Exodus 7:3

7:1-7 God glorifies himself. He makes people know that he is Jehovah. Israel is made to know it by the performance of his promises to them, and the Egyptians by the pouring out of his wrath upon them. Moses, as the ambassador of Jehovah, speaking in his name, laid commands upon Pharaoh, denounced threatenings against him, and called for judgments upon him. Pharaoh, proud and great as he was, could not resist. Moses stood not in awe of Pharaoh, but made him tremble. This seems to be meant in the words, Thou shalt be a god unto Pharaoh. At length Moses is delivered from his fears. He makes no more objections, but, being strengthened in faith, goes about his work with courage, and proceeds in it with perseverance.

And I will harden Pharaoh's heart,.... See Gill on Exodus 4:21 . and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt; work one miracle and wonderful sign after another, until they are all wrought intended to be wrought; and which he had given Moses power to do, and until the end should be answered and obtained, the letting go of the children of Israel.

(3) I will harden Pharaoh’s heart. —See the comment on Exodus 4:21 . My signs and my wonders.—“Signs” (‘othoth) were miracles done as credentials, to prove a mission (Exodus 4:8-9; Exodus 4:30). “Wonders” (môphôth) were miracles generally; niphle’oth, also translated” wonders” (Exodus 3:20), were miracles, wrought in the way of punishment. These last are called also shôphëtiin, “judgments.” (See Exodus 7:4.)

(21) All those wonders. —Not the “three signs” of Exodus 3:3-9 , but the “portents” or “wonders “which were to be done before Pharaoh, and which had been alluded to in Exodus 3:20 . These were, in the counsel of God, already “put into Moses’ hand,” though their exact nature was as yet unknown to Moses himself. I will harden his heart.—The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart has been the subject of much controversy. It is ascribed to God in this place, and again in Exodus 7:3; Exodus 9:12; Exodus 10:1; Exodus 10:20; Exodus 10:27; Exodus 14:4; Exodus 14:8; to Pharaoh in Exodus 8:15; Exodus 8:32; and Exodus 9:34; to the action of the heart itself in Exodus 7:13; Exodus 7:22; Exodus 9:7; Exodus 9:35. It is conceivable that these may be simply three forms of speech, and that the actual operation was one and the same in every case. Or, three different modes of operation may be meant. It is in favour of the latter view, that each term has a period during which it is predominant. In the narrative of what happened, the action of the heart is itself predominant in the first period; that of Pharaoh on his heart in the second; that of God in the third.

Verse 3. - I will harden Pharaoh's heart . See the comment on Exodus 4:21. And multiply my signs and my wonders . The idea of a long series of miracles is here, for the first time, distinctly introduced. Three signs had been given ( Exodus 4:3-9 ); one further miracle had been mentioned ( ib . 23). Now a multiplication of signs and wonders is promised. Compare Exodus 3:20 , and Exodus 6:6 , which, however, are not so explicit as the present passage. Exodus 7:3

3 . And I (emph.) will harden , &c.] cf. Exodus 4:21 (E). Harden ( הקשה ), as Psalm 95:8 ; but used only here of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. my signs and my portents ] alluding, probably, partly to ‘portents’ (see on Exodus 4:21 ) performed as credentials (cf. v. 9), partly to the less severe plagues (cf. Exodus 11:10 , in P).

Thus in P Aaron co-operates with Moses, and the command is Say unto Aaron ( Exodus 7:19 , Exodus 8:5 ; Exodus 8:16 ; so before in Exodus 7:9 : even in Exodus 9:8 , where Moses alone is to act, both are expressly addressed); there is no interview with the Pharaoh, so that no demand is ever made for Israel’s release; the descriptions are brief; except in Exodus 9:10 , Aaron is the wonder-worker, bringing about the result by stretching out his rod at Moses’ direction ( Exodus 7:19 , Exodus 8:5 f., 16 f.; cf. Exodus 7:9 ); the wonders wrought (‘signs and portents,’ Exodus 7:3 : P does not speak of them as ‘plagues’) are intended less to break down the Pharaoh’s resistance than to accredit Moses as Jehovah’s representative; they thus take substantially the form of a contest with the native magicians, who are mentioned only in this narrative ( Exodus 7:11 f., 22, Exodus 8:7 ; Exodus 8:18 f., Exodus 9:11 ), and who at first do the same things by their arts, but in the end are completely defeated; the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is expressed by ḥâzaḳ ḥizzçḳ ( was strong, made strong ), Exodus 7:22 , Exodus 8:19 , Exodus 9:12 , Exodus 11:10 ( Song of Solomon 7:13 ), and the closing formula is, and he hearkened not unto them, as Jehovah had spoken , Exodus 7:22 , Exodus 8:15 b, 19, Exodus 9:12 ( Song of Solomon 7:13 ).

Moses' last difficulty ( Exodus 6:12 , repeated in Exodus 6:30 ) was removed by God with the words: "See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet" ( Exodus 7:1 ). According to Exodus 4:16 , Moses was to be a god to Aaron; and in harmony with that, Aaron is here called the prophet of Moses, as being the person who would announce to Pharaoh the revelations of Moses. At the same time Moses was also made a god to Pharaoh; i.e., he was promised divine authority and power over Pharaoh, so that henceforth there was no more necessity for him to be afraid of the king of Egypt, but the latter, notwithstanding all resistance, would eventually bow before him. Moses was a god to Aaron as the revealer of the divine will, and to Pharaoh as the executor of that will. - In Exodus 7:2-5 God repeats in a still more emphatic form His assurance, that notwithstanding the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, He would bring His people Israel out of Egypt. ושׁלּח ( Exodus 7:2 ) does not mean ut dimittat or mittat (Vulg. Ros.; "that he send," Eng. ver.); but ו is vav consec. perf., "and so he will send." On Exodus 7:3 cf. Exodus 4:21 .