Exodus - 9:34



34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Exodus 9:34.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And Pharao seeing that the rain and the hail, and the thunders were ceased, increased his sin.
And Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had ceased, and he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he, and his bondmen.
and Pharaoh seeth that the rain hath ceased, and the hail and the voices, and he continueth to sin, and hardeneth his heart, he and his servants;
But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the ice-storm and the thunders were ended, he went on sinning, and made his heart hard, he and his servants.
Then Pharaoh, seeing that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders had ceased, added to his sin.
Videns autem Pharao quod cessasset pluvia, et grando, et tonitrua, adjecit adhuc ad impie agendum, et aggravavit cor suum ipse et servi ejus.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

And when Pharaoh saw. Again, as usual, Pharaoh gathers audacity from the mitigation of his punishment, as security arms the reprobate against God; for as soon as the scourges of God rest for awhile, they cherish the presumption that they will be unpunished, and construe the short truce into an abiding peace. Pharaoh, then, hardens anew his heart, which he seemed to have somewhat changed, as soon as he is delivered from this infliction; as though he had not been warned that others remained behind, nay, that the hand of God was already stretched out against him. Therefore, at the end of the chapter, Moses amplifies the crime when he adds, that this had been foretold [1] "by the hand of Moses." We have sometimes seen already that the wicked king was hardened, as God had said to Moses; now, more! is expressed, viz., that Moses had been the proclaimer of his indomitable and desperate obstinacy.

Footnotes

1 - Ver. 35, A.V., marg. ref.

He sinned yet more, and hardened his heart - These were merely acts of his own; "for who can deny," says Mr. Psalmanazar, "that what God did on Pharaoh was much more proper to soften than to harden his heart; especially when it is observable that it was not till after seeing each miracle, and after the ceasing of each plague, that his heart is said to have been hardened? The verbs here used are in the conjugations pihel and hiphil, and often signify a bare permission, from which it is plain that the words should have been read, God suffered the heart of Pharaoh to be hardened." - Universal Hist., vol. i., p. 494. Note D.

And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders were ceased,.... And there was a clear sky and a fine serene heaven, the black clouds were dispersed and gone, and he heard no more the clattering of the hailstones, and the terrible claps of thunder, and saw no more the flashes of lightning, but all was calm and composed:
he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants; instead of giving glory to God, who had heard the prayers of Moses and Aaron for them, and had delivered them from their frights and fears, and the terror and horror they were in, and of letting the people of Israel go, see Revelation 16:21.

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