And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
Pharaohs in the Bible
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 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.
Contents
1 Historical pharaohs: Taharqa, Necho and Apries/Hophra
2 Conjectural pharaohs: Shishak and So
3 Unidentified pharaohs
3.1 Pharaohs in the book of Genesis
3.2 Pharaohs in the book of Exodus
4 See also
5 References
6 Bibliography
Historical pharaohs: Taharqa, Necho and Apries/Hophra
Taharqa offering to Falcon-god Hemen (close-up)
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 BCE), 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.
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, for which Abraham is paid with cattle and slaves. After discovering Sarah's true relationship to Abraham the pharaoh releases her and her husband and orders them to leave Egypt. Abraham does not return the payment he had received.
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).
