Why Does God Harden Pharaoh's Heart?

Why does God "harden" Pharaoh's heart during the Ten Plagues?  By doing so, He stops Pharaoh from letting the Israelites leave Egypt for three days to pray.  Doesn't this run counter to the goal of freeing the Israelites?  The answer is found by realizing that the primary purpose of the Ten Plagues is not to free the Israelites but to instill a fear of God in Pharaoh and in future generations of Jews.  A fear of God is defined biblically to mean holding Him in awe and respect.

Each time God hardens Pharaoh's heart, Pharaoh shows that he either does not think God is responsible for the plague or because he believes himself to be on the same level as God.  God hardens Pharaoh's heart in the 6th plague when he attributes the boils to magic.  God does not want him to think that it is just one god's magic being better than another.  In the 8th plague, God hardens Pharaoh's heart when he views God as a local god.  In the 9th plague, the problem is that Pharaoh thinks he can negotiate with God.   After the Israelites leave Egypt, Pharaoh once again thinks he is on the same level as God, complaining that the Israelites and God failed to live up to the agreement.  So, God hardens his heart.

In the end, the purpose of the Plagues is not just to convince Pharaoh of God's omnipotence, but also to demonstrate the latter for future generations of Jews.  The Plagues are meant to instill a fear of God in all Jews.

See my book, "Finding Judaism in the Torah," for a more extensive discussion.  It is available on amazon.com.