8186. 'And I, behold, I am hardening the hearts of the Egyptians' means obstinate resistance by falsity arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'hardening the heart' as obstinacy, dealt with in 7272, 7300, 7305, 7616; and from the representation of 'the Egyptians' as those steeped in falsities arising from evil, dealt with in 8132, 8135, 8148. When the Word says that Jehovah hardens the heart and also that He is responsible for something ill, the meaning in the internal sense, where the truth itself exists unclothed, is that people ruled by falsity and evil are themselves the ones to harden their hearts and to be responsible for the ill that happens to them, see 2447, 6071, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7877, 7926.

7244. 'And Moses said before Jehovah' means the thought regarding the law of God that those steeped in falsities entertained. This is clear from the meaning of 'said' as thought, dealt with in 7094; and from the representation of 'Moses' as the law of God, dealt with in 6723, 6752. The meaning here, the thought regarding the law of God that those steeped in falsities entertained, is evident from the train of thought as it continues into the words that come next. For when the word said is used, and thought is meant by it, it includes that which follows it, at this point that the law of God is impure to those who are steeped in falsities.