Exodus 14 · a question people ask
If the LORD hardened their hearts, why were the Egyptians to blame?
Chapter 14 says it more than one way. The LORD says, "I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them" (14:4). Then "the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, ‘What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?’" (14:5). Then "The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel" (14:8), and he says, "I myself will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in after them" (14:17). Exodus 4 sets out how the whole book says it: God said beforehand, "I will harden his heart" (4:21), Pharaoh "hardened his heart" (8:15), and "The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh" (9:12). Christians agree that God is just and that he gives his reason here: "The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD" (14:18). They differ on how the two sides fit together.
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
God's choice comes first
Those who hold this view start from God's own words, said before any plague, "I will harden his heart" (4:21). Here too the LORD says "I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them" (14:4) before Pharaoh is told that the people had fled (14:5), and he names his purpose in advance (14:4, 14:17-18). They point to Paul, who quotes what God said to Pharaoh and concludes, "he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires" (Romans 9:17-18).
Exodus 4:21 · Exodus 14:4-5 · Exodus 14:17-18 · Romans 9:17-18
God confirmed their own choice
Those who hold this view note that Pharaoh and his servants speak for themselves: "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" (14:5). The plague chapters say Pharaoh "hardened his heart" (8:15, 8:32) before they say "The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh" (9:12), and after the hail "he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants" (9:34). They read the LORD's hardening here as giving Pharaoh and the Egyptians over to what they had already chosen.
Exodus 14:5 · Exodus 8:15 · Exodus 8:32 · Exodus 9:12 · Exodus 9:34
The verses
“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them; and I will get honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” They did so. The king of Egypt was told that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?””
“The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; for the children of Israel went out with a high hand.”
“Behold, I myself will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in after them. I will get myself honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies, over his chariots, and over his horsemen. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I have gotten myself honor over Pharaoh, over his chariots, and over his horsemen.””
“The LORD said to Moses, “When you go back into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.”