שמות, פרק ט׳, פסוק כ״ז

The devastating plague of hail creates a dramatic turning point in the Egyptian king's attitude. The sheer terror of the unprecedented storm, with its deafening thunder and deadly ice, finally breaks his pride and forces an unprecedented admission of guilt. Because of the lethal conditions outside, Moses and Aaron had distanced themselves from the city. Paralyzed by fear and terrified that stepping outside would mean certain death, the king cannot seek them out himself. Instead, he is forced to dispatch special messengers through the storm to summon them to the palace [העמק דבר, שפתי כהן, אבן עזרא].

Upon their arrival, the king issues a startling confession, declaring his own sin. The primary approach among commentators is that he is not limiting his guilt to this specific moment. Rather, he is stating that he is finally ready to admit his wrongdoing, acknowledging that every previous refusal to listen to God was a sin [רמב״ן, רשב״ם, שד״ל, הכתב והקבלה]. However, others suggest a lingering arrogance in his words. In this view, he is only offering a narrow confession for his immediate refusal, intentionally dodging responsibility for all his past offenses [קאסוטו]. Another perspective notes that the sheer scale of the hail made the king realize for the first time that God truly rules over the entire earth, bringing him to a sudden, heightened awareness of his own guilt [אלשיך, פענח רזא].

For the first and only time, the Egyptian ruler explicitly declares that God is righteous. Commentators agree that this profound realization is triggered by the unique nature of this specific plague. A human king typically strikes his enemies by surprise to inflict maximum damage. God, however, acted with profound kindness, mercy, and justice by issuing a clear advance warning, instructing the Egyptians to bring their livestock indoors to save them from death. This merciful warning makes the king realize that God's judgments are never arbitrary; they are rooted in objective truth and reflect His status as the true master of the earth [טור, חזקוני, דעת זקנים, רש״ר הירש, ביאור יש״ר].

The king then extends the blame to his own nation, declaring that he and his people are wicked. Their wickedness is immediately apparent in their arrogant disregard for God's merciful warning, as they chose to leave their animals exposed in the field and caused unnecessary bloodshed [מלבי״ם, תולדות יצחק]. Furthermore, the people share the collective guilt because, from the very beginning, they eagerly supported the plan to enslave the Israelites. Unlike the midwives who resisted, the general populace never attempted to protest or overturn the cruel decrees [שד״ל, רבנו בחיי].

Yet, a surprising alternative interpretation reveals a manipulative attempt to evade responsibility. According to this reading, the king is actually claiming that God is righteous, and he himself is also righteous, but it is his people who are wicked. He attempts to rewrite history, arguing that he personally wanted to free the Israelites all along, but his wicked nation forced him to maintain the brutal enslavement [פרדס יוסף, חתם סופר].