Discovery BoxExodus 1:12 
Context1:12 But the more the Egyptians 1 oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread. 2 As a result the Egyptians loathed 3 the Israelites,
Exodus 11:9
Context11:9 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders 4 may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
1 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn The imperfect tenses in this verse are customary uses, expressing continual action in past time (see GKC 315 §107.e). For other examples of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) with כֵּן (ken) expressing a comparison (“just as…so”) see Gen 41:13; Judg 1:7; Isa 31:4.
sn Nothing in the oppression caused this, of course. Rather, the blessing of God (Gen 12:1-3) was on Israel in spite of the efforts of Egypt to hinder it. According to Gen 15 God had foretold that there would be this period of oppression (עָנָה [’anah] in Gen 15:13). In other words, God had decreed and predicted both their becoming a great nation and the oppression to show that he could fulfill his promise to Abraham in spite of the bondage.
3 tn Heb “they felt a loathing before/because of”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 sn The thought is essentially the same as in Exod 7:3-4, but the wonders, or portents, here refer to what is yet to be done in Egypt.
