WHO WAS THE MYSTERIOUS PHARAOH AT THE TIME OF MOSES?

This article is for all those who like to dig deep in search for tidbits of truths. A few years back I wrote my second time-travel fiction, placed in ancient Egypt at the time of Moses and the 10 plagues. I was curious about that time, and having to do a lot of research and studying, I wanted to dig up old, hidden truths about the true identity of the Pharaoh who ruled in Egypt. This is what I learned during that time. I always had my doubts about the historical truths we hear from general historians or Egyptologists. I always question things, before considering it to be right or wrong. I might be way off. Please be gentle and kind. We are all on a journey. Unfortunately, there is no one we can ask. You have no idea how many times I wished for a time-machine, to bring me back to all those places in history, to see with my own eyes what really happened. One day, we shall know all the truths.

In 2019 I began my studies as an Egyptologist at the University of Manchester, England. The year before I had published my historical fiction, “Kingdom of Eternity,” set in ancient Egypt, at the time of the 10 plagues. Soon after I began my studies I met David Rohl, an Egyptologist, historian and archaeologist specializing in the historical relationship between pharaonic Egypt and the Bible. What I learned from him changed my whole point of view of everything I was learning from my Professor at the University. I needed to rethink and question some things I had been taught.

Who has not watched “The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston when they were younger, dreaming of an alluring and fascinating ancient Egypt, ruled by Pharaohs? In my novel “Kingdom of Eternity” I have ignored the more popular version of Pharaoh Ramses II; taught today by modern scholars and Egyptologists. I need to explain why. Let me take you on a short journey. Let us be bold and step outside the box and question everything which we have been taught.

What if the whole premise upon which 19th and 20th Century scholarship had built and constructed their Egyptian chronology – was flawed? What if the whole timeline needs to be shifted? You might gasp, hold your breath or have your own thoughts on this. I will be quoting from David Rohl’s book “A Test of Time” volume 1. Mr. Rohl uses archeological stratigraphy, pottery serration, genealogical material, royal inscriptions, archives and, of course, certain ‘historical’ passages from the Old Testament. Mr. Rohl is not the only Egyptologist who believes in a different time-line. One other is Immanuel Velikovsky, who, in the 1950’s, proposed also a 13th Dynasty Exodus date in his book “Ages in Chaos.”
We owe our deepest respect to the great Victorian men like Champollion, Mariette, Heinrich Schliemann, Flinders Petrie, Arthur Evans and Maspero, just to name a few. We have to thank them today for their great knowledge and perseverance.

It was in 1822, that a young Frenchman named Jean Francois Champollion cracked the code and deciphered the Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Once people were able to decode the ancient language, lots of light flooded upon the tables – but also some confusion and mishaps.
In the ancient Victorian days, it was crucial to ‘find’ the Bible in Egypt. This was one of the principal reasons for their search. This search took them straight to the Delta, where they knew the ancient Goshen lay covered and hidden by dirt. They were in search of Raamses and Pithom and needed to confirm the identity of the Egyptian King in whose name these great cities were constructed. That Pharaoh had to be none other than Ramesses II, who was immediately identified as the Pharaoh of the Oppression. After Champollion deciphered the ancient language, the names, the titles and deeds of Ramesses II popped up everywhere. The 19th Century World called “Ramesses the Great.” Ever since then, Ramesses II had the title of “Pharaoh of the Oppression” glued unto his shoulders; he stands accused and convicted in absentia.

Victorian scholars identified the Pharaoh of the Exodus as King Merenptah; while others have said it to be Seti I. Throughout the years, many names have come across the table, yet it is the name of Ramesses II, which somehow gets stuck in our minds. According to 1. Kings 6:1-2, the Exodus from Egypt took place 480 years before the construction of the first Temple in Jerusalem. This Temple was dedicated to Yahweh and began in the 4th regnal year of King Solomon. In Victorian times, Solomon was believed to have reigned in the late 11th Century BC. Today, most biblical scholars would disagree, but place Solomon’s first regnal year in around 971 BC, and the foundation of the Temple in circa 968 BC.
This would place the Exodus in around the 15th Century BC (1447 BC) using modern calculations. Now, Egyptologists say that Ramesses II 67-year reign had fallen within the 13th Century BC. The modern preferred dates are 1279 – 1213 BC. There is a 2 Century discrepancy between the biblical date for the building of the store-city Raamses and the Egyptological date for the building of Pi-Ramesse.

