“But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.” — Exodus 7:22
This Torah portion for this week, Vaeira, is from Exodus 6:2–9:35 and Ezekiel 28:25–29:12.
The case of the hardened heart begins when God told Moses that although Aaron would ask Pharaoh to “let my people go,”Pharaoh’s heart would be hardened and he would not relent. God told Moses, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart… he will not listen to you” (Exodus 7:3). It appears from the text that God caused Pharaoh’s heart to become hardened, which kept him from repenting and letting the Israelites go. This begs the question: Is that really fair?
