We often think of the Exodus story in terms of good and evil. God is good. Pharaoh is evil. God heard the moaning of the Israelite slaves and remembered His covenant. He liberated them from their bondage telling Moses “Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am יהוה. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, יהוה, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians.” (Exodus, Chapter 6 v 6-7) bringing them out of Egypt.

The story of the ten plagues is foretold in Genesis when God tells Abram through a dream, “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years; but I will execute judgment on the nation they shall serve, and in the end they shall go free with great wealth. (Genesis chapter 15, v 13-14).

We regard Pharaoh as an evil ruler who kept the Israelites in bondage and who refused to free the Israelites when ordered to do so by God through Moses and Aaron. God seems to have no choice but to punish a stubborn Pharaoh who seems to deserve his fate because of his evil ways.

Was Pharaoh in fact evil? The Pharaoh who ordered the Israelite midwives, Shifra and Puah, to drown all the first-born male Israelite babies, is not the Pharaoh who suffered the ten plagues. That Pharaoh died while Moses was in Midian where he fled after he killed the Egyptian taskmaster. After that Pharaoh died, Moses returned to Egypt.

Was Pharaoh cruel? His actions towards the Israelite slaves might be considered cruel by today’s standards, but like Noah, Pharaoh’s actions were likely consistent with other rulers of his generation.

For certain, Pharaoh was haughty. That is what one would expect from a ruler who was considered divine and an intermediary between man and the other divinities. During this period, and for the next thousand years, the population believed in monolatry– the concept that a single god is central, but the existence of other gods is not denied.

Although God remembered his covenant with Abram, the Israelites had no direct experience with God or even with Moses, knowing only their life as slaves under Pharaoh. God realizes this, and understands that He has to win the Israelites’ loyalty and respect in a way that convinces them of God’s omnipotence and omniscience. God realizes that if he were to use his power to quickly convince Pharaoh to release the entire Israelite population from slavery, this would not be sufficient to prove to the Israelites that he is the supreme God over all the other gods. Instead, He uses Pharaoh, slowly and gradually overwhelming him with ever more serious and destructive plagues to demonstrate his absolute power to the Israelites. God needs Pharaoh as a foil, hardening his heart, “in order that I may display these My signs among them, and that you may recount in the hearing of your child and of your child’s child how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I displayed My signs among them—in order that you may know that I am יהוה.” (Parshat Bo. Exodus, Chapter 10, v 1-2.).

The cruelty and devastation the plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians have made some among us feel uncomfortable. Was it really necessary to inflict such pain upon an innocent populace? Some commentators explain the need for such suffering by shifting the blame for these consequences to Pharaoh’s stubbornness and evil inclinations (see footnote below). This essay makes the point, however, that although Pharaoh initially rejects Moses’ request to let the Israelites go, his later actions as described in the text portray him as a puppet of God, that God in fact continued to harden Pharaoh’s heart, that ultimately God not only controlled his own actions but also controlled Pharaoh’s responses, in an effort to prove his greatness to the Israelite nation.

To make an enduring impression that would last for all generations to come, God had to have the Israelite people internalize God’s greatness. This was a gradual process, starting with the first plague and followed by ever more destructive and hurtful plagues, culminating in the cruelest and most horrible plague of all, the death of the firstborn in each Egyptian family. In order to draw Pharaoh in, God had to start slowly and gradually increase the pressure. Ultimately, God chose to take control of Pharaoh’s free will so that he was unable to accept Moses’ demand to let the Israelites go.

The text supports this theory. The first two plagues were unremarkable. God turns the Nile into blood. So do Pharaoh’s magician-priests. “But when the Egyptian magician-priests did the same with their spells, Pharaoh’s heart stiffened and he did not heed them—as יהוה had spoken. Pharaoh turned and went into his palace, paying no regard even to this.” (Exodus Chapter 2 v 22-23). This plague created a feeling of complacency within Pharaoh.

Approximately seven days later, frogs covered the land of Egypt. “But the magician-priests did the same with their spells, and brought frogs upon the land of Egypt.” (Exodus chapter 8 v3). That Pharaoh’s magician-priests were able to replicate each of the first two plagues rendered the plagues brought by the Israelite God rather ordinary. However, by the end of the second plague, Pharaoh was already asking Moses to ask his God for relief. “Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Plead with יהוה to remove the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to יהוה.’” (Exodus chapter 8 v 4). “But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he became stubborn and would not heed them, as יהוה had spoken.” (Exodus chapter 8 v 10)

The magician-priests were unable to replicate the third plague, lice, and as a result, warned Pharaoh, “ ’This is the finger of God!’ But Pharaoh’s heart stiffened and he would not heed them, as יהוה had spoken.”

The text suggests Pharaoh exercised his own free will in remaining stubborn and not allowing the Israelites to leave.

