Pharaohs in the Bible
The Hebrew Bible makes reference to various pharaohs (kings of Egypt). These include unnamed pharaohs in the accounts of the Israelite settlement in Egypt, the subsequent oppression of the Israelites, and during the period of the Exodus, as well as a number of later rulers.
Historical pharaohs: Taharqa, Necho and Apries/Hophra
2 Kings 19:9 and Isaiah 37:9 mention Taharqa (reigned 690-664 BC) as the opponent of Sennacherib of Assyria. He is called King of Ethiopia, and hence is not given the title pharaoh which he bears in Egyptian documents.
2 Kings 23:29 sqq. and 2 Chronicles 35:20 sqq. mention the 26th dynasty pharaoh Necho II (610-595 BC), responsible for the death of Josiah, and Jeremiah 44:30 mentions his successor Apries or Hophra (589-570 BC).
Conjectural pharaohs: Shishak and So
1 Kings 11:40 and 2 Chronicles 12:2 sqq. tell of an invasion of Israel by Shishak, and a subsequent raid of Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon.
2 Kings 17:4 says that king Hoshea sent letters to "So, King of Egypt". No pharaoh of this name is known, but it is possible that the biblical writer has confused the king with his city and means Tefnakht, who ruled from Sais, also written as So. At the time of Hoshea (about 730 BC), Egypt had three dynasties ruling at the same time: 22nd at Tanis, 23rd at Leontopolis, and the 24th at Sais. Thus, the most logical candidate for So would be Osorkon IV of Tanis (730-715 BC).[1][2]
Unidentified pharaohs
Pharaohs in the book of Genesis
The passages Genesis 12:10–20 narrate how Abraham moves to Egypt to escape a period of famine in Canaan. The unnamed pharaoh hears of the beauty of Abraham's wife Sarah and - being told she was Abraham's sister - summons her to become his own wife. As a result of the marriage, Abraham rises in the pharaoh's favor and acquires livestock and servants. But after discovering Sarah's true relationship to Abraham, the pharaoh releases her and Abraham and orders them to take their goods and leave Egypt.
The last chapters of the book of Genesis (Genesis 37–50) tell how Joseph, son of Jacob/Israel, is first sold by his brothers into Egyptian slavery, but who is promoted by the unnamed pharaoh to vizier of Egypt and is given permission to bring his father, his brothers, and their families into Egypt to live in the Land of Goshen (eastern Nile Delta around modern Faqus).
Eugene H. Merrill has suggested that Senusret II (reigned from 1897 to 1878 BCE), the fourth pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty, may be the unnamed Pharaoh mentioned in the biblical story of Joseph.[3]
Pharaohs in the book of Exodus
The book of Exodus tells how the Israelites are enslaved in Egypt and eventually escape under the leadership of Moses. At least one or two pharaohs are involved, the "pharaoh of the oppression" who enslaves the Israelites, and the "pharaoh of the exodus", during whose rule the Israelites escape. The biblical story of the written Tora alone, does not name either, nor does it give enough information to identify the period in which the events are set, with the result that there have been many suggestions as to which of Egypt's many rulers was involved. The oral tradition and Rabbinic sources state that the First Temple stood for 410 years and the Seder Olam Rabbah (c.2nd century CE) place it's construction in 832 BCE and destruction in 422 BCE (3338 AM), 165 years later than secular estimates. The Seder Olam Rabbah determines the commencement of the Exodus to 2448 AM (1313 BCE). This date has become traditional in Rabbinic Judaism.[4] 1 Kings 6:1 states that the Exodus occurred 480 years before the construction of Solomon's Temple, which would imply a secular date of the Exodus c.1477 BCE, or rabbinical date 2448 AM (1313 BCE), both during Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty, the first at it's beginning and the latter at it's end.[5] Furthermore, the 18th dynasty was the first of the New Kingdom of Egypt, which followed the expulsion of the Hyksos and their last king Khamudi (c. 1522 or 1540 BCE) from Avaris in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta, marking the end of the Second Intermediate Period.[6]
Candidates put forward for the role of Pharaoh of the Exodus include:
- Dedumose I (died c.1690 BCE): David Rohl's 1995 A Test of Time revised Egyptian history by shortening the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt by almost 300 years. As a by-result the synchronisms with the biblical narrative have changed, making the 13th Dynasty pharaoh Dedumose I (Dudimose, Dedumesu, Tutimaos, Tutimaios) the pharaoh of the Exodus.[7] Rohl's theory has failed to find support among scholars in his field.[8]
- Ahmose I (1550-1525 BCE): Simcha Jacobovici's April 16, 2006 History Channel documentary film Exodus Decoded and attributed to be the first pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Egypt.
