Body: | The Date and Pharaoh of the Exodus: 1446 BC
Pharaoh who killed Hebrew children: Amunhotep I: 1532-1511 BC
Pharaoh's Daughter who adopted Moses: Hatshepsut: 1526 BC
Pharaoh of Moses' flight to Midian: Thutmoses II/Hatshepsut: 1498-1485 BC
Pharaoh of the Exodus: Thutmoses III: 1485/1464 - 1431 BC
Pharaoh of the Exodus: Thutmoses III: (1485-1431)
Thutmoses III was Pharaoh in 1446 BC for a total of 54 years. (1485-1431).
There were three distinct phases to his rule.
1. (1485-1464) First was when he was a baby and his stepmother
Hatshepsut ruled as co-regent for 21 years.
2. (1464-1446) Second, after Hatshepsut died, he ruled as Pharaoh
for 18 years until the exodus.
3. (1446-1431) Third, he ruled another 15 years after the exodus.
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"Ok, I'll let em go now..."
Thutmoses III
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The Chronology of the Pharaohs of Egypt
(by Steve Rudd)
This low Egyptian chronology is derived, in part with the Ebers Papyrus, by assuming that the heliacal rising of Sothis was observed from the city of Thebes (Theban) which produces a date for the creation of the Ebers Papyrus of 1523 BC (+/- 6 yrs) and therefore sets the reign of Amenhotep I to 1532-1511 BC.
We follow K. A. Kitchen in using the low chronology and add six years to all his dates.
Pharaoh
Reign
Dates
Notes
Ahmose (Nebpehtyre)
25
1557-1532
Hyksos defeated, rise of the pharaoh who knew not Joseph. Hatshepsut born 1536 to Thutmoses I
Amunhotep I (Djeserkare)
Kills Hebrew children in 1526
21
1532-1511
Moses born and Hebrew children killed in 1526. Princess Hatshepsut age 10, finds Moses
Thutmoses I (Aakheperkare)
13
1511-1498
Thutmoses II (Aakheperenre)
Pharaoh of oppression in 1488
Married to step-sister Hatshepsut
13
1498-1485
Oppression, Moses flees the year before his adopted mother begins to co-reign with Thutmoses III, when Thutmoses II died. Thutmoses III born around 1496 when Moses was 30. Moses 40 in 1486
Hatshepsut, and her infant stepson Thutmoses III co rule for 20 years
21
1485-1464
Hatshepsut died in 1464 at age 77
Thutmoses III ruler before exodus
18
1464-1446
17 annual campaigns came to an end in 1446 never happened because the army drowned in the Red Sea
18th year of Thutmoses III is exactly 480 yrs before Solomon builds temple
Year
18
Exodus
1446
1 Kings 6:1
Thutmoses III after exodus
15
1446-1431
No campaigns after Exodus
Amenhotep II (Aakheperure)
(second born son)
25
1431-1406
Weak king who signs peace accords. Israel has been at Kadesh for 12 years when he becomes king and dies the year Joshua crossed the Jordan.
Thutmoses IV (Menkheperure)
10
1406-1396
.
Amunhotep III (Nebmaatre)
38
1396-1358
.
Akhenaten (Amunhotep IV)
17
1358-1341
Become King the year bJoshua dies. Converts to monotheism.
Tutankhamun (Nebkheperure)
10
1341-1331
Reverts to polytheism and is murdered.
Ay (Kheperkheperure)
3
1331-1328
.
Horemheb (Djeserkheperure)
28
1328-1300
.
Totals
257
1557-1300
.
Introduction:
The date of the exodus was 1446 BC when Israel left Egypt and 1406
BC when they crossed the Jordan into the promised land.
The Bible is consistent and clear on this date: 1 Kings 6:1; Judges
11:26; Acts 13:19. The three verses are powerful, convincing and
consistent.
When Moses killed the Egyptian, he fled to Midian for 40 years from
Thutmoses II who was Pharaoh from 1498-1485 BC.
Thutmoses III was the Pharaoh of the Exodus who reigned 1485 - 1431
BC in three phases. The exodus occurred in Thutmoses III's 18 year of rule
after his mother died.
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Late date of 1250 BC where Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC, low
chronology) is the pharaoh of the exodus:
An Exodus in 1250 BC trashes the inspiration of scripture and
contradicts known archaeology.
