.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.
WEB World English Bible 2000
The heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he didn’t let the children of Israel go, just as Yahweh had spoken through Moses.
KJV King James Version 1769
And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken by Moses.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the children of Israel go, as Jehovah had spoken by Moses.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and the heart of Pharaoh is strong, and he hath not sent the sons of Israel away, as Jehovah hath spoken by the hand of Moses.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And the heart of Pharaoh was stubborn, neither would he let the children of Israel go, as Jehovah had spoken by Moses.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And his heart was hardened, and the heart of his servants, and it was made exceeding hard: neither did he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y el corazón de Faraón se endureció, y no dejó ir á los hijos de Israel; como Jehová lo había dicho por medio de Moisés.
E o coração de Faraó se endureceu, e não deixou ir aos filhos de Israel; como o SENHOR o havia dito por meio de Moisés.
Le cœur de Pharaon s’ endurcit, et il ne laissa point aller les enfants d’ Israël, selon ce que l’ Éternel avait dit par l’ intermédiaire de Moïse.
Also ward des Pharao Herz verstockt, daß er die Kinder Israel nicht ließ, wie denn der HERR geredet hatte durch Mose.
Alzo werd Farao's hart verstokt, dat hij de kinderen Israels niet trekken liet, gelijk als de HEERE gesproken had door Mozes.
E il cuor di Faraone s’indurò, ed egli non lasciò andare i figliuoli d’Israele, come l’Eterno avea detto per bocca di Mosè.
I zatwardziało serce Faraonowe, i nie wypuścił synów Izraelskich, jako był powiedział Pan przez Mojżesza.
И ожесточилось сердце фараона [и рабов его], и он не отпустил сынов Израилевых, как и говорил Господь чрез Моисея.
法老 的心 剛硬，不 容 以色列 人 去，正如耶和華 藉著 摩西 所 說的。
And the heart of Pharaoh was hard, and he did not let the people go, as the Lord had said by the mouth of Moses.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Exodus 9:35
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Exodus 9:35 describes the result of Pharaoh's decision after the seventh plague. Barnes notes that the Hebrew verb chazaq (“was hardened”) carries a stronger connotation of stubborn resolve than the word used in verse 34 (kabed, “made heavy”). The passive construction, “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened”, does not name the agent. However, Adam Clarke, Matthew Henry, and John Gill all point to the sequence: Pharaoh first hardens his own heart in verse 34 (“he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart”), and this verse records the confirmed state. Gill emphasizes that the hardening intensified after the plague ended, fulfilling God’s promise through Moses (Exodus 4:21). The phrase “just as Yahweh had spoken through Moses” ties the outcome to divine prophecy, underscoring that God’s word is accomplished even through human rebellion.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: High
Main views:
- Divine hardening: God declares ‘I will harden his heart’ (Ex.4:21) and later ‘Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh’ (Ex.9:12, 10:1, etc.).
- Pharaoh’s own choice: Pharaoh actively hardens his own heart in Ex.8:15, 8:32, 9:34. The passive in 9:35 may simply describe the result of his repeated choices.
- Judicial hardening: God confirms or ‘gives over’ Pharaoh to the hardness he has already chosen (cf. Rom.1:24-28). Both the divine and human roles are acknowledged without either cancelling the other.
What is clear: Pharaoh did not let Israel go, and this outcome was the fulfilment of God’s word spoken through Moses.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of the Hebrew ‘hardened’ | Both verses 34 and 35 describe a state of stubborn refusal. | Barnes distinguishes the words: v.34 uses kabed (made heavy, obtuse), v.35 uses chazaq (strong, firm, stubborn). Some see the second term as a more settled, permanent condition. |
| Agent of hardening | Pharaoh is the subject of the active verb in v.34; v.35 is passive, leaving the agent unspecified. | Reformed interpreters (following Calvin) see God as the ultimate agent because of Ex.4:21. Wesleyan interpreters (e.g., Clarke) see a judicial hardening: Pharaoh hardened himself, and God then withdrew restraint. Others try to hold both in tension. |
| Relationship to divine foreordination | The phrase ‘as Yahweh had spoken through Moses’ shows that the outcome was known and declared beforehand. | Some traditions read this as God decreeing the hardening; others see it as God’s foreknowledge of Pharaoh’s free choices. |
| Pharaoh’s responsibility | Pharaoh is blamed for his actions: he sinned, he hardened his own heart, he broke his promises. | The debate is whether divine hardening reduces human responsibility. All traditions affirm that Pharaoh was culpable, but they explain the relationship between divine and human action differently. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The seventh plague, hail mingled with fire, was unprecedented in Egyptian history (Exodus 9:24). It struck at a vulnerable agricultural moment: flax and barley were in bloom or ripe, so the harvest was devastated (9:31). Wheat and spelt survived only because they had not yet grown, a detail showing the judgment was not random but calibrated. Egypt had seen hail before, but never fire running on the ground; this was a direct assault on deities associated with sky and storms, and on the fertility gods who presided over the crops.
Pharaoh was not merely a king but a divine figure, the embodiment of Horus, son of Ra. To humble him was to demonstrate that the God of Israel was supreme over all Egyptian gods. Yet the cycle of the plagues repeats: warning, judgment, temporary relief, then renewed obstinacy. After the hail ceased, as soon as Pharaoh saw that the rain and thunder stopped, “he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants” (9:34). His confession in verse 27 (“I have sinned; the LORD is righteous”) was driven by fear, not lasting transformation. The narrator’s point in verse 35 is that this outcome was neither accidental nor random; it was exactly what God had declared through Moses.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Exodus 9:35. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The Masoretic reading is followed uniformly by the versions represented in the supplied translations.
