KING OF EGYPT · EXILE & RETURN

Hophra. Zedekiah's ally, given "into the hand of his enemies".

REIGNEDi

Not given c. 589–570 BC (dates vary)

CAPITAL

Not stated

HOUSE

Not stated 9th of 9 in Egypt

SCRIPTURE SAYS

“Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into…”

PROPHETS

Jeremiah · Ezekiel

EGYPT: 9 RULERS PHARAOH OF JOSEPH'S DAY → HOPHRA

ON THE WORLD STAGE

The powers of the day

JUDAH

Zedekiah · Gedaliah · Johanan son of Kareah

BABYLON

Nebuchadnezzar

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE · WRITTEN ABOUT 430 BC

Herodotus on Apries

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE · WRITTEN ABOUT 430 BC

Herodotus on his end

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE · AMASIS'S THIRD YEAR

Amasis's stela from Elephantine

SUCCESSION

Before and after

THE REALM

The places Scripture names

Egypt. Only places Scripture names are shown, each where the Atlas puts it.

WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS

What Scripture says of him

  • "Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon." Jeremiah 44:30
  • "Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land." Jeremiah 37:7
  • Ezekiel: Zedekiah rebelled by "sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people", but "Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war". Ezekiel 17:15 Ezekiel 17:17
  • Ezekiel to "Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself". Ezekiel 29:3
  • "I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt" (Ezekiel, in the eleventh year). Ezekiel 30:20–21

DEALINGS

Dealings with God's people

  • The Jews in Egypt told Jeremiah they would go on burning incense "unto the queen of heaven"; the sign of Hophra was the LORD's answer. Jeremiah 44:15–17 Jeremiah 44:29–30
  • Zedekiah looked to Egypt for "horses and much people". Ezekiel 17:15
  • Ezekiel calls Egypt "a staff of reed to the house of Israel". Ezekiel 29:6
  • Jews settled "at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros". Jeremiah 44:1

EVENTS

Wars, works and turning points

UNDATED IN SCRIPTURE

PROPHETS

The prophets who spoke about him

  • Je Jeremiah “Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life”
  • Ez Ezekiel “Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers”

DATES DIFFER

When was it?

SCRIPTURE'S NUMBERS

No years given

No regnal years. Scripture's nearest dates are Ezekiel's, counted from Jehoiachin's captivity: oracles against Pharaoh in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth years (Ezek 29:1; 30:20; 31:1; 32:1).

HORNUNG, KRAUSS AND WARBURTON (2006), FOR APRIES

c. 589–570 BC[1]

Table, p. 494: 589–570.

BREASTED (1906)

c. 588–569 BC[2]

Chronological table: 588–569 B.C.

T. NICOL, ISBE (1915)

c. 589–570 BC[16]

"He reigned alone from 589 BC to 570 BC", then jointly with Amasis for some years.

Strangled by the Egyptians

Herodotus (about 430 BC)

Taken alive by Amasis and kept at Sais, he was handed over to the Egyptians, who strangled him and buried him with his fathers.[21]

Killed in a later war with Amasis

Amasis's stela, as read by J. H. Breasted (1906)

Three years into Amasis's reign Apries returned with Greek troops and ships, was defeated, and was afterwards slain; Amasis gave him a king's burial.[7]

IN SCRIPTURE

Every passage

CHAPTERS · 10

Jeremiah 37 Jeremiah 42 Jeremiah 43 Jeremiah 44 Jeremiah 47 Ezekiel 17 Ezekiel 29 Ezekiel 30 Ezekiel 31 Ezekiel 32

PASSAGES · 11

Jeremiah 37:5–11 Jeremiah 42:13–19 Jeremiah 43:5–13 Jeremiah 44:1 Jeremiah 44:15–30 Jeremiah 47:1 Ezekiel 17:11–18 Ezekiel 29:1–21 Ezekiel 30:20–26 Ezekiel 31:1–18 Ezekiel 32:1–32

WHAT SCRIPTURE DOES NOT SAY

  • Scripture does not tell how Jeremiah 44:30 was fulfilled.
  • Scripture does not name the Pharaoh whose army came out during the siege (Jer 37:5), or say whether it fought the Chaldeans.
  • Ezekiel never names the Pharaoh of his oracles.
  • Scripture foretells, but does not narrate, Nebuchadrezzar's attack on Egypt (Jer 43:10–13; Ezek 29:19).

