Because Moses will be as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron will be Moses’s spokesperson, this encounter will unfold with Moses being Pharaoh’s “equal.” Egypt considered Pharaoh divine, eternal, and in control of the elements of nature, all of which will be overturned by the “signs and wonders.” The declaration “Thus saith” (NIV “This is what the Lord says” [e.g., Exod. 7:17]), also used in Egyptian texts, indicates to Pharaoh that he is being challenged by the deity of the Hebrews. God will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that, even in the face of tremendous miracles, he will reject the word of God. God will deliver his people from Egypt with “mighty acts of …