Talmud reads Torah // Va'era

and the LORD said to Moses, “I am the LORD; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I will tell you,” Moses appealed to the LORD, saying, “See, I am of impeded speech; how then should Pharaoh heed me!” The LORD replied to Moses, “See, I place you in the role of God to Pharaoh, with your brother Aaron as your prophet. You shall repeat all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh to let the Israelites depart from his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that I may multiply My signs and marvels in the land of Egypt. When Pharaoh does not heed you, I will lay My hand upon Egypt and deliver My ranks, My people the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with extraordinary chastisements. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand over Egypt and bring out the Israelites from their midst.” This Moses and Aaron did; as the LORD commanded them, so they did. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they made their demand on Pharaoh.

For I have hardened his heart - Rabbi Yochanan said: Does this not provide heretics with an opportunity to open their mouths to say that he had no means of repenting, as it say "For I have hardened his heart"? Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said to him: Let the mouths of the heretics be silenced, rather "He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed" (Proverbs 3:34).

When the Holy One Blessed be He warns a man once, twice, thrice and he does not repent, G-d locks his heart against repentance to punish him for his sins. So too with the wicked Pharaoh: since God appealed to him five times and he took no notice, G-d then said: "You have stiffened your neck and hardened your heart; well, I will add impurity to your impurity". Hence: "For I have hardened his heart". What does "I have hardened" imply? That G-d made his heart like a liver (כבד) into which even if boiled a second time no juice enters; so too was the heart of Pharaoh made like a liver, and he did not receive the words of G-d. Hence, "For I have hardened his heart".

And the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 9:12)- When the Holy One Blessed be He saw that [Pharaoh did not repent following the first five plagues, he said: 'even if he wishes to repent, I shall harden his heart so that I may exact the entire punishment from him, "just as the Lord had said to Moses," as it is written: "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart" (Exodus 7:3)

ואני אקשה AND I WILL ALLOW [PHARAOH’S HEART] TO HARDEN — Since he has wickedly resisted Me, and it is manifest to Me that the heathen nations find no spiritual satisfaction in setting their whole heart to return to Me penitently, it is better that his heart should be hardened in order that My signs may be multiplied against him so that you may recognise My divine power. Such, indeed, is the method of the Holy One, blessed be He: He brings punishment upon the nations so that Israel may hear of it and fear Him, as it is said, (Zephaniah 3:6, 3:7) “I have cut off nations, their corners are desolate etc. … I said: Surely thou wilt fear Me, thou wilt receive correction” (cf. Yevamot 63a). Nevertheless, in the case of the first five plagues it is not stated, “The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart” but “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened” (Midrash Tanchuma, Vaera 3).

"And I will harden" Seeing that God wishes that sinners repent rather than die (as we know from Ezekiel 33,11: “by My life, I do not want the death of the wicked but that he return from his wicked path and live”), God multiplied his miracles in order to cause the Egyptians to repent [...] the purpose also being for the Children of Israel to take heed [...]

And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, etc. (Exod. 7:3). The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Moses, you shall speak, and I will bring the plague. Moreover, He stated, in this world I will obtain retribution from the Egyptians through the ten plagues, but in the future I will obtain retribution for you from Gog and Magog, as it is said: And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; I will cause to rain upon him, and upon his bands and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower (Ezek. 38:22).

And, it is possible that a man should commit either one grievous iniquity or a multitude of sins so that the Judge of Truth will decree against him that, whereas this sinner committed those sins of his own free will and consciously, repentance should be witheld from him altogether, and grant him no leave to repent, so that he might die and perish in the iniquity he committed. Even this is what the Holy One, blessed is He! said through Isaiah: "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their eyes heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart will return and be healed" (Is. 6.10). It is, moreover, said: "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people till there was no remedy". (II Chro. 36.16)—as if saying: "They sinned of their own free will and they have multiplied iniquities, until their guilt carried the punishment to withold repentance from them, which is the remedy". It is, therefore, written in the Torah; "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart" (Ex. 14.4), because at the beginning he sinned of his own free will, and meted out evil to Israel who sojourned in his land, even as it is said: "Come, let us deal wisely with them" (Ibid. 1.10). Thereat justice demanded to withold repentance from him, so that due punishment might be visited upon him. Wherefor, the Holy One, blessed is He! hardened his heart.

If it be so, then why did He delegate Moses to him, charging him to let Israel go forth and turn to repentance seeing that the Holy One, blessed is He had long since told him "thou wilt not let them go forth?" [...] To demonstrate to the the people of the world that whenever the Holy One, blessed is He, witholds repentance from a sinner he can not repent, but must die in the original evil which he initially perpetrated of his own free will. Sihon, too, by the measure of his iniquity became guilty of an offence which carried the punishment to have repentance witheld from him [...]

[...] And here is the answer to the question that everyone asks: If God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, what then was his transgression [since he had no choice]?

There are two answers, which both hold true: First, Pharaoh, in his wickedness, had unjustifiably treated the Jews terribly, so he was punished with the withdrawal of the path of repentance, and there are many verses regarding this in the Torah and the Writings, and he was punished by his original deeds.

Secondly, only the second half of the [ten] plagues were brought upon Egypt due to Pharaoh’s transgressions, as the Torah states, And Pharaoh’s heart was strengthened, (Shemot 7:13, 26; 8:15), and Pharaoh hardened his heart (ibid. 8:28, 9:7). He did not want to send the Jews out of Egypt for the glory of God; rather, when the plagues increased and he was becoming too worn out to withstand them, his heart softened and he decided to send them out because of the severity of the plagues themselves, but not in order to do the will of his Creator. Therefore, God strengthened his spirit and gave courage to his heart so that His Name would be declared [throughout the world], as we read: Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself, and I will make Myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Adønαi. (Ez. 38:23).
And that which is written before the plagues (Ex. 3:19) "and I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go," this is to reveal the future to Moses and tell him what will happen in the last plagues [...]