Question on Exodus 1

Hello. I am studying the exodus from Egypt. Please tell me why the Pharaoh in the beginning of Names fear the Hebrews would leave? He set taskmasters over them because he did not want them to go. Were they indentured but not fully enslaved at that point? Am I reading it wrong? Please help me. Thank you for your time.

Shalom! 

Thank you for your question. 

You must be referring to the verse (Exodus 1:10) “Get ready, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they increase, and a war befall us, and they join our enemies and wage war against us and depart from the land." 

As you correctly note, the Egyptians did not want the Jewish people to leave. 

At this point, the Jewish people were not yet slaves. However, Pharaoh was worried that the Jewish people would join the enemy army should another nation attack Egypt. Of course, there was no basis for this belief and it is merely the same anti-semitism we have seen over and over again throughout the generations. 

But also, Pharaoh wanted the slave labor, so it was a convenient time and excuse to enslave the Jewish people. 

I hope this answers your question.