And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

EXODUS 7:3KJV
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Exodus 7:3 (KJV)

What does Exodus 7:3 mean?

Exodus 7:3 says that God will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn and will increase the number of miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt. This means that Pharaoh will resist letting the Israelites go, and as a result, God will perform many powerful acts to show His presence and authority.

In this verse, God is speaking to Moses about what will happen when Moses confronts Pharaoh. The situation is tense: Moses and Aaron are about to demand the release of the Israelites from slavery. God is preparing Moses by explaining that Pharaoh will not easily agree, and that this stubbornness will actually lead to more opportunities for God to display His power through signs and wonders.

The Hebrew behind Exodus 7:3

  • The word “harden” is קָשָׁה (qāšāh), which means to make stubborn or unyielding. This word suggests an active process where Pharaoh’s resistance is strengthened, not just a passive attitude.
  • “Signs” is אוֹת (’ōt), meaning a mark or miraculous event that points to something significant. In this context, it refers to the miracles that will show God’s power.
  • “Wonders” is מוֹפֵת (mōphet), which means extraordinary acts or marvels. These are events that go beyond the ordinary, meant to amaze and get attention.
  • “Multiply” is רָבָה (rābāh), meaning to increase or make many. God is saying that the number of miraculous acts will grow as Pharaoh continues to resist.

Why Exodus 7:3 matters

  • This verse helps clear up the idea that Pharaoh’s stubbornness was simply his own doing; the text shows that God had a purpose in allowing and even strengthening Pharaoh’s resistance.
  • Exodus 7:3 sets the stage for the dramatic series of plagues and miracles that follow, explaining why so many signs and wonders occur before the Israelites are freed.
  • The verse emphasizes that God’s actions are not random; even Pharaoh’s hard heart becomes part of a larger plan to reveal God’s power to both Egypt and Israel.

Where else these words appear

“harden” Hebrew H7185 · used in 28 verses

  • Genesis 35:16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
  • 2 Samuel 19:43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
  • Nehemiah 9:29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments,(which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

“wonders” Hebrew H4159 · used in 35 verses

  • Exodus 4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
  • Deuteronomy 29:3 The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:
  • Psalms 105:27 They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

“signs” Hebrew H226 · used in 77 verses

  • Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
  • Deuteronomy 4:34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
  • Psalms 65:8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.