<b>And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exod. 14:4).</b> This was said because his heart was undecided whether to pursue them or not. <i>And I will get Me honor upon Pharaoh and upon all his hosts</i> (Exod. 14:4). <i>Upon Pharaoh</i> is mentioned first because he was the first to sin, as it is said: <i>And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying</i> (ibid. 1:22). Similarly, <i>And the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters</i> (ibid. 5:6). Hence he was the first to be punished. Therefore, <i>Surely now I have put forth My hand and smitten thee</i> (ibid. 9:15) is followed by <i>And thy people with pestilence</i>.
Similarly, in the verse <i>And he blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle</i> (Gen. 7:3). He mentioned man first, because man was the first to sin, and after that he refers to beasts and creeping things. Likewise, since Scripture states: <i>And they smote the men that were at the door with blindness, both small and great</i> (ibid. 19:11), they smote the least important ones first and then the greater ones. Likewise, in accordance with the verse <i>I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast</i>, man was punished first and then the beast. Another illustration is in the verse <i>Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword</i> (Deut. 13:16). He smote the inhabitants of the city with the sword, and then he slew the cattle. Similarly, <i>And her belly shall swell</i> (Num. 5:27) is followed by <i>And her thighs shall fall away</i>. That is, the part of the body that sinned first was punished first. Is it not logical to conclude that if retribution is exacted first from the one who commits an evil deed first, then the reward for good deeds, whose reward is far greater, is dispensed according to the same rule.