- Thutmose III (1479-1425 BCE)[9] During the reign of Thutmose III, Pharaoh, originally referring to the king's palace, became a form of address for the person who was king.[10]
- Amenhotep II (1425-1400 BCE). Shea suggested that there were 2 Amenhotep II's. The first one died in the Sea of reeds, after which his brother took the same title.[11] K. A. Kitchen thought that Amenhotep II was the pharaoh of the exodus in 1400.
- Thutmose IV (reigned 1401 – 1391 or 1397 – 1388 BCE): Steven Collins (Executive Dean of Trinity Southwest University) has stated that he thinks Thutmose IV to be the most likely candidate for pharaoh of the exodus.
- Amenhotep III (1391-1353 BCE) was the supposed pharaoh of the exodus by Ron Wyatt.[12]
- Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 BCE) Also known as Ramesses the Great, he is the most commonly imagined figure in popular culture, but there is no documentary or archaeological evidence that he had to deal with the Plagues of Egypt or anything similar or that he chased Hebrew slaves fleeing Egypt. Ramesses II's late 13th century BCE stela in Beth Shan mentions two conquered peoples who came to "make obeisance to him" in his city of Raameses or Pi-Ramesses but mentions neither the building of the city nor, as some have written, the Israelites or Hapiru.[13] Additionally, the historical Pithom was built in the 7th century BCE, during the Saite period.[14][15]
- Merneptah (c.1213-1203 BCE): Isaac Asimov in his "Guide to the Bible" makes a case for him to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus.[16]
See also
- Ipuwer Papyrus
- New Chronology (Rohl)
- Shiphrah – one of two midwives who helped prevent the genocide of Hebrew boys by the Egyptians, according to Exodus 1:15-21.
- Thrasyllus of Mendes
- Islamic view of the Pharaoh of the Exodus
References
- ^ Patterson 2003, pp. 196–197
- ^ Peter A Clayton: Chronicle of The Pharaohs, Thames & Hudson, (2006), pp182-183
- ^ Eugene H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008, 66-68.
- ^ Seder Olam Rabbah, Finegan, Jack, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, Revised Ed., Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1998, p. 111
- ^ Shea 2003, p. 238-239.
- ^ Darrell D. Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I - Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300–1069 BC, Stacey International, ISBN 978-1-905299-37-9, 2008, p. 174
- ^ Rohl 1995, pp. 341–348
- ^ Bennett 1996
- ^ Shea 1996, p. 231ff.
- ^ Redmount, Carol A. "Bitter Lives: Israel in and out of Egypt." p. 89-90. The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Michael D. Coogan, ed. Oxford University Press. 1998.
- ^ Shea, Amenhotep II as pharaoh of the exodus, http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/02/22/Amenhotep-II-as-Pharaoh-of-the-Exodus.aspx
- ^ M.N. Wyatt, The exodus, http://www.ronwyatt.com/the_egyptian_dynasty_of_the_exodus.html
- ^ Stephen L. Caiger, "Archaeological Fact and Fancy," Biblical Archaeologist, (9, 1946).
- ^ I Will Show You: Essays in History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East in Honor of J. Maxwell Miller, Sheffield Academic Press, 1997, P. 261-262, ISBN 978-1850756507,[1]
- ^ Long, V. Philips; Neils Peter Lemche (2000). Israel's past in present research: essays on ancient Israelite historiography. Eisenbrauns. p. 398. ISBN 978-1-57506-028-6.
- ^ Asimov's Guide to the Bible, Random House, 1981, P. 130-131, ISBN 0-517-34582-X
Bibliography
- Bennett, Chris (1996). "Temporal Fugues". Journal of Ancient and Medieval Studies XIII.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Patterson, Richard D. (2003). "The Divided Monarchy: Sources, Approaches, and Historicity". In Grisanti, Michael A.; Howard, David M. (eds.). Giving the sense: understanding and using Old Testament historical texts. Kregel. ISBN 978-0-8254-2892-0.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Rohl, David (1995). A Test of Time. Arrow. ISBN 0-09-941656-5.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Shea, W.H. (1996). "Exodus (date of the)". In Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (ed.). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:E-J. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-3782-0.
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