After the fourth plague (Insects) and the fifth plague (Pestilence), Pharaoh “became stubborn” (fourth plague) or “remained stubborn” (fifth plague), again suggesting that Pharaoh was exercising his own free will.

The sixth plague (inflammation/boils) was different. Here the dynamic between Pharaoh and God changes. According to the text, But Adonai stiffened the heart of Pharaoh, and he would not heed them, just as יהוה had told Moses. (Exodus Chapter 9 v 11-12). The “But” in the text is a preposition that presumes a preceding clause. In this case, the clause may have been, “Pharaoh wanted to capitulate, but God stiffened Pharaoh’s heart…” By the sixth plague, Pharaoh is no longer in control of his own destiny. Instead Adonai stiffens Pharaoh’s heart and takes control of Pharaoh’s free will and fate. 

The conflict now is between Pharaoh trying to exercise his own free will to admit defeat and allow the Israelite people to go, and God actively preventing him from doing so. Why would God do this?

God states the purpose of these plagues explicitly in the following paragraph:

I could have stretched forth My hand and stricken you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been effaced from the earth. Nevertheless I have spared you for this purpose: in order to show you My power, and in order that My fame may resound throughout the world. (Exodus Chapter 9 v 14-15).

Notice that God is not punishing Pharaoh. He is establishing His power over all the other gods and demonstrating to the Israelites that there is no one more powerful than יהוה.

Following the seventh plague (hail), Pharaoh again exercises his own free will. The text reads, So Pharaoh’s heart stiffened and he would not let the Israelites go, just as יהוה had foretold through Moses. (Exodus Chapter 9 v35).

Why does Pharaoh of his own free will suddenly change his mind and refuse to let the Israelites go? The text is sparse and does not offer an explicit explanation. It reads that following the hail, “Now the flax and barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud; but the wheat and the emmer were not hurt, for they ripen late.” (Exodus Chapter 9 v32-33). Perhaps God was offering Pharaoh some hope in that all the crops were not yet ruined since Pharaoh could look forward to harvesting the wheat and the emmer. Knowing that Pharaoh would latch on to this hope, God let Pharaoh choose his own path, and Pharaoh on his own refused to let the Israelites go, as God had predicted.

The eighth plague, Locusts, completes the destruction of the Egyptian crops. Then Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I stand guilty before your God יהוה and before you. Forgive my offense just this once, and plead with your God יהוה that this death but be removed from me.” (Exodus Chapter 10 v18-19). But יהוה stiffened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go. (Exodus Chapter 10 v17).

After the eighth plague, God again resumes his control of Pharaoh’s free will and prevents him from acquiescing to Moses’ demands.

The ninth plague of darkness has a special meaning. The Sun-god, Ra, is one of the most important gods in Egyptian mythology. Plunging Egypt into darkness is a specific assault on this god. Again Pharaoh says to Moses, “’Go, worship יהוה ! Only your flocks and your herds shall be left behind; even your dependents may go with you.’ (Exodus Chapter 10 v21). But יהוה stiffened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not agree to let them go. (Exodus chapter 10 v24). With the ninth plague, God continues to manipulate Pharaoh while inflicting pain and suffering upon the Egyptians. God stifles Pharaoh’s free will in order to inflict yet one more plague so that He can demonstrate His greatness beyond question to the Israelite people.

Prior to the tenth plague, “Now יהוה had said to Moses, ‘Pharaoh will not heed you, in order that My marvels may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.’ Moses and Aaron had performed all these marvels before Pharaoh, but יהוה had stiffened the heart of Pharaoh so that he would not let the Israelites go from his land. (Exodus Chapter 11 v9-10). Despite the massive destruction and pain and suffering God inflicted upon Pharaoh’s land, his flocks and his people, Pharaoh is unable to let the Israelites go, at first because of his own stubbornness, and later, when he is ready to acquiesce to Moses’s demands, because God actively prevents him from exercising his own free will. God controls Pharaoh as part of his plan to prove His greatness and superiority to the Israelite nation.

The tenth plague, the death of all first-born Egyptian males, both man and beast, harkens back to the beginning of Exodus when the Pharaoh who no longer knew Joseph tried unsuccessfully to kill the first-born males of the Israelites. God told Moses prior to the tenth plague, “For that night I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt, both human and beast; and I will mete out punishments to all the gods of Egypt, I יהוה. “ (Exodus Chapter 12 v12).

Following the death of the first born, He (Pharaoh) summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, “Up, depart from among my people, you and the Israelites with you! Go, worship יהוה as you said! Take also your flocks and your herds, as you said, and begone! And may you bring a blessing upon me also!” (Exodus Chapter 12 v 28-30). This final time God does not interfere with Pharaoh’s desire to let the Israelites go.  Has God done enough to prove to the Israelites that he is supreme above all the other gods?

