Exodus 14:4

Summary

YHWH announces to Moses that he will strengthen Pharaoh's resolve so that Pharaoh pursues the Israelites, allowing YHWH to be glorified through Pharaoh and his army, so that Egypt will recognize that he is YHWH. The verse closes with a short notice that "they did so."

Key words

• chizzaqti ("I will make strong", H2388G) — piel stem (intensive) sequential perfect, first person; the piel form intensifies the basic root idea, here "to strengthen/make firm" applied to Pharaoh's lev ("heart").
• lev ("heart of", H3820A) — construct noun linking to Par'oh ("Pharaoh", H6547J); construct state means it cannot stand alone but is bound to the following name, "the heart of Pharaoh."
• 'ikkavedah ("I will gain honor", H3513G) — niphal stem, giving the verb a passive/reflexive sense ("I will be honored/glorified") rather than an active one; the form marks YHWH as the one who receives glory rather than the one who actively confers it.
• yad'u ("they will know", H3045) — qal sequential perfect, third person plural, continuing the chain of consequences that follow from the strengthening of Pharaoh's heart.
• Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) — the divine name appearing in the formula ki-ani Yehovah ("that I [am] Yehovah"), the content of what Egypt will come to know.

What the text says

The verse is built as a chain of four sequential perfect verbs (chizzaqti, radaf, yad'u, and the niphal 'ikkavedah), each attached by the narrative ve ("and", H9001/H9002) that links clauses of consequence rather than simple addition. This chain expresses a cause-and-effect sequence: YHWH strengthens Pharaoh's lev ("heart"), Pharaoh pursues (radaf, H7291) "after them" ('acharei-hem, H0310A + H9038), YHWH is honored through Pharaoh and "all his army" (kol-cheilo, H3605 + H2428A + H9023), and Egypt will "know" (yad'u, H3045) the formula ki-ani Yehovah. The niphal form of 'ikkavedah is notable: rather than "I will glorify myself" (a reflexive rendering common in translations), the niphal stem in Hebrew grammar typically marks the subject as the recipient of the action, i.e., "I will be glorified/honored," with the agency in Pharaoh and his army left implicit. The final clause, vaya'asu-chen ("and they did so", H6213A + H3651C), uses a plain narrative (waw-consecutive) verb rather than continuing the sequential perfect chain, marking a shift from divine speech about future events to a narrated action that closes the unit.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew chizzaqti ("I will make strong") is rendered by both the LXX (σκληρυνῶ, "I will harden") and the Vulgate (indurabo, "I will harden") with a verb meaning "harden" rather than "strengthen." The Hebrew Mitzrayim ("Egypt") appears in the LXX as πάντες οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ("all the Egyptians"), adding "all," which is not explicit in the Hebrew noun. The closing clause vaya'asu-chen ("and they did so") is rendered plainly by the LXX (καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτως) and Vulgate (feceruntque ita), matching the Hebrew's unspecified subject, while the BSB and SBLIBRE English/Spanish translations supply "the Israelites" as the subject, an addition not present in the Hebrew, LXX, or Vulgate text.