A consequence of distinguishing between chizuk halev and kibbud halev, as we have done, is that it may change our thinking about whether God ever deprived Pharaoh of free will at all. To know for sure, we’d have to trace our way through the Ten Plagues, and for each instance in which Pharaoh changed his mind, ask two crucial questions: What, exactly, is happening to Pharaoh’s heart? Is the text describing Pharaoh as becoming more “courageous” or more “stubborn”? To find out, we need to look at the verbs the Torah is using: Is it talking about chizuk halev or kibbud halev? Who, Exactly, is
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