God tells Moses in Parshat Bo. “This day shall be to you one of remembrance: you shall celebrate it as a festival to יהוה throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time… You shall observe the [Feast of] Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your ranks out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day throughout the ages as an institution for all time.” (Exodus Chapter 12 v14-17)

With the tenth plague, the text suggests that Pharaoh made the decision to let the Israelite people go of his own free will. Yet, God was not done with Pharaoh, or with the Egyptian people.

There is an eleventh plague, the destruction of the Egyptian army.

In Parashat Beshalach, God again taunts Pharaoh. God tells Moses: Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, “They are astray in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.” Then I will stiffen Pharaoh’s heart and he will pursue them, that I may gain glory through Pharaoh and all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am יהוה. And they did so. (Exodus Chapter 14 v2-4). Again God wrests control of Pharaoh’s free will.

יהוה stiffened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he gave chase to the Israelites. As the Israelites were departing defiantly. (Exodus Chapter 14 v8) Trapped between the Sea of Reeds and the Egyptian army, the Israelites said to Moses, “Was it for want of graves in Egypt that you brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt?” (Exodus Chapter 14 v 11). Then God tells Moses to lift up his rod. Moses does so, and the sea parts, allowing the Israelites to pass through. God states, And I will stiffen the hearts of the Egyptians so that they go in after them; and I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his warriors, his chariots, and his riders. Let the Egyptians know that I am יהוה, when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his riders.” (Exodus Chapter 12 v17-18).

The Egyptian army follows the Israelites into the Sea of Reeds at which time [God] locked the wheels of their chariots so that they moved forward with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for יהוה is fighting for them against Egypt.” (Exodus Chapter 14 v 25). The walls of the sea come back and the Egyptian army was no longer. The Egyptian army perished in pursuit of the Israelites.

This eleventh plague serves a dual purpose. God becomes the protector of the Israelites, and God proves his omnipotence and superiority over all other gods. At this time יהוה is not the only God. Nowhere in Exodus does God state that He is seeking justice or retribution against Pharaoh or the Egyptian people. The “chastisements” first mentioned at the beginning of this story refer to the glory of God. The purpose of all the plagues, then, is to show the Israelites that God is omnipotent, that there is no other god like יהוה, and that his glory should be celebrated now and for all the generations to come.

Why an eleventh plague? During the prior ten plagues, the Israelites were protected in the land of Goshen. They were observers. This situation was different. The Egyptian army was pursuing them, and all that was standing between them and death was יהוה. The danger was palpable and personal. For the first time, the Israelites were totally dependent on God for their immediate survival. God came to their rescue by parting the Sea of Reeds and crushing the Egyptian army as they entered the space between the waters. In the moment of crisis, God came to their rescue in a concrete and visceral way. The Israelites were safe on the other side of the Sea while the Egyptians drowned in its depths.

According to the Rabbinical Assembly Pesah Guide (updated March 2025), We reenact the Exodus through story, discussion, and song at the Seder table. The Haggadah tells us, In every generation we each must see ourselves as if we personally left Egypt. This personal experience would not be possible without the ten plagues and the episode at the Sea of Reeds.

Perhaps Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law in Parshat Yitro says it best. “Moses then recounted to his father-in-law everything that יהוה had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that had befallen them on the way, and how יהוה had delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced over all the kindness that יהוה had shown Israel when delivering them from the Egyptians. ‘Blessed be יהוה,’ Jethro said, ‘who delivered you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that יהוה is greater than all gods… (Exodus, chapter 18, v 8-11).

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Note: From the Etz Hayim Chumash:

“We note that for the first five plagues, the text reads: “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.” That is, he himself chose to be stubborn. Only for the last five plagues do we read ‘God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.’ In the beginning of the process, Pharaoh was equally free to be generous or to be stubborn. Every time he chose the option of stubbornness; however, he gave away some of his free will. Each choice made it more likely that he would choose similarly the next time, both to spare himself the embarrassment of admitting that he was wrong and because he now had the self-image of a person who would not yield to Moses’ pleading. ‘At first, it was you who hardened your heart. Henceforth I shall contribute to the hardening.’

“Similarly, Maimonides writes: ‘Sometimes a man’s offense is so grave that he forecloses the possibility of repentance. At first (Pharaoh) sinned repeatedly of                 his own free will, until he forfeited the capacity to repent.’ Erich Fromm has written, ‘Pharaoh’s heart hardens because he keeps on doing evil. It hardens to a point where no more change or repentance is possible…. The longer he refuses to choose the right, the harder his heart becomes…until there is no longer any freedom of choice left him.’ God has structured the human heart in such a way that Pharaoh prevents himself from changing.” (Etz Hayim. Jewish Publication Society. Copyright 2001. P. 356)

image: “Ramsès II, le Jeune Memnon (British Museum)” by dalbera is licensed under CC BY 2.0.