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Exodus 10:16-20
Pharaoh rushes to confess and ask prayer, Moses intercedes, God removes the locusts, yet Pharaoh’s resolve hardens again.
Meaning in context
Pharaoh rushes to confess and ask prayer, Moses intercedes, God removes the locusts, yet Pharaoh’s resolve hardens again.
Section 5 of 7
Pharaoh pleads; relief comes; refusal returns
Pharaoh rushes to confess and ask prayer, Moses intercedes, God removes the locusts, yet Pharaoh’s resolve hardens again.
Movement
From slavery to covenant presence
Artifact
Deliverance route and tabernacle pattern
Biblical Timeline
Exodus & Settlement
Exodus context: 1500 BC - 1000 BC
Biblical Timeline
Exodus & Settlement
Exodus context
Exodus & Settlement / 1500 BC - 1000 BC
Exodus context is set in the exodus and settlement period, where Moses, the exodus, wilderness, covenant instruction, conquest, and judges.
Scripture Text
Thesis
Pharaoh rushes to confess and ask prayer, Moses intercedes, God removes the locusts, yet Pharaoh’s resolve hardens again.
Verse by Verse
Pharaoh’s urgent confession and request Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron quickly and states that he has “sinned” against Yahweh (named as “your God”) and also against Moses and Aaron. He asks them to forgive him “again” and requests that Moses intercede so Yahweh will remove “this death” from him, treating the locust crisis as a lethal threat.
Moses intercedes Moses leaves Pharaoh’s presence and prays to Yahweh. The text gives no details of the prayer, only that Moses acts as the one Pharaoh asked to approach Yahweh.
Relief comes by a decisive change in the wind Yahweh turns an exceptionally strong west wind that lifts the locusts and drives them into the Red Sea. The removal is total: not a single locust remains anywhere within Egypt’s borders.
Literary Context
This scene sits in the sequence of plague narratives where each disaster pressures Pharaoh toward letting Israel go, followed by temporary concessions that collapse once relief comes. Just before this, the locusts have consumed what remained after the hail, and Pharaoh has already tried a limited permission for only the men to go, which Moses refused. Now Pharaoh’s words escalate: he calls Moses and Aaron “in haste,” confesses wrongdoing, and requests intercession. The pattern continues: Moses prays, Yahweh removes the plague, and then Pharaoh’s refusal is renewed, setting up the next plague that follows.
Historical Context
The passage reflects a world where Egypt’s ruler holds near-total authority and where national stability depends on predictable agriculture and state control of food. A locust swarm would be experienced as an existential crisis, threatening storage, taxation, and public order. Court officials and messengers could quickly summon key figures in emergencies, which fits Pharaoh’s sudden call for Moses and Aaron. The reference to the Red Sea places the action within Egypt’s broader northeastern frontier region and its coastal waters, a zone tied to trade routes and imperial security during Egypt’s New Kingdom-era dominance.
Theological Significance
Questions
Keep Studying
Refusal returns Despite the complete relief, the narrative states that Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and the outcome is the same as before: Pharaoh does not let the Israelites go.
This short scene continues the repeating pattern in the plague story: crisis drives Pharaoh to urgent words, Moses asks Yahweh for relief, Yahweh removes the threat completely, and then Pharaoh’s refusal returns (explicit in vv. 16–20). The text also highlights Moses’ role as an intercessor: Pharaoh does not pray himself but asks Moses to do it, and Moses does (vv. 17–18).
The passage portrays Yahweh’s control over nature in a direct, concrete way. The locust removal is not gradual or partial; it happens through a decisive wind change and is described as total within Egypt’s borders (v. 19). Pharaoh’s language frames the locust plague as a deadly danger (“this death,” v. 17), showing how severe the crisis is within the story world.
How real is Pharaoh’s confession? The text reports that Pharaoh admits he has sinned and asks forgiveness “again,” but it does not directly state what is happening inside Pharaoh (vv. 16–17). Some read the confession as mostly crisis-driven language meant to stop the damage; others see at least a moment of genuine recognition that collapses under pressure once the danger is gone.
How should Yahweh “hardened Pharaoh’s heart” be related to Pharaoh’s choices? Verse 20 states Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart and Pharaoh did not let Israel go. Readers differ on whether this means Yahweh is the decisive cause of Pharaoh’s renewed refusal, or whether it describes Yahweh confirming/strengthening a resolve Pharaoh has already repeatedly chosen.
What exactly is meant by “this death”? Some take it as a vivid way of describing the lethal threat of famine and social collapse caused by the locusts; others think it may hint at fear of divine judgment or immediate mortality. The phrase itself is brief and can cover more than one layer of threat.
The passage gives strong outward actions (summons, confession, request, prayer, wind, removal, refusal) but leaves key inner dynamics unstated (Pharaoh’s sincerity) and uses a direct statement about Yahweh hardening Pharaoh’s heart without explaining the mechanics (v. 20). Also, the phrase “this death” is metaphor-like and context-driven rather than precisely defined.
pharaoh (par·‘ōh)