Midrash for Exodus 1:11

And at that time Pharaoh, king of Egypt, commanded all his people to build unto him a strong ‎palace in Egypt, and he commanded the sons of Jacob likewise to assist in the erection of the ‎building, and the Egyptians built a beautiful and costly palace for the king's residence, and he ‎dwelt therein, and he renewed his government and he reigned securely. And Zebulun, the ‎son of Jacob, died in that year, which was the seventy-second year of the Israelite's going ‎down into Egypt, and Zebulun was one hundred and fourteen years old when he died, and he ‎was placed into a coffin and given into the hands of his children; and in the seventy-fifth year ‎his brother Simeon died, he was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, and he was ‎also put into a coffin and transferred to his children. And Zepho, the son of Eliphaz, the son of ‎Esau, chief of the hosts of Augias, king of Africah, was still enticing Augias day after day to ‎wage war and to fight against the sons of Jacob; but Augias would not consent to do this thing, ‎for his servants had told unto him all concerning the strength of the sons of Jacob, and what ‎they had done unto them in their war with the children of Esau. And after some days Augias ‎listened unto Zepho’s voice, and he consented to fight in Egypt against the sons of Jacob. And ‎Augias collected all his people, a people very numerous even like the sand upon the sea shore, ‎and he turned his face to go towards Egypt to battle. And there was among the servants of ‎Augias a certain youth fifteen years of age, and his name was Balaam, the son of Beor, and the ‎youth was very wise and learned in the art of sorcery. And Augias said unto Balaam: Conjure ‎thou for us with witchcraft, that we ascertain who is to be victorious in this battle, into which ‎we are now going. And Balaam commanded them to bring unto him some wax, and he shaped ‎it into chariots and horsemen, representing the army of Augias and the army of Egypt, and he ‎placed all into water which he had prepared wisely for that purpose, and he took into his ‎hands palm branches, and he bewitched with them the water in his wisdom, and there ‎appeared unto him in the water the likeness of the army of Augias falling before the army of ‎Egypt and the sons of Jacob.‎‏ ‏And Balaam told these things unto Augias, and Augias was ‎discouraged, and he would not arm to go down and fight the Egyptians, but he remained in his ‎city.‎‏ ‏

saying unto them: Wherefore have you gone away from us and left us so few in numbers, to ‎fight against those kings, who had a numerous people to smite us, in order to save yourselves? ‎And betimes they would meet some of the Egyptians, and the children of Israel would say to ‎one another: Smite him for he is an Ishmaelite, or an Edomite, or from the children of Chittim, ‎and they stood up over him and slew him, although they knew he was an Egyptian; and the ‎children of Israel acted thus cunningly against the Egyptians, because they had left them in the ‎fight and fled from them, and the children of Israel slew of the Egyptians in that manner about ‎two hundred men. And when the people of Egypt saw the evil which the children of Israel had ‎done unto them, all the Egyptians were in great fear of the children of Israel, for they had seen ‎their strength, and that not one man had fallen amongst them. And the children of Israel ‎returned rejoicing on their way to Goshen, and the rest of the Egyptians returned likewise to ‎their homes. And after this all the counselors of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, assembled, and also all ‎the elders of Egypt, and they came into the presence of the king, and they bowed down ‎before him to the ground, and they seated themselves before him. And the counselors and ‎elders of Egypt spoke unto the king saying: Behold, the people of the children of Israel are ‎more numerous and mightier than we are, and thou knowest all the evil which they have done ‎unto us on the road, when we were returning from the battle; and thou hast seen likewise ‎their great strength which they have inherited from their fathers, by reason of which only a ‎few of them maintained their position against a people numerous like the sand, smiting them ‎at the edge of the sword, while not one man of them fell, and if they had been many all of ‎their enemies would have been exterminated. And now we want thy advice, what hath to be ‎done with them in order to wipe them out gradually from our midst, before they become too ‎numerous for us in the land; for if the children of Israel be allowed to increase, then they ‎would be a great obstacle in our way, and in case of war they might join our enemies to fight ‎against us, and destroy us from the land with their great strength, or to cause us to go away ‎from it. And the king answered unto the elders of Egypt, and he said unto them: This is my ‎advice concerning the children of Israel from which we cannot turn. Behold, Pithros and ‎Rameses are cities not sufficiently fortified to stand in war, and now it is your duty and ours to ‎build fortifications; go ye therefore and act likewise cunningly towards them, and proclaim it ‎through Egypt and Goshen at the king's command, saying: Hear ye men of Egypt, and of ‎Goshen, and of Pithros and all inhabitants thereof, the king hath commanded us to build up ‎Pithros and Rameses, and to fortify them against war; all those amongst you people of Egypt, ‎and children of Israel and inhabitants of the cities, who will come to build with us, shall receive ‎their hire day after day, by command of the king. And then go ye cunningly and assemble in ‎Pithros and Rameses and commence building;‎

and while you are at work cause ye the proclamation to be made through all Egypt day after ‎day at the king's command, and when some of the Israelites will come to build with you, pay ‎them their wages for a few days.And after they shall have been engaged in the work for their ‎daily hire, depart ye from them daily one by one in secret, and then you shall rise up and ‎become their task masters and overseers, and you shall cause them to continue the work ‎without wages, and if they refuse then you all will force them to do the building. And if ye will ‎surely do this thing, then it will be well unto us in having fortified our land, and it will result in ‎great evil to the children of Israel, for by reason of the fatigue in building they will become ‎diminished, as you will keep them away from their wives day after day. And when the elders ‎of Egypt heard the king's counsel it seemed good in their eyes and in the eyes of all the ‎servants of Pharaoh, and they did as the king had spoken. And all the servants of the king ‎went away, and they caused it to be proclaimed through all Egypt, and Goshen, and the cities ‎around Egypt, saying: You have seen what the sons of Esau and Ishmael have done unto us, ‎who came to fight against us and to exterminate us. And now the king hath commanded that ‎we fortify our land to build up Pithros and Rameses and to fortify them for battle, in case our ‎enemies should come again upon us. All those willing to come and build with us shall receive ‎their daily hire from the king according to his commandment unto us. And when the Egyptians ‎and the children of Israel heard this proclamation by the servants of Pharaoh, many of the ‎Egyptians and the children of Israel came to build up Pithros and Rameses, but of the sons of ‎Levi no one came to build with their brethren. And all the servants and the princes of Pharaoh ‎came at first with cunning, to build together with the Israelites for daily hire, and they paid the ‎children of Israel their daily wages in the beginning, and the servants of Pharaoh were thus ‎engaged in the work with the children of Israel for one month. And at the end of one month ‎the servants of Pharaoh began to withdraw gradually and secretly, day after day, from the ‎children of Israel, but the Israelites continued their work at that time, for they received their ‎daily hire, and because some of the Egyptians were still working with them; and the Egyptians ‎gave unto the children of Israel their hire, so that the Egyptians who still worked with them ‎might also receive the wages for their work.‎