| PLOWRIGHT WORLD Ancient History - Egypt Pharaoh(s) of the Exodus |
| Properly speaking there was only one Pharaoh when Israel underwent its Exodus from Egypt. The title above shows a plural because it is also of interest to consider who was Pharaoh when: Joseph went down to Egypt, 320 years later when Moses was taken in by Pharaoh's daughter, 40 years after that when Moses fled after killing the Egyptian, and 40 years later when he came back to face a new Pharaoh and lead the people out. Egyptian chronology is not always accurate to more than, perhaps, 20 years, and Biblical exegesis of numbers and dates is also problematic. In my outline below, the historical events are derived from the "NIV Study Bible" and its commentary (Zondervan), but the Pharaohs and their dates are from "The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt," (Oxford University Press). |
| Let us begin with the date of the exodus and work backwards through the history of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt. I Kings 6:1 "And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD." The 4th year of Solomon's reign has been set by biblical archaeology at 966 BC, so we see:: The Exodus to be c. 1446 BC. under Pharaoh Thutmose III reigned 1479 to 1425 BC Acts 7:30 "And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him (Moses) in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush." Moses was in Midian 40 years after slaying the Egyptian, which places that period and Pharaoh as: The Oppression, c. 1486 BC under Pharaoh Thutmose II reigned 1492 to 1479 BC Acts 7:23 "And when he was full forty years old, it came into his (Moses') heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel." (This is when he slew the Egyptian and had to flee.) Which means Moses was born 40 years before the Oppression story above, so that we have: The Birth Year of Moses c. 1526 BC. under Pharaoh Ahmose reigned 1550 to 1525 BC Ahmose was the founder of the 18th Dynasty, which includes all the above Pharaohs. Moses birth year is just inside Ahmose's life, so if that chronology is out by more than a year Moses could have been born during the reign of Ahmose's successor, Amenhotep I, said to have reigned 1525 to 1504 BC. A further confirming biblical number: Exodus 7:7 "And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh." Exodus 12:40 "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years." So if the Exodus in 1446 BC was 430 after Jacob went down to Egypt, that would make the The Going Down to Egypt to be c. 1876 BC. under Pharaoh Senusret II reigned 1877 to1870 BC. Again, if we are out by only one or two years the Pharaoh of Joseph could have been Pharaoh Amenemhat II, said to have reigned 1911 to 1877 BC. Or, if it was Senusret II, then considering his short reign of seven years, Amenemhat II might have been "the Pharaoh the knew not Joseph." Such are the variegations of Egyptian chronology! |