Did God Harden Pharaoh’s Heart? Free Will, Sovereignty, and the Exodus Debate.
Exploring five interpretations of one of the Bible’s most puzzling questions, and what it means for us today.
Did Pharaoh ever stand a chance? Exodus doesn’t just tell the story of plagues and liberation; it confronts us with one of the Bible’s most unsettling questions. If God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, did Pharaoh ever really have free will? Or was he doomed from the start?
This isn’t just about an ancient king. It’s about pride, choice, and what happens when human will collides with divine sovereignty. It’s a story that forces us to ask: what do we do when faced with truth and power greater than our own?
1. Strengthening the Will: Dr. Nicholas Schaser (Israel Bible Center)
Dr. Schaser reframes the Hebrew ḥazaq (“hardened”) as “strengthened,” and lev (“heart”) as “will” or “desire.” God doesn’t override Pharaoh’s autonomy, He amplifies it. Pharaoh already wanted to resist Moses. God simply gave him the resolve to fully live out that decision. It’s not divine interference; it’s divine permission dialed up. Like a parent letting a stubborn child carry out a bad idea to its bitter end, God lets Pharaoh smoke the full pack of plagues. Pharaoh simply becomes more deeply himself.
2. Divine Judgment on Display: David Guzik (Enduring Word Commentary)
Guzik sees the hardening as part of a broader divine strategy. God uses Pharaoh’s defiance as a canvas to showcase His power and justice. Exodus isn’t about thwarted free will, it’s a cosmic drama where Pharaoh’s rebellion becomes the backdrop for God’s revelation to both Egypt and Israel (see Exod 9:16). In this view, Pharaoh’s role isn’t random, it’s instrumental. God doesn’t coerce a neutral heart; He uses Pharaoh’s pride to display a larger truth: no empire or ruler is beyond divine authority.
3. Pride on Repeat: Faithlife Study Bible Team
Faithlife highlights the alternation: sometimes Pharaoh hardens his own heart (Exod 8:15, 32; 9:34), and sometimes God does (Exod 9:12; 10:1). This back-and-forth suggests an interplay between Pharaoh’s pride and God’s purposes. Pharaoh’s arrogance wasn’t inserted, it was already installed. God doesn’t rewire Pharaoh; He occasionally reinforces the wiring Pharaoh refuses to change. Free will remains, but it is tragically consistent.
4. Cultural Context: IVP Bible Background Commentary
In Egyptian culture, a “strong heart” was a virtue associated with courage and kingly resolve. Pharaoh’s unyielding nature could have been admired by his society, yet in Exodus it becomes his downfall. The Hebrew narrative uses multiple verbs (ḥazaq = strengthen, kābēd = heavy, qāšâ = stiff), widening the nuance beyond a single idea. In this view, God doesn’t create Pharaoh’s stubbornness; He allows a culturally reinforced identity to run its course.
5. Divine Exposure of Evil: Augustine (Ancient Faith Study Bible)
Augustine sees the hardening as God revealing, not injecting, evil. Pharaoh’s corrupt heart was formed by his own past choices. God simply brings circumstances that expose what’s already there. Like money offered to both a greedy man and a virtuous one, the offer isn’t the issue, the responses are. For Augustine, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart” could be read as, “I will show how hard it already is.” God’s justice is upheld, not compromised.
6. Putting It All Together: What the Scholars See
Even scholars can’t ignore how complex this story is. But they agree on a few key points:
The Pattern
The story doesn’t just say “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart” once and move on. There’s a progression:
Pharaoh hardens his own heart (Exod 8:15)
The text uses passive language (“his heart was hardened” – Exod 7:13)
God hardens Pharaoh’s heart (Exod 9:12)
This progression suggests a gradual shift, from Pharaoh’s personal resistance to God's judicial reinforcement of it.
The Language
The Hebrew text uses three different words:
ḥazaq = to strengthen
kābēd = to make heavy
qāšâ = to harden or stiffen
Some scholars see these as showing a moral spiral, from stubbornness to full-on alienation from God.
The Interpretations
Calvinist thinkers say God’s hardening is a judgment; Pharaoh is condemned, and God is fully in control.
Arminian scholars argue God lets Pharaoh’s own choices run their course.
Literary scholars see Pharaoh as the classic villain, his fall shows that no earthly power can stand against God.
Egyptian scholars note that in Egyptian culture, a “heavy heart” was actually bad, something judged in the afterlife.
Redaction critics believe the story was shaped to highlight God's sovereignty and bring narrative unity.
Bottom line: The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is not just a theological detail. It’s a central theme that shows God’s will overpowering even the most defiant human resistance.
Points of Agreement
Pharaoh is morally responsible.
No interpretation, ancient, modern, scholarly, or pastoral, treats him as a helpless victim. The narrative assumes that Pharaoh’s choices mattered, even when God’s involvement is emphasized.God’s role is not random.