Advocates of a 1250 BC exodus date quote Exodus 1:11 to prove that
Israel lived in the city of "Ramesses" and helped build it. They say,
"Obviously the city did not precede the Pharaoh after whom it was named, so
Ramesses II must be the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Sounds convincing until you
read the passage that says that in 1876 BC Joseph also lived in "the land
of Ramesses" (Genesis 47:11). Obviously then Ramesses was named after an
ancient city that existed 600 years before he was born.
The Merneptah Stele (1205 BC) proves the late exodus date of 1250 BC
to be wrong:
a. Pharaoh Merneptah was the son of the pharaoh Ramesses II
(1279-1213 BC, low chronology).
b. Merneptah refutes the late date of 1250 BC for the exodus and
Ramesses II as the Pharaoh:
i. If Ramesses II is the pharaoh of the Exodus, then
the date of the exodus is 1250 BC.
ii. If the exodus is 1250 BC then the conquest
started in 1210 BC and was complete in 1203 BC.
iii. The 1250 BC exodus date is impossible because in
1205 BC, Merneptah boasts that he conquered Israel in the middle of the
conquest of Joshua.
c. Since the exodus was really in 1446 BC, then the Merneptah
Stele was created during the time of Deborah (Judges 4, 1204-1144 BC).
d. Merneptah's invasion in 1205 BC is a perfect synchronism for
the chronology of the judges:
i. Ehud judged Israel for 98 years between 1302-1204
BC. There was an initial 18 years of oppression under the Moabites (Judges
3:14) between 1304-1286 BC. Then in 1284 BC Ehud killed Ehud and Israel
experienced 80 years of peace ending in 1204 BC.
ii. From 1204-1184 BC, there were 20 years of
oppression until Deborah kills Sisera, defeats Jabin and burns Hazor in
1184 BC. It has been known for some time that archeologists have misdated
the second burning of Hazor by Deborah too early at 1230 BC because they
fail to mark the death of Joshua in 1356 BC who burned Hazor the first time
in 1401 BC. Joshua was Moses' "youth servant" (Ex 33:11; Num 11:28)
who was born in 1466 BC, was 20 years old at Mt. Sinai in 1446 BC, lived
110 years then died in 1356 BC.
iii. The beginning of the period of Israel's
oppression in 1204 BC one year later than when Merneptah attacked Israel in
1205 BC.
iv. Therefore, when we lay the archaeology of
Merneptah Stele over top of the accepted chronology of the Judges, it is a
perfect fit!
v. What you read in the book you find in the ground!
Archaeologists Kathleen Kenyon and Israel Finkelstein are enemies of
the Bible:
As a professional archaeologist, I can testify that the vast
majority of my fellow archaeologist who conduct excavations in Israel do
not believe the Bible is an historical document. The vast majority of
Israeli archaeologists living in Israel today believe their own history in
the Tanakh is fiction.
Bible hating archaeologists like Kathleen Kenyon who excavated
Jericho and Israel Finkelstein who excavated Shiloh, have deceived the
world by concluding the exodus is a myth.
c. John Garstang excavated Jericho 1930-1936 and concluded
Jericho was destroyed in 1406 BC by Joshua confirming the Bible. Garstang
documented imitation Cypriot ware pottery from the late 15th century BC he
found at Jericho. Kathleen Kenyon excavated Jericho 1952-1958 and concluded
that the Bible story of Jericho was a myth because the walls of Jericho had
already fallen 150 years before Joshua arrived in 1406 BC. Her conclusion
was based upon the lack of Cypriot ware pottery used in the 15th century
BC, although Garstang had documented local Canaanite imitation Cypriot
pottery 20 years earlier. Dr. Bryant Wood who has a PhD in Late Bronze
Canaanite pottery reexamined her pottery finds and proved she had misdated
the LB I destruction layer of the city. Not only did the Canaanite pottery
date to LB I, Wood documented imitation Cypriot ware that Kenyon had
ignored. Kenyon never did an in-depth analysis of the pottery from the
destruction layer and totally ignored the local Canaanite 15th century BC
pottery which Garstang had correctly dated. Wood confirmed the work of
Garstang and refuted Kenyon's conclusion that the Bible story was a myth.
Israel Finkelstein is a minimalist, meaning he believes Abraham, the
exodus, David and Solomon are all mythical figures invented by Jews in the
7th century BC to create a cultural backdrop. Finkelstein concluded in his
excavation 1993 report at Shiloh that the site was unoccupied 1400-1100 BC,
the precise period when the Bible says the tabernacle tent was active.
However, the author is staff archaeologist of the current excavations at
Shiloh 2017-present and clear evidence of occupation between 1400-1100 BC
has been discovered.
