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Why did Pharaoh finally allow the Hebrews to leave Egypt?

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Moses and the Ten Commandments — Moses *Moses Showing the Tables of the Law to the People*, oil painting by Rembrandt, 1659; in the Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin.

According to the Book of Exodus, Pharaoh repeatedly refused Moses’s requests to free the Israelites because his heart was hardened. This resistance led to a series of divine acts known as the Ten Plagues of Egypt, which were intended to demonstrate the power of God and force Pharaoh to grant the Hebrews their freedom.1

Pharaoh finally relented only after the tenth and final plague, the plague of the firstborn. During this event, the firstborn of all Egyptian families and animals were killed, while the homes of the Israelites—marked by the blood of a lamb—were spared. This devastating loss caused a great cry to erupt across Egypt, prompting Pharaoh to summon Moses and Aaron and command them to take their people and livestock and leave the country immediately. This liberation is the event commemorated annually during the Jewish holiday of Passover.123