Whether God is strengthening Pharaoh’s will (Schaser), exposing his entrenched sin (Augustine), using his pride as a stage (Guzik), or asserting cosmic sovereignty (Calvinists, redaction critics), every view agrees: God is not winging it. His actions are intentional.The repeated phrase is significant.
Every perspective pays attention to the repetition. Sometimes Pharaoh hardens his own heart. Sometimes God does. Sometimes the text leaves it vague. But everyone agrees that the pattern matters. It’s a window into the deeper theology of the story.
Points of Difference
Agency
Schaser and Augustine emphasize Pharaoh’s will. God confirms, strengthens, or reveals it, but doesn’t override it.
Guzik and Calvinist interpreters stress divine initiative. Pharaoh’s hardening is part of a larger plan.
Faithlife and literary scholars highlight a tragic rhythm where Pharaoh’s pride and God’s action feed into each other.
IVP and cultural scholars focus on Pharaoh’s identity as an Egyptian ruler. His “strong heart” reflects cultural ideals God allows to play out.
Redaction critics argue that later editors shaped the story to underline God’s total control.
Purpose
Calvinists and Guzik see the hardening as a way for God to display His glory and execute judgment.
Augustine sees it as a way to expose the deep evil Pharaoh had already chosen.
Schaser and IVP stress Pharaoh’s own agency and the cultural patterns reinforcing his resistance.
Literary scholars view Pharaoh as the villain foil, a tool to magnify Yahweh’s power.
Redaction critics see the hardening motif as added emphasis on divine control and narrative cohesion.
Lens
IVP and cultural interpreters pull from Egyptian values to show historical irony, Pharaoh’s cultural strength becomes his downfall.
Augustine, Schaser, Guzik, Calvinists, and Arminians draw from Hebrew theology and biblical context.
Redaction critics focus on how later authors or editors may have shaped the story to emphasize God’s sovereignty.
Determinism
Augustine, Schaser, Arminians, and IVP preserve Pharaoh’s agency, his downfall stems from pride, not programming.
Calvinists and redaction critics lean toward divine orchestration, Pharaoh plays a role that fulfills God’s purpose.
Faithlife and literary interpreters land in the middle, Pharaoh chooses freely, but the path still feels inevitable.
So.. what Does It Say About Us?
Pharaoh’s story is more than history. It’s a mirror. Each interpretation reminds us that God never ignores our choices. He may strengthen them, expose them, or even use them, but He never treats them as meaningless.
So the real question isn’t just what happened to Pharaoh’s heart. It’s what’s happening to yours?
Where are you resisting God; not out of confusion, but out of stubbornness? Where are you asking Him to change your situation, when He’s really trying to change you?
Don’t wait until your heart is too hard to bend. Ask now. Pray now. Change now. Don’t be the cautionary tale.
Resource List by Interpretive Camp
Agency / Human Responsibility
Nicholas Schaser, Israel Bible Center – Commentary on Exodus and Hebrew terms ḥazaq and lēv; Pharaoh chooses freely, God confirms his will.
Augustine, in James Stuart Bell, ed., Ancient Faith Study Bible (Holman Bibles, 2019), Questions on Exodus 18 – Pharaoh’s hardness exposes entrenched sin, responsibility remains his.
Christopher B. Puskas, Hardness of Heart in Biblical Literature: Failure and Refusal (Cascade, 2022) – Broad biblical study emphasizing human refusal and responsibility.
Divine Sovereignty / Initiative
David Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary – Pharaoh’s hardening as part of God’s plan.
Calvinist interpreters – God’s sovereignty displayed through Pharaoh’s resistance.
James E. Thomas, The Vital Villain: Adversity and Triumph for the Glory of the Story (2025) – Pharaoh as narrative antagonist whose defiance magnifies divine triumph.
Cultural / Historical Context
Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, John H. Walton, IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (InterVarsity Press, 2000; 2nd ed. 2019) – Pharaoh’s “strong/heavy heart” reflects Egyptian cultural ideals.
Carmen Joy Imes, Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters (InterVarsity Press, 2019) – Pharaoh’s resistance framed within covenantal and cultural identity.
Balanced / Literary-Theological
Faithlife Study Bible (Lexham Press, 2012/2016) – Notes highlight the tragic rhythm between Pharaoh’s pride and God’s action.
John Goldingay, Exodus and Leviticus for Everyone (Westminster John Knox Press, 2021) – Pastoral-literary reading, balancing human stubbornness with divine sovereignty.
Redaction-Critical
F. E. Deist, Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: Yahweh and the Editor of the Exodus Story (Old Testament Essays, 1989) – Argues editing shaped the motif to stress divine control.
Thomas B. Dozeman, God at War: A Study of Power in the Exodus Tradition (Eerdmans, 1996) – Reads Pharaoh’s hardening within the larger redactional shaping of the Exodus narrative.
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Disclaimer: This post was sharpened with the help of AI tools for clarity and flow.
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