Exodus 1:9

1:9 He said ¹  to his people, “Look at ²  the Israelite people, more numerous and stronger than we are!

Exodus 5:5

5:5 Pharaoh was thinking, ³  “The people of the land are now many, and you are giving them rest from their labor.”

[1:9]  ¹ tn Heb “and he said.”

[1:9]  ² tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the exhortation to follow by drawing the listeners’ attention to the Israelites. In other words, the exhortation that follows is based on this observation. The connection could be rendered “since, because,” or the like.

[5:5]  ³ tn Heb “And Pharaoh said.” This is not the kind of thing that Pharaoh is likely to have said to Moses, and so it probably is what he thought or reasoned within himself. Other passages (like Exod 2:14; 3:3) show that the verb “said” can do this. (See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 67.)