Reception History
In the early church, Exodus 9:35 was cited in debates about free will and grace. Augustine read Pharaoh as an example of judicial hardening, God giving a person over to the sin they have chosen. Thomas Aquinas discussed the verse in his treatment of reprobation. During the Reformation, Luther and Calvin used Pharaoh to illustrate God’s sovereignty over the wicked. In later centuries, the verse became a key text in Reformed-Arminian disputes. Across traditions, it has also been a pastoral warning: persistent resistance to God can become a settled state. The verse reminds readers that mercy, when rejected, can harden rather than soften.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Danger of False Repentance. Pharaoh said he sinned (9:27), but his change of heart lasted only as long as the storm. When relief came, he returned to rebellion.
- The Pattern of Hardening. Each plague peeled back another layer of Pharaoh’s character. Temporary mercy did not soften him; it gave him room to resist further.
- God’s Word Stands. Despite all of Pharaoh’s efforts to hold on to Israel, what God said through Moses came to pass. Human stubbornness cannot derail divine purpose.
Five-point outline
- God’s Power Over Creation: The hail, fire, and the sparing of Goshen (9:23, 26).
- Calibrated Judgment: The wheat and spelt spared so the people might have future harvest (9:32).
- Pharaoh’s Confession: Words of repentance without a changed life (9:27, 28).
- Moral Hardening: Human choice and divine sovereignty in the same story (9:34, 35).
- Fulfillment of Prophecy: “As Yahweh had spoken through Moses” (9:35).
Illustration hooks
- A child who promises to clean their room only to ignore the request as soon as the parent leaves.
- Testing the strength of a wall: repeated storms do not weaken it; they reveal how firmly it is built.
- A person who says “I’m sorry” to avoid consequences but returns to the same behavior when it is safe again.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, was Pharaoh still responsible for his own choices?
- How can I tell if my own repentance is genuine or just a panic response to a crisis?
- Why does God keep giving chances to someone He knows will not change?
Leading a Discussion
This verse brings us face to face with a mystery: how can a person’s free choices also fulfill God’s stated purpose? The narrative shows Pharaoh hardening his own heart, then a passive statement that his heart was hardened, and all of it happened as God said it would. The goal of this discussion is not to resolve the mystery but to welcome it as a place where Scripture invites humility and wonder.
Discussion questions
- Read Exodus 9:34 and 9:35 side by side. What difference do you see between “he hardened his heart” and “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened”?
- Barnes points out that the Hebrew word in verse 35 means a stubborn resolution, while verse 34’s word means made obtuse or dull. How might that shift in meaning change how you understand what happened to Pharaoh?
- The verse ends by saying this happened “just as Yahweh had spoken through Moses.” Where had God first said this would happen? (See Exodus 4:21.)
- Pharaoh confessed his sin in verse 27. Why did his confession not lead to lasting change?
- Think of a time when you resisted something you knew was right. Did an outside pressure (a consequence, a crisis) change you for more than a moment? What made the difference?
- Some Christians read this passage as God actively hardening Pharaoh; others as God leaving Pharaoh to the natural consequences of his pride. Can both views be faithful to the text? Why or why not?
- How does knowing that God’s word is never thwarted, even by stubborn human beings, affect your trust in God’s promises today?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 4:21 | 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. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke stresses that Pharaoh was not forced into stubbornness. God gave him ample opportunity to repent, but he continually resisted. Therefore, God eventually left Pharaoh to his own hardened heart, allowing his sin to run its course to judgment, which was just.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes observes that the original Hebrew uses two distinct words for "hardened" in successive verses. One implies dullness or an inability to perceive rightly, while the second carries the stronger sense of deliberate, stubborn resolve against God.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentary distinguishes the hail plague account as a composite work, attributing the core to the Yahwist source (J) with shorter passages probably from the Elohist (E). It points to specific verses as the plague's announcement, comparing them to earlier plague narratives.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes highlight how Pharaoh's stubborn refusal to let Israel go unfolded precisely as God had foretold through Moses. The hardened heart and the resulting disobedience were not random events but the exact fulfillment of what the Lord had already declared would happen.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill observes that Pharaoh’s heart, which briefly appeared softened during the plague, grew even harder once the plague was lifted. Despite his explicit promise to let Israel go, he refused, fulfilling what God had already told Moses would happen — that Pharaoh’s hardening would continue until God’s signs were complete.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch notes that the plague itself failed to alter Pharaoh's resolve. The hardening of heart occurred after Moses' intercession brought relief, when Pharaoh and his servants returned to sinning. This highlights their deliberate rejection of God's warning once the pressure lifted.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange stresses that God’s words in the plague narrative are a past conditional: He could have destroyed Pharaoh already but instead preserved him. The Hebrew verb means God “established” Pharaoh, not “raised him up,” to display His power directly to him through further judgments.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry notes that Pharaoh's confession was forced by terror, not true repentance. As soon as the hail stopped, he sinned again and hardened his heart, showing that a temporary fear of judgment does not produce lasting change when the heart remains set against God.