The pronoun they in the first sentence may need to be identified as the Israelites to make it clear that “the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites” (Good News Translation), and the Israelites “increased in number” (Good News Translation). To spread abroad means that there were so many of them that they were seen throughout the land of Egypt. The more … the more … the more … means that when the Egyptians increased the oppression, the Israelites became even more numerous and were seen even more frequently throughout Egypt. Oppressed may also be expressed as “treated violently,” “were cruel toward,” or “hurt.” In a number of languages this will be described in a way similar to “the Egyptians held their necks down.” In some languages it is difficult to express the comparative “the more this, then the more that.” In such cases it is possible to say, for example, “But just as the Egyptians were making it difficult for them, just so they became many and spread out” (Ilokano), or even “The Egyptians treated the Israelites very cruelly. But the families of the Israelites still continued to grow in number and spread out to places in Egypt where they had not been before.”

The verb translated as were in dread of is not a common Hebrew word, so its meaning must be determined by the context in which it is used. Good News Translation has “the Egyptians came to fear the Israelites.” In Num 22.3 it also means to fear or dread, and in Isa 7.6 it means to terrify. But in Lev 20.23 and Num 21.5 it means to hate or loathe. Most translations choose either one meaning or the other, either to fear or to hate. However, both meanings seem to be intended here, in the sense that the Egyptians had strong racial feelings against them as an ethnic group. In context, then, the Egyptians “came to fear” (Good News Translation) and “to loathe” (New English Bible) the Israelites because they continued to increase in number. Using both of these meanings one may render the second part of this verse as “The Egyptians began to hate and fear the Israelites.” This hatred by the Egyptians was the result of the Israelites’ rapid increase in population. In some languages it will be helpful to begin this final sentence with the equivalent of “So” or “Therefore” and say “So the Egyptians began to hate….”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .