7. And Pharaoh sent. I leave it undecided, whether he then first sent these inspectors; (104) it may be, that, in the blindness of his obstinacy he neglected this, until he was reminded by Moses; for we know how the reprobate shut their eyes against the manifest marks of God’s wrath, and willfully indulge in their errors. Certainly there is no doubt that Pharaoh, whilst he seeks to harden himself in every way, deliberately passed over what it was very useful for him to know; but, since he was informed by Moses of the distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites, he is compelled, whether he will or no, to ascertain from actual inspection, what he would have gladly been in ignorance of. But this was no obscure demonstration of God’s paternal favor towards His chosen people; that the contagion should not have affected that part of Egypt, which was fullest of cattle, though it ravaged the whole surrounding neighborhood. Wherefore, the hardness of the king’s wicked heart was all the more base and marvelous, since he was not moved even by this extraordinary circumstance; for it was a token of horrible folly, that, when the matter was examined and discovered by his underlings, he still hardened his heart and would not obey God.
(104) “It is asked, why he did not do so before? Resp., Because either, first, The roads were impassable on account of the frogs, lice, etc.; or secondly, It did not previously occur to him.” — Menochius in Pol. Syn.