KING OF EGYPT (NOT NAMED IN SCRIPTURE) · EXODUS & WILDERNESS

Pharaoh of the oppression. The "new king" who set taskmasters over Israel and ordered the sons cast into the river.

REIGNEDi

Not given Scripture gives no length. The record runs from the start of the hard bondage, through Moses' birth and flight, to "the king of Egypt died" while Moses was in Midian (Exod 1:8–2:23).

CAPITAL

Not stated

HOUSE

Not stated 2nd of 9 in Egypt

SCRIPTURE SAYS

“Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.”

PROPHETS

None named

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

ON THE WORLD STAGE

The powers of the day

ISRAEL IN EGYPT

Moses · Shiphrah · Puah

MIDIAN

Reuel (Jethro), priest of Midian

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE

OUTSIDE THE BIBLE · 13TH CENTURY BC (REIGN OF MERNEPTAH)

Merneptah's hymn of victory

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

  • "Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph." Exodus 1:8
  • He feared that Israel, "more and mightier than we", would join Egypt's enemies in war and leave the land. Exodus 1:9–10
  • He ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill the sons; when they did not, he charged all his people: "Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river". Exodus 1:15–22
  • When he heard that Moses had killed an Egyptian, "he sought to slay Moses". Exodus 2:15
  • Stephen: "The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children". Acts 7:18–19
  • Moses' parents "were not afraid of the king's commandment". Hebrews 11:23

DEALINGS

Dealings with God's people

  • "The midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them"; God dealt well with them. Exodus 1:17 Exodus 1:20–21
  • Israel's cry came up to God, who "remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob". Exodus 2:23–24
  • Israel built Pithom and Raamses for Pharaoh. Exodus 1:11
  • He feared Israel would "join also unto our enemies" in war. Exodus 1:10
  • "The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew." Exodus 1:12
  • Their lives were made "bitter with hard bondage". Exodus 1:14

EVENTS

Wars, works and turning points

UNDATED IN SCRIPTURE

DATES DIFFER

When was it?

SCRIPTURE'S NUMBERS

No years given

No name and no years. Stephen says Moses was forty when he fled and spent forty years in the wilderness before the bush (Acts 7:23, 29–30); any BC date depends on the date of the Exodus.

Rameses Miamun

James Ussher (1658)

Ussher, following Manetho's list of kings, writes that Rameses Miamun, who reigned sixty-six years, "is that new king, which knew not Joseph", and that the bondage went on for nineteen and a half years after his death, under his son Amenophis. Exodus 1:8 Exodus 2:23 [64]

A native king who drove out the Hyksos

W. M. F. Petrie (1915)

The new king "can hardly be other than" the rise of the conquerors who took the Delta from the Hyksos at the start of the 18th dynasty (Petrie's date 1582 BC); the rigorous service came later, under Rameses II. Exodus 1:8 [9]

Thothmes III

C. R. Conder (1915)

Taking the 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1 to run from Joshua's conquest rather than from the Exodus, Conder puts the Exodus about 1520 BC and makes Thothmes III, "a great enemy of the Asiatics", the Pharaoh of the oppression. 1 Kings 6:1 [10]

Rameses I or Seti I

The Pulpit Commentary; Ellicott's commentary (Seti I)

A new dynasty is meant; the founder of the 18th was a repairer of temples, not a builder of cities, so the new king was Rameses I or his son Seti I, and the city name Raamses points to that house. Exodus 1:11 [33][32]

Rameses II

S. R. Driver (1911)

If the Israelites built Raamses and Pithom, "the Pharaoh of the oppression must have been Rameses II", since Pithom was founded by him (after Naville). Exodus 1:11 [20]

Cannot be decided

C. F. Keil (1864)

A new dynasty is "very probable" but cannot be inferred with certainty from the word "new", and the want of trustworthy accounts of Egypt's kings "precludes the possibility of bringing this question to a decision". Exodus 1:8 [34]

IN SCRIPTURE

Every passage

CHAPTERS · 4

Exodus 1 Exodus 2 Acts 7 Hebrews 11

PASSAGES · 3

Exodus 1:1–2:25 Acts 7:17–29 Hebrews 11:23–27

WHAT SCRIPTURE DOES NOT SAY

  • Scripture never gives this king's name, or his daughter's.
  • Scripture does not say how long he reigned or how long the hard bondage lasted under him.
  • Scripture gives two longer spans, not this reign's: Israel would be afflicted "four hundred years" (Gen 15:13), and the sojourning in Egypt was "four hundred and thirty years" (Exod 12:40).

IDENTIFICATIONS THIS PAGE RELIES ON

  • From the textThis page follows the person record for the king of Exodus 1–2. Exodus says "the king of Egypt died" while Moses was in Midian, so the person data keeps the Pharaoh of the plagues as a separate record. Exodus does not say whether the "new king", the king who spoke to the midwives, and the Pharaoh who sought Moses' life when Moses was grown ("full forty years old", in Stephen's words) were one man. Exodus 1:8 Exodus 2:23 Exodus 1:15 Exodus 2:11–15 Acts 7:23

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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