Believing that he was acting “shrewdly, ” he attempted to reduce their numbers by subjecting them to tyrannical slave labor under the lash of taskmasters ​ — bearing burdens, making clay mortar, and meeting daily quotas of bricks. ​ — Exodus 1: 8 - 14; 5: 6 - 18.
Arvates, et ta tegutseb „kavalalt ”, üritas ta nende arvukust piirata seeläbi, et rõhus neid raske teoorjusega töölesundijate kepi all.