Pharaoh’s Hardened Heart
the meanings of hardening
One topic related to sovereignty where the waters are surely murky is that of Pharaoh’s hardened heart. It seems impossible that God could be just in holding a man responsible for doing what he normally would not do. God commanded Pharaoh to release the people of Israel from bondage and held him responsible for not doing so. However, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not release the people. Surely, this is a paradox of justice!
A close look at the historical record will show there is not a paradox of justice. Furthermore, it will reveal an offer of mercy from God to the man who opposed him.
Before we start, we will need to clarify the meanings of the words used by scripture to describe Pharaoh’s hardening. I say ‘words’ because there are three distinct Hebrew words used to describe the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart (or four words, if you distinguish between verb and adjective forms of the one word). Once we’ve identified the word meanings, we can apply them to each verse that references a hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. It is a lot of preliminary work, but it will give us a good foundation to clarify the murky waters of God’s working in Pharaoh.
Word Meanings
As is typical in the Hebrew language, each of these words has literal (concrete) and figurative meanings (see the page on Word Studies for further detail). The definitions given below are in my own wording, being derived from definitions from well-known dictionaries and lexicons, and a study of scriptural contexts that used the words.
Literal Definition
A strong grip, like when the angels took hold of Lot and his family to bring them out of Sodom. Genesis 19:16
Figurative Definitions
When Scripture used the word figuratively, it generally applied it using the concept of the strength felt in a solid grip. It used the word with multiple senses of meaning.
- Encouraging (strengthening) of an individual – Deut. 3:28, 1 Sam. 30:6, Dan. 10:19
- A severe (strong) famine – Gen. 41:56
- Repairing (strengthening) of a building – 2 Kings 12:14
- Prevailed (overpower) an opponent – 1 Sam. 17:50
- Harden a heart – Exo. 7:13, 4:21
Literal Definition
The root apparently came from an agricultural context. It emphasizes, firstly, the subjective effect exerted by an overly heavy yoke, which is hard to bear; and secondarily, the rebellious resistance of oxen to the yoke.
Taken from the Theological Wordbook OT
Figurative Definitions
Scripture used this word in its figurative sense with two senses of meaning.
- Hard, harsh: something difficult to bear (think of a heavy yoke) – Deut. 1:17, 15:18, 1 Sam. 5:7
- Stiff-necked: stubborn, resistant to direction (as one resisting a yoke) – Deut. 10:16, 2 Kings 17:14, 2 Chron. 36:13
See as well 1 Kings 12:4 (heavy yoke) for an illustration of the figurative use and meaning of H7185. Notice as well how the people were resisting the burdensome policies proposed by Rehoboam. Thus, the story shows both aspects of the metaphorical meaning: the hard and harsh policies were like a heavy yoke; and the people’s resistance to the policies were like oxen resisting an undesirable yoke.
Literal Definition
To be heavy, be weighty: Eli was heavy, Absalom’s hair was heavy – 1 Samuel 4:18, 2 Samuel 14:26.
Figurative Definitions
Scripture applied the word figuratively in several types of contexts.
- Burdensome: A difficult event or circumstance – Exo. 5:9 (More work made heavy upon them), Psa. 38:4 (a burden too heavy for me).
- Greatness: Being greater than others – Gen. 13:2 (Abram was heavy in wealth), Num. 22:17 (Balak intended to honor, make great Balaam), Exo. 14:18 (God would gain honor over Pharaoh).
- Dysfunctional: An body part that does not operate as it should – Gen. 48:10 (eyes were dim), Isa. 59:1 (heavy ear).
Using the foundation of the above definitions, the following posts apply these concepts to what God was doing in Pharaoh’s heart. The Hardening Survey applies the word meanings in each verse that references hardening. The post on Pharaoh and Moses is the start of a series of three articles that strive to show the justice of what God was doing with Pharaoh.
A survey of the verses in Exodus that mention hardening, noting the underlying Hebrew word, and summarizing the meaning that the word gives to the verse.
Since the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is an abstract concept, it can be difficult to comprehend fully without some kind of comparison. We can find such a comparison in Moses’ experience.