The counsellors and elders of Egypt came to Pharaoh, and spake unto
him, saying: "Behold, the people of the children of Israel are greater
and mightier than we. Thou hast seen their strong power, which they
have inherited from their fathers, for a few of them stood up against a
people as many as the sand of the sea, and not one hath fallen. Now,
therefore, give us counsel what to do with them, until we shall
gradually destroy them from among us, lest they become too numerous in
the land, for if they multiply, and there falleth out any war, they
will also join themselves with their great strength unto our enemies,
and fight against us, destroy us from the land, and get them up out of
the land."
The king answered the elders, saying: "This is the plan advised by me
against Israel, from which we will not depart. Behold, Pithom and
Raamses are cities not fortified against battle. It behooves us to
fortify them. Now, go ye and act cunningly against the children of
Israel, and proclaim in Egypt and in Goshen, saying: 'All ye men of
Egypt, Goshen, and Pathros! The king has commanded us to build Pithom
and Raamses and fortify them against battle. Those amongst you in all
Egypt, of the children of Israel and of all the inhabitants of the
cities, who are willing to build with us, shall have their wages given
to them daily at the king's order.'
"Then go ye first, and begin to build Pithom and Raamses, and cause the
king's proclamation to be made daily, and when some of the children of
Israel come to build, do ye give them their wages daily, and after they
shall have built with you for their daily wages, draw yourselves away
from them day by day, and one by one, in secret. Then you shall rise up
and become their taskmasters and their officers, and you shall have
them afterward to build without wages. And should they refuse, then
force them with all your might to build. If you do this, it will go
well with us, for we shall cause our land to be fortified after this
manner, and with the children of Israel it will go ill, for they will
decrease in number on account of the work, because you will prevent
them from being with their wives."
The elders, the counsellors, and the whole of Egypt did according to
the word of the king. For a month the servants of Pharaoh built with
Israel, then they withdrew themselves gradually, while the children of
Israel continued to work, receiving their daily wages, for some men of
Egypt were still carrying on the work with them. After a time all the
Egyptians had withdrawn, and they had turned to become the officers and
taskmasters of the Israelites. Then they refrained from giving them any
pay, and when some of the Hebrews refused to work without wages, their
taskmasters smote them, and made them return by force to labor with
their brethren. And the children of Israel were greatly afraid of the
Egyptians, and they came again and worked without pay, all except the
tribe of Levi, who were not employed in the work with their brethren.
The children of Levi knew that the proclamation of the king was made to
deceive Israel, therefore they refrained from listening to it, and the
Egyptians did not molest them later, since they had not been with their
brethren at the beginning, and though the Egyptians embittered the
lives of the other Israelites with servile labor, they did not disturb
the children of Levi. The Israelites called Malol, the king of Egypt,
Maror, "Bitterness," because in his days the Egyptians embittered their
lives with all manner of rigorous service.[6]
But Pharaoh did not rest satisfied with his proclamation and the
affliction it imposed upon the Israelites. He suspended a brick-press
from his own neck, and himself took part in the work at Pithom and
Raamses. After this, whenever a Hebrew refused to come and help with
the building, alleging that he was not fit for such hard service, the
Egyptians would retort, saying, "Dost thou mean to make us believe thou
art more delicate than Pharaoh?"
The king himself urged the Israelites on with gentle words, saying, "My
children, I beg you to do this work and erect these little buildings
for me. I will give you great reward therefor." By means of such
artifices and wily words the Egyptians succeeded in overmastering the
Israelites, and once they had them in their power, they treated them
with undisguised brutality. Women were forced to perform men's work,
and men women's work.
The building of Pithom and Raamses turned out of no advantage to the
Egyptians, for scarcely were the structures completed, when they
collapsed, or they were swallowed by the earth, and the Hebrew workmen,
besides having to suffer hardships during their erection, lost their
lives by being precipitated from enormous heights, when the buildings
fell in a heap.[7]
But the Egyptians were little concerned whether or not they derived
profit from the forced labor of the children of Israel. Their main
object was to hinder their increase, and Pharaoh therefore issued an
order, that they were not to be permitted to sleep at their own homes,
that so they might be deprived of the opportunity of having intercourse
with their wives. The officers executed the will of the king, telling
the Hebrews that the reason was the loss of too much time in going to
and fro, which would prevent them from completing the required tale of
bricks. Thus the Hebrew husbands were kept apart from their wives, and
they were compelled to sleep on the ground, away from their
habitations.
But God spake, saying: "Unto their father Abraham I gave the promise,
that I would make his children to be as numerous as the stars in the
heavens, and you contrive plans to prevent them from multiplying. We
shall see whose word will stand, Mine or yours." And it came to pass
that the more the Egyptians afflicted them, the more they multiplied,
and the more they spread abroad.[8] And they continued to increase in
spite of Pharaoh's command, that those who did not complete the
required tale of bricks were to be immured in the buildings between the
layers of bricks, and great was the number of the Israelites that lost
their lives in this way.[9] Many of their children were, besides,
slaughtered as sacrifices to the idols of the Egyptians. For this
reason God visited retribution upon the idols at the time of the going
forth of the Israelites from Egypt. They had caused the death of the
Hebrew children, and in turn they were shattered, and they crumbled
into dust."