IDENTIFICATIONS THIS PAGE RELIES ON

  • Scholars' viewPharaoh-hophra is identified with Apries, as Herodotus calls him, the Wahibre of the monuments. Jeremiah 44:30 [16][7][21]
  • Scholars' viewScripture names Hophra only at Jeremiah 44:30. The person record gathers to him the unnamed "Pharaoh" of Jeremiah 37, 43 and 47 and of Ezekiel 17 and 29–32. Commentators identify Ezekiel's Pharaoh with Hophra (Poole; Gill), and the Pharaoh whose army came out during the siege with him too (Rogers 1912; Nicol 1915; Ellicott's commentary). Jeremiah 37:5 Ezekiel 29:2 [62][63][27][16][56]

SOURCES

Where this page comes from

  • E. Hornung, R. Krauss and D. A. Warburton (eds.), Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Handbook of Oriental Studies 83; facts only) (2006), Chronological table for the dynastic period, pp. 490–495; Kushite rulers, p. 496.
  • J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, vol. I (Chronology) (1906), §§67–75, pp. 44–47 (chronological table).
  • J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, vol. III (1906), §§603–605, 617, pp. 257–258, 264 (Merneptah's Hymn of Victory).
  • J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, vol. IV (1906), §§701–724A, pp. 344–358 (Silsileh stela; great Karnak relief; Karnak stela).
  • J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, vol. IV (1906), §892, pp. 454–455 (Tanis stela of Taharka).
  • J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, vol. IV (1906), §§974–975, 984, pp. 497–501 (Serapeum stelae of Necho's and Apries' reigns).
  • J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, vol. IV (1906), §§996–1007, pp. 509–512 (Elephantine stela of Amasis).
  • J.-F. Champollion, Lettres écrites d'Égypte et de Nubie en 1828 et 1829 (1833), seventh letter (Thebes, 24 November 1828), p. 99.
  • W. M. Flinders Petrie, "Egypt", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. II (1915), pp. 911–913 (§§4–19, the connections with the Old Testament).
  • C. R. Conder, "Exodus, The", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. II (1915), pp. 1053–1055 (§§II–III, the date; the theory of Lepsius).
  • Edward Mack, "Chronology of the Old Testament", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. I (1915), p. 641.
  • M. G. Kyle, "Pharaoh", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. IV (1915), p. 2359.
  • M. G. Kyle, "Joseph", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. III (1915), pp. 1738–1739.
  • T. Nicol, "Shishak", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. IV (1915), pp. 2777–2778.
  • T. Nicol, "So", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. IV (1915), p. 2820.
  • T. Nicol, "Pharaoh Hophra", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. IV (1915), pp. 2359–2360.
  • T. Nicol, "Pharaoh-necoh", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. IV (1915), p. 2360.
  • T. G. Pinches, "Tirhakah", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. V (1915), p. 2986.
  • C. M. Cobern, "Zerah (the Ethiopian)", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. V (1915), pp. 3146–3147.
  • S. R. Driver, The Book of Exodus (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (1911), Introduction §4, p. xxx; p. xlii, note 5.
  • Herodotus, tr. G. C. Macaulay, The History of Herodotus, vol. 1 (1890), Book II, §§158–159, 161, 169; Book IV, §42.
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. II (1927), §§5, 18, 55, pp. 5, 7–8, 26–27 (Sargon's annals and display inscription).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. II (1927), §§573, 580, pp. 224–227 (the Senjirli stele).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. II (1927), §§770–771, 778, pp. 292–296 (Ashurbanipal's first campaign against Egypt); §906, p. 351.
  • D. D. Luckenbill (after C. J. Gadd, The Fall of Nineveh, 1923), Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. II (1927), §§1166, 1183, pp. 416, 421.
  • D. D. Luckenbill, The Annals of Sennacherib (Oriental Institute Publications 2) (1924), pp. 31–32 (Oriental Institute Prism, col. II, ll. 73–81).
  • R. W. Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament (1912), pp. 324–327 (Sargon at Raphia); pp. 361–362 (Hophra).
