John Calvin Commentary Exodus 9:16

"but in very deed for this cause have I made thee to stand, to show thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth." — Exodus 9:16 (ASV)

And indeed for this reason I have raised you up. The word, העמדתי, hagnemadthi, is variously explained; it properly signifies “to appoint”; some, therefore, refer it to his eminent position, as if God had placed Pharaoh on the throne for the purpose of better manifesting His glory.¹⁰⁹

The Greek interpreter extends the meaning, translating it ἐξήγειρά σε, “I have stirred you up,” as if to say that Pharaoh had been chosen by the secret counsel and providence of God so that His power might be exercised upon him; just as God is constantly said to stir up those whom He brings forward, to apply them to those purposes for which He has destined them.

Others think that this sentence depends on what has gone before, and interpret it, “I have preserved you,” or “chosen that you should survive.” For the Hebrew verb, which is transitive in Hiphil, is derived from עמד, gnamod, which means “to stand up.”

Since, therefore, God had restrained Himself, He now assigns the cause of His moderation: if Pharaoh had fallen in one trifling engagement, the glory of His victory would have been less illustrious.

In short, so that Pharaoh would not flatter himself or harden himself by vain confidence, God affirms that He does not lack strength to destroy him immediately. Instead, He had delayed his ultimate punishment for another purpose: namely, that Pharaoh might slowly learn that he strove in vain against His incomparable power, and that this remarkable history should thus be celebrated in all ages.

But although Paul follows the Greek interpreter, there is no reason why we should not embrace this latter sense, for we know that the Apostles were not so particular in quoting the words but rather considered the substance.

But although we admit that by God’s long-suffering Pharaoh continued to hold out until he became a clear and notorious proof of the madness and folly of all those who resist God, yet this also relates to the eternal prescience of God. For God therefore spared Pharaoh to stand for a time, because, before he was born, he had been predestined for this purpose. For this reason, Paul also rightly concludes that

“it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth.” (Romans 9:16)

For whether God raises up or upholds the reprobate, He wonderfully manifests His glory by their perverseness. This refutes the ignorance of those who, by this objection, attempt to overturn the eternal predestination of God; because it is not said that He created Pharaoh with this intention, but that He suspended His judgment for a time. For this intermediate and progressive course of action arose from the fact that Pharaoh was the organ or instrument of God’s wrath.

¹⁰⁹ העמדתיך. By the Greek interpreter we should generally understand the LXX. to be meant, but it has διετηρήθης, which is obviously a less close rendering than ἐξήγειρά σε, the version adopted by Paul. As the root עמד, means to stand up, it is perfectly regular that the Hiphil, or causal preterite, I have made thee to stand up, should be held equivalent to I have raised thee up, as in our A.V. S. M., I have preserved thee. — W.