Exodus 10:1

The Eighth Blow: Locusts

10:1 ¹ The Lord said ²  to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display ³  these signs of mine before him, ⁴ 

Exodus 10:20

10:20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not release the Israelites.

Exodus 4:21

4:21 The Lord said ⁵  to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, ⁶  see that you ⁷  do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control. ⁸  But I will harden ⁹  his heart ¹⁰  and ¹¹  he will not let the people go.

Exodus 14:4

14:4 I will harden ¹²  Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them. I will gain honor ¹³  because of Pharaoh and because of all his army, and the Egyptians will know ¹⁴  that I am the Lord.” So this is what they did. ¹⁵ 

Exodus 14:8

14:8 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he chased after the Israelites. Now the Israelites were going out defiantly. ¹⁶ 

Revelation 9:20

9:20 The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made ¹⁷  of gold, silver, ¹⁸  bronze, stone, and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk about.

Revelation 16:10-11

16:10 Then ¹⁹  the fifth angel ²⁰  poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast so that ²¹  darkness covered his kingdom, ²²  and people ²³  began to bite ²⁴  their tongues because ²⁵  of their pain. 16:11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings ²⁶  and because of their sores, ²⁷  but nevertheless ²⁸  they still refused to repent ²⁹  of their deeds.

[10:1]  ¹ sn The Egyptians dreaded locusts like every other ancient civilization. They had particular gods to whom they looked for help in such catastrophes. The locust-scaring deities of Greece and Asia were probably looked to in Egypt as well (especially in view of the origins in Egypt of so many of those religious ideas). The announcement of the plague falls into the now-familiar pattern. God tells Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh but reminds Moses that he has hardened his heart. Yahweh explains that he has done this so that he might show his power, so that in turn they might declare his name from generation to generation. This point is stressed so often that it must not be minimized. God was laying the foundation of the faith for Israel – the sovereignty of Yahweh.

[10:1]  ² tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[10:1]  ³ tn The verb is שִׁתִי (shiti, “I have put”); it is used here as a synonym for the verb שִׂים (sim). Yahweh placed the signs in his midst, where they will be obvious.

[10:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “in his midst.”

[4:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “And Yahweh said.”

[4:21]  ⁶ tn The construction may involve a verbal hendiadys using the two infinitive forms: “when you go to return” (בְּלֶכְתְּךָ לָשׁוּב, bÿlekhtÿkha lashuv). The clause is temporal, subordinated to the instruction to do the signs. Therefore, its focus cannot be on going to return, i.e., preparing or beginning to return.

[4:21]  ⁷ tn The two verb forms in this section are the imperative (רְאֵה, rÿ’eh) followed by the perfect with the vav (וַעֲשִׂיתָם, va’asitam). The second could be coordinated and function as a second command: “see…and [then] do”; or it could be subordinated logically: “see…so that you do.” Some commentators who take the first option suggest that Moses was supposed to contemplate these wonders before doing them before Pharaoh. That does not seem as likely as the second interpretation reflected in the translation.

[4:21]  ⁸ tn Or “in your power”; Heb “in your hand.”

[4:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “strengthen” (in the sense of making stubborn or obstinate). The text has the expression וַאֲנִי אֲחַזֵּק אֶת־לִבּוֹ (va’ani ’akhazzeq ’et-libbo), “I will make strong his will,” or “I will strengthen his resolve,” recognizing the “heart” as the location of decision making (see Prov 16:1, 9).

[4:21]  ¹⁰ sn Here is the first mention of the hardening of the heart of Pharaoh. God first tells Moses he must do the miracles, but he also announces that he will harden Pharaoh’s heart, as if working against Moses. It will help Moses to know that God is bringing about the resistance in order to bring a greater victory with greater glory. There is a great deal of literature on this, but see among the resources F. W. Danker, “Hardness of Heart: A Study in Biblical Thematic,” CTM 44 (1973): 89-100; R. R. Wilson, “The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart,” CBQ 41 (1979): 18-36; and R. B. Chisholm Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament,” BSac 153 (1996): 410-34.

[4:21]  ¹¹ tn Or “so that.”

[14:4]  ¹² tn In this place the verb חָזַק (hazaq) is used; it indicates that God would make Pharaoh’s will strong or firm.

[14:4]  ¹³ tn The form is וְאִכָּבְדָה (vÿ’ikkavÿda), the Niphal cohortative; coming after the perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives expressing the future, this cohortative indicates the purpose of the hardening and chasing. Yahweh intended to gain glory by this final and great victory over the strength of Pharaoh. There is irony in this expression since a different form of the word was used frequently to describe Pharaoh’s hard heart. So judgment will not only destroy the wicked – it will reveal the glory and majesty of the sovereignty of God.

[14:4]  ¹⁴ tn This is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive. But it announces the fulfillment of an long standing purpose – that they might know.

[14:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and they did so.”

[14:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “with a high hand”; the expression means “defiantly,” “boldly,” or “with confidence.” The phrase is usually used for arrogant sin and pride, the defiant fist, as it were. The image of the high hand can also mean the hand raised to deliver a blow (Job 38:15). So the narrative here builds tension between these two resolute forces.

[9:20]  ¹⁷ tn The word “made” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[9:20]  ¹⁸ tn The Greek conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following materials in this list, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[16:10]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:10]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the fifth”; the referent (the fifth angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:10]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so that” to indicate the implied result of the fifth bowl being poured out.

[16:10]  ²² tn Grk “his kingdom became dark.”

[16:10]  ²³ tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") and refers to both men and women.

[16:10]  ²⁴ tn On this term BDAG 620 s.v. μασάομαι states, “bite w. acc. τὰς γλώσσας bite their tongues Rv 16:10.”

[16:10]  ²⁵ tn The preposition ἐκ (ek) has been translated here and twice in the following verse with a causal sense.

[16:11]  ²⁶ tn Grk “pains” (the same term in Greek [πόνος, ponos] as the last word in v. 11, here translated “sufferings” because it is plural). BDAG 852 s.v. 2 states, “ἐκ τοῦ π. in pain…Rv 16:10; pl. (Gen 41:51; Jos., C. Ap. 2, 146; Test. Jud. 18:4) ἐκ τῶν π. …because of their sufferings vs. 11.”

[16:11]  ²⁷ tn Or “ulcerated sores” (see 16:2).

[16:11]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and they did not repent.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but nevertheless” to express the contrast here.

[16:11]  ²⁹ tn Grk “they did not repent” The addition of “still refused” reflects the hardness of people’s hearts in the context.