The lavish narration of Egypt’s mortification is predicated on the recurrent “hardening,” “strengthening” or “becoming firm” of Pharaoh’s heart (cf. Wilson 1979: 25–26). The king may bend, at least in E, but he always springs back. Each episode ends where it began, with Pharaoh still defiant and Israel still enslaved. Each time there follows a new, escalated round of punishment. The cycle ends only when Israel has crossed the Sea and Egyptian corpses litter the shore. The hardening