Exodus 4 · a question people ask
If God hardened Pharaoh's heart, how was Pharaoh to blame?
Exodus says it both ways. God says, "I will harden his heart" (4:21), and later "The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh" (9:12). It also says, "he hardened his heart" (8:15) and "Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also" (8:32). Between 4:21 and 9:12 God repeats the promise, "I will harden Pharaoh’s heart" (7:3), but the text never says he has done it: it says "Pharaoh’s heart was hardened" (7:13, 7:22, 8:19), that it was "stubborn" (7:14, 9:7), or that Pharaoh hardened it (8:15, 8:32), and four times it adds "as the LORD had spoken" (7:13, 7:22, 8:15, 8:19). Christians agree that God is just and that Pharaoh is held responsible ("he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart", 9:34); 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, "I will harden his heart" (4:21), said before any plague; they note that when Pharaoh's heart was hardened, the text adds "as the LORD had spoken" (7:13, 7:22), and 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 7:13 · Exodus 7:22 · Romans 9:17-18
God confirmed Pharaoh's own choice
Those who hold this view note that 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 read God's hardening as giving Pharaoh over to what he had already chosen; after the hail, "he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart" (9:34).
Exodus 8:15 · Exodus 8:32 · Exodus 9:12 · Exodus 9:34
The verses
“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.”
“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.”
“Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken. The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.”
“The magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken.”