Exodus 7:3

7:3 But I will harden ¹  Pharaoh’s heart, and although I will multiply ²  my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt,

Exodus 7:13-14

7:13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard, ³  and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

The First Blow: Water to Blood

7:14 ⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; ⁵  he refuses to release ⁶  the people.

Exodus 7:23

7:23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He did not pay any attention to this. ⁷ 

Exodus 10:20

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

Exodus 15:8

15:8 By the blast of your nostrils ⁸  the waters were piled up,

the flowing water stood upright like a heap, ⁹ 

and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea.

Exodus 35:10

35:10 Every skilled person ¹⁰  among you is to come and make all that the Lord has commanded:

Exodus 35:26

35:26 and all the women whose heart stirred them to action and who were skilled ¹¹  spun goats’ hair.

Exodus 35:34

35:34 And he has put it in his heart ¹²  to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

[7:3]  ¹ tn The clause begins with the emphatic use of the pronoun and a disjunctive vav (ו) expressing the contrast “But as for me, I will harden.” They will speak, but God will harden.

[7:3]  ² tn The form beginning the second half of the verse is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, הִרְבֵּיתִי (hirbeti). It could be translated as a simple future in sequence after the imperfect preceding it, but the logical connection is not obvious. Since it carries the force of an imperfect due to the sequence, it may be subordinated as a temporal clause to the next clause that begins in v. 4. That maintains the flow of the argument.

[7:13]  ³ tn This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq); see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53.

[7:14]  ⁵ sn With the first plague, or blow on Pharaoh, a new section of the book unfolds. Until now the dominant focus has been on preparing the deliverer for the exodus. From here the account will focus on preparing Pharaoh for it. The theological emphasis for exposition of the entire series of plagues may be: The sovereign Lord is fully able to deliver his people from the oppression of the world so that they may worship and serve him alone. The distinct idea of each plague then will contribute to this main idea. It is clear from the outset that God could have delivered his people simply and suddenly. But he chose to draw out the process with the series of plagues. There appear to be several reasons: First, the plagues are designed to judge Egypt. It is justice for slavery. Second, the plagues are designed to inform Israel and Egypt of the ability of Yahweh. Everyone must know that it is Yahweh doing all these things. The Egyptians must know this before they are destroyed. Third, the plagues are designed to deliver Israel. The first plague is the plague of blood: God has absolute power over the sources of life. Here Yahweh strikes the heart of Egyptian life with death and corruption. The lesson is that God can turn the source of life into the prospect of death. Moreover, the Nile was venerated; so by turning it into death Moses was showing the superiority of Yahweh.

[7:14]  ⁶ tn Or “unresponsive” (so HALOT 456 s.v. I כָּבֵד).

[7:14]  ⁷ tn The Piel infinitive construct לְשַׁלַּח (lÿshallakh) serves as the direct object of מֵאֵן (me’en), telling what Pharaoh refuses (characteristic perfect) to do. The whole clause is an explanation (like a metonymy of effect) of the first clause that states that Pharaoh’s heart is hard.

[7:23]  ⁷ tn The text has וְלֹא־שָׁת לִבּוֹ גַּם־לָזֹאת (vÿlo’-shat libbo gam-lazo’t), which literally says, “and he did not set his heart also to this.” To “set the heart” to something would mean “to consider it.” This Hebrew idiom means that he did not pay attention to it, or take it to heart (cf. 2 Sam 13:20; Ps 48:13; 62:10; Prov 22:17; 24:32). Since Pharaoh had not been affected by this, he did not consider it or its implications further.

[15:8]  ⁹ sn The phrase “the blast of your nostrils” is a bold anthropomorphic expression for the wind that came in and dried up the water.

[15:8]  ¹⁰ tn The word “heap” describes the walls of water. The waters, which are naturally fluid, stood up as though they were a heap, a mound of earth. Likewise, the flowing waters deep in the ocean solidified – as though they were turned to ice (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 175).

[35:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “wise of heart”; here also “heart” would be a genitive of specification, showing that there were those who could make skillful decisions.

[35:26]  ¹³ tn The text simply uses a prepositional phrase, “with/in wisdom.” It seems to be qualifying “the women” as the relative clause is.

[35:34]  ¹⁵ sn The expression means that God has given them the ability and the desire to teach others how to do the work. The infinitive construct “to teach” is related to the word Torah, “instruction, guide, law.” They will be able to direct others in the work.