Commentators agree that Pharaoh's claim that the Israelites were "more and mightier" was a deliberate exaggeration. Scholars like Ellicott and Gill explain this was a political tactic to manipulate his counselors. By stoking fear with a falsehood, he created a pretext to justify the unjust and oppressive measures he was about to propose, a timeless warning about how leaders can use fear to achieve wicked ends.