וַיַּ֣רְא פַּרְעֹ֗ה כִּֽי־חָדַ֨ל הַמָּטָ֧ר וְהַבָּרָ֛ד וְהַקֹּלֹ֖ת וַיֹּ֣סֶף לַחֲטֹ֑א וַיַּכְבֵּ֥ד לִבּ֖וֹ ה֥וּא וַעֲבָדָֽיו׃
E Paroh viu que havia cessado a chuva, o granizo e os trovões, e continuou a pecar, e seu coração se endureceu, ele e seus servos.
Shemot Rabbah
“Moses emerged from the city, from Pharaoh, and spread his hands to the Lord; the thundering and hail ceased, and the rain did not pour upon the earth” (Exodus 9:33).
“Moses emerged from the city, from Pharaoh” – he was still in the vicinity of the city; he did not delay praying on their behalf, but rather, he immediately “spread his hands to the Lord,” and the Holy One blessed be He accepted his prayer.
“The thundering and hail ceased, and the rain did not pour upon the earth.” He suspended it [the hail] loosely. When did it fall? In the days of Joshua, upon the Emorites, as it is stated: “It was as they fled…the Lord cast upon them great stones from the heavens” (Joshua 10:11). The rest is destined to fall in the days of Gog and Magog.
“Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thundering had ceased, and he continued to sin, and he hardened his heart, he and his servants” (Exodus 9:34).
“Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thundering had ceased, and he continued to sin.” The wicked are thus – as long as they are in distress, they subjugate themselves; when the distress passes, they return to their corruption. Likewise Nebuchadnezzar, when he was in distress, he would laud the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, extol, and honor the King of the heavens, as all His works are truth…” (Daniel 4:34). When he saw himself in his greatness, he began boasting: “The king spoke, and said: Isn’t this great Babylon, which I have built as a royal residence, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:27). Pharaoh, too, did the same: “Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thundering had ceased, and he continued to sin…”
“Moses emerged from the city, from Pharaoh” – he was still in the vicinity of the city; he did not delay praying on their behalf, but rather, he immediately “spread his hands to the Lord,” and the Holy One blessed be He accepted his prayer.
“The thundering and hail ceased, and the rain did not pour upon the earth.” He suspended it [the hail] loosely. When did it fall? In the days of Joshua, upon the Emorites, as it is stated: “It was as they fled…the Lord cast upon them great stones from the heavens” (Joshua 10:11). The rest is destined to fall in the days of Gog and Magog.
“Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thundering had ceased, and he continued to sin, and he hardened his heart, he and his servants” (Exodus 9:34).
“Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thundering had ceased, and he continued to sin.” The wicked are thus – as long as they are in distress, they subjugate themselves; when the distress passes, they return to their corruption. Likewise Nebuchadnezzar, when he was in distress, he would laud the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, extol, and honor the King of the heavens, as all His works are truth…” (Daniel 4:34). When he saw himself in his greatness, he began boasting: “The king spoke, and said: Isn’t this great Babylon, which I have built as a royal residence, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:27). Pharaoh, too, did the same: “Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thundering had ceased, and he continued to sin…”
Midrash Tanchuma
At that very moment the wicked Pharaoh cried out: Entreat the Lord … and I will let them go (Exod. 9:28). Moses replied: You said that at the time of the first plague, and I pleaded in your behalf, but yet you did not send them away. Why should I entreat for thee and for thy servants? (ibid. 8:5). Pharaoh replied: I have sinned before the Lord your God and against you, but now I will let them go. When Moses heard that, Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread forth his hands unto the Lord; and the thunders and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth (ibid. 9:33). They were suspended in mid-air. When did they descend? Some descended upon the Amorites in the days of Joshua, as it is said: The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them (Josh. 10:11), and the remainder will fall on Gog and Magog in the days of the Messiah. And the thunders ceased (Exod. 9:34). They, too, were suspended (in mid-air). They descended in the days of Elisha, against the camp of the Arameans, as it is said: For the Lord had made the hosts of the Arameans, to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses (II Kings 7:6).
Midrash Tanchuma
And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased (Exod. 9:34). Such is the way of the wicked: whenever they are in trouble, they humiliate themselves, but once their troubles have ceased, they become corrupt again. When Nebuchadnezzar was in trouble, he said: Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and honor and extol the King of heaven, for all His works are truth, and His way is justice; and those that walk in pride, He is able to abase (Dan. 4:34).