So, let’s say Ramesses II was the Pharaoh of the Oppression (and Exodus) and the Israelites did build his new capital Pi-Ramesse. If this was so – then we would not find any earlier references in the Old Testament to a location called “Raamses,” nor would there be any other Pharaoh be called Ramesses before Ramesses II grandfather, who was Ramesses I (1295 BC). That’s when we run into problems. If we go back to Genesis 47:11, it clearly states when Joseph had become vizier of Egypt, he “settled his father Jacob and his brothers,” giving them land holdings in Egypt, in the best part of the country – the region of Ramesses! Of course, scholars argued that in this case, the name “Ramesses” was anachronistic – that it had been edited into the text.

It that is so – then maybe Exodus 1:11 was also an anachronism? So, we can conclude, that there is no compelling evidence that Ramesses II is either the biblical Pharaoh of the Oppression or the Exodus. We could also discuss the name of Shishak and Shoshenk, using scripture 1. Kings 11:40 and 2. Chronicles 11:5-12, 2. Chronicles 12:1-4, and 2. Chronicles 12:9. Let’s not go down that long road though. Maybe it’s something you would like to study for yourselves.

• Here are some confirmed dates:
  ~Ramesses II began to rule Egypt in 1279 BC because a lunar date supplied in Papyrus Leiden I 350 confirms that his 52nd year fell in 1228 BC.
  ~The sacking of Thebes (present day Luxor) by the Assyrians in 664 BC = Year 1 of Psamtek I.
  ~The 925 BC campaign into Palestine in Year 20 of Shoshenk I = Shishak (based on 1. Kings 14:25-26 and 2. Chronicles 12:2-9).
  ~The accession of Ahmose in 1550 BC (based on the heliacal rising of Sothis in 1517 BC = Year 9 of Amenhotep I).
  ~The accession of Ramesses II in 1279 BC (based on the Year 52 = 1228 BC lunar date).
  ~The 18th Dynasty did not begin in circa 1570 BC, as the conventional chronology proposes, but rather some 377 years later – in 1194 BC.

According to 1. Kings 6:1, the Exodus from Egypt occurred 480 years before the founding of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 4th year of Solomon. Solomon’s coronation happened in circa 931 BC. Thus, the Temple was founded in 927 BC and Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt 480 years earlier, in circa 1447 BC. Exodus 7:7 informs us that Moses was 80 years old when he returned from exile.

Moses was born a few years after Neferhotep – who died in 1530 BC. His son, Sihathor, ruled for only 3 months after his father’s death. Then a younger brother to the former appears, who took the throne as the 23rd ruler of the 13th Dynasty. At birth, he was given the name Sobekhotep (Sobek is contempt), but at his coronation he changed his name to the prenomen, “Khaneferre.” He ruled for 20 years. It was during his reign that Moses was raised as a Prince of Egypt. Let’s see what Manetho has to say. Manetho was a man of Sebennytus, who became a High Priest at Heliopolis. He was commissioned by the early Ptolemies (3rd Century BC) to write a history of Egypt. Unfortunately, his original narrative no longer exists, but excerpts are given in Josephus: Contra Apionem. According to Manetho, in the reign of Dudimose, in the 13th Century, ‘a blast of God smote us’ (i.e., The Egyptians) and the archeology of Avaris shows that, approximately at this time, there was a terrible catastrophe.
If one looks carefully, he will see facts. The Israelites, known in Egyptology as the “Asiatics” did truly live and exist in the Delta – a forgotten place called Goshen.

EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD
Dynasty 1-2 / 3000 – 2686 BC
OLD KINGDOM
Dynasty 3 – 6 / 2686 – 2345 BC
FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
Dynasty 7 – 10 / 2181 – 2160 BC
MIDDLE KINGDOM
Dynasty 11 – 12 / 2125 – 1985 BC
SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
Dynasty 13 – 17 / 1773 – 1550 BC
NEW KINGDOM
Dynasty 18 – 20 / 1550 – 1186 BC
THIRD INTERMEDIATE KINGDOM
Dynasty 21 – 25 / 1069 – 747 BC
LATE PERIOD
Dynasty 26 – 31 / 656 – 525 BC
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD
Dynasty

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