  • D. J. Wiseman, Chronicles of Chaldaean Kings (626–556 B.C.) in the British Museum (facts only) (1956), BM 21946 (Babylonian Chronicle 5).
  • A. K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (facts only) (1975), Chronicle 5, obverse 1–11; reverse 5–8 (read in Livius's reproduction).
  • James Ussher, The Annals of the World (English edition) (1658), Part One, p. 68.
  • L. McFall, "A Translation Guide to the Chronological Data in Kings and Chronicles", Bibliotheca Sacra 148 (facts only) (1991), numbered texts 1–68; page numbers of the author's PDF.
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on Exod 1:8 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on Exod 1:8 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. J. Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, vol. 2 (1864), note on Exod 1:8 (read on Bible Hub).
  • John Gill, An Exposition of the Old Testament (1748–1763), note on Exod 1:8 (read on Bible Hub).
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1683–1685), note on Exod 1:8 (read on Bible Hub).
  • J. R. Lumby, The First Book of the Kings (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (1886), note on 1 Kgs 3:1 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 1 Kgs 3:1 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. F. Keil, tr. J. Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Books of the Kings (Keil and Delitzsch) (1872), note on 1 Kgs 3:1 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 1 Kgs 11:19 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 1 Kgs 11:19 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. F. Keil, tr. A. Harper, The Books of the Chronicles (Keil and Delitzsch) (1872), note on 2 Chr 12:9 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 1 Kgs 14:25 (read on Bible Hub).
  • W. E. Barnes, The Books of Chronicles (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (1899), note on 2 Chr 12:9 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Kgs 17:4 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 2 Kgs 17:4 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. F. Keil, tr. J. Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Books of the Kings (Keil and Delitzsch) (1872), note on 2 Kgs 17:4 (read on Bible Hub).
  • J. R. Lumby, The Second Book of the Kings (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (1887), note on 2 Kgs 17:4 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Kgs 19:9 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 2 Kgs 19:9 (read on Bible Hub).
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1683–1685), note on 2 Kgs 23:29 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 2 Kgs 23:29 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. F. Keil, tr. J. Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Books of the Kings (Keil and Delitzsch) (1872), note on 2 Kgs 23:29 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Chr 35:20 (read on Bible Hub).
  • W. E. Barnes, The Books of Chronicles (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (1899), note on 2 Chr 35:20 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on Jer 37:5 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on Jer 47:1 (read on Bible Hub).
  • A. W. Streane, The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (1881), note on Jer 47:1 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. F. Keil, tr. D. Patrick and J. Kennedy, The Prophecies of Jeremiah (Keil and Delitzsch) (1874), note on Jer 47:1 (read on Bible Hub).
  • R. Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and D. Brown, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (1871), note on Jer 47:1 (read on Bible Hub).
  • John Gill, An Exposition of the Old Testament (1748–1763), note on Jer 47:1 (read on Bible Hub).
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1683–1685), note on Ezek 29:2 (read on Bible Hub).
  • John Gill, An Exposition of the Old Testament (1748–1763), note on Ezek 29:2 (read on Bible Hub).
  • James Ussher, The Annals of the World (English edition) (1658), Part One, pp. 12–13 (Rameses Miamun and his son Amenophis), p. 20 (Amenophis "drowned in the red Sea").

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