The problem in both these cases is that Bible commentaries,
dictionaries and encyclopedias quote Kenyon and Finkelstein, despite the
fact their conclusions have been refuted. This is like how university
biology textbooks in 2020 are filled with evidences of evolution that have
been debunked for over 100 years.
Summary of dates revealed in the Bible:
The time after leaving Egypt to 4th year of Solomon's reign is 480
years: 1 Kings 6:1 (Solomon reigned in 970 BC when David died.)
The time from crossing the Jordan to Jephthah is 300 years Judges
11:26 (Jephthah lived in 1100 BC)
The time from entering Egypt until the time of Samuel was 450 years:
Acts 13:19 (400 + 40 + 10: Joshua took 10 years to take the land)
The period of the Judges is 262 years. (From death of Joshua in 1356
BC to birth of Samuel in 1094 BC)
The many genealogies of the Bible verify and confirm everything.
Trust the Bible when it dates the exodus to 1446 BC. Reject 1250 BC
for the date of the exodus.
A. Scripture dates the exodus to 1446 BC: 1 Kings 6:1, Judges 11:26-28 and
Acts 13:19-20
1. The Bible says Israel spent 430 years in Egypt: 1876-1446 BC
a. There are three verses that give the duration of the time
spent in Egypt. Exodus 12:40-41 and Galatians 3:17 both say 430 years
whereas Genesis 15:13 says 400 years. The difference is easy to understand
because God was speaking to Abraham in general times looking forward and
the other two were quite specific times looking back.
i. "Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in
Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And at the end of four hundred and
thirty years, to the very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the
land of Egypt." Exodus 12:40-41
ii. "What I am saying is this: the Law, which came
four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant
previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise." Galatians 3:17
iii. "God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your
descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will
be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years." Genesis 15:13
b. Apostle Paul said that from the time Israel entered Egypt till
they fully settled Canaan under Joshua was 450 years. This is calculated by
adding the generalized 400 years Abraham was told in Genesis 15:13 plus 40
years in the wilderness plus 10 years it took Joshua to fully occupy the
land. It is important to notice that Paul is approximating because he said
"About 450 years". God in general terms told Abraham 400 years in Genesis
15:13, but Paul knew that the specific time was 430 years in Exodus
12:40-41; Galatians 3:17. "When He had destroyed seven nations in the land
of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance-all of which took
about four hundred and fifty years." Acts 13:19
Connecting Solomon's temple to the exodus in 1446 BC:
Solomon began building the temple in Jerusalem in the 4th year of
his reign. This verse says that 480 years before the 4th year of Solomon's
reign Israel left Egypt.
That makes the exodus 1446 BC: "Now it came about in the 480th year
after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year
of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second
month, that he began to build the house of the Lord." (1 Kings 6:1)
Those who try to symbolize the 480 years into 12 generations of 40
years are gravely mistaken. Why would such a symbolic number be applied to
the specific of "the 4th year of Solomon". Further, the foundation of the
temple is a critical date of great importance. The idea that the number 480
is symbolic and not literal is not reasonable. If God intended there to be
any symbolism in the literal 480 years being 12 generations of 40 years
(and there may not be), this shows the power of providence of God to bring
such things about.
There are other examples of these precise dating in scripture at key
and important times. "And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to
the very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt."
(Exodus 12:41) It makes perfect sense that just as the 430 years TO THE
VERY DAY, was literal, so too is the date of the temple started 480 years
EXACTLY. There is no valid reason why the number should not be taken
literally and many reasons why it should be taken literally.
Jephthah's 300 years:
Jephthah who lived in 1100 BC said Israel crossed the Jordan 300
years earlier.
Sihon, the Ammonite king, wanted his land back that Israel took
under Joshua. Jephthah asks Sihon why he suddenly wants the land back 300
years later and never requested such before now. "'While Israel lived in
Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the
cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you
not recover them within that time? 'I therefore have not sinned against
you, but you are doing me wrong by making war against me; may the Lord, the
Judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.' " But
the king of the sons of Ammon disregarded the message which Jephthah sent
him." (Judges 11:26-28)
Low chronology takes the block of 258 years that is the sum of the
length of time each Pharaoh was king and defines it as a single unit. (25,
21, 13, 13, 21, 18, 15, 26, 10, 38, 17, 10, 3, 28).
We are uncertain exactly when they were king, but we know how long
and in what order!
Archeology doesn't tell us the date they lived, but it certainly
tells us how long each ruled!
The problem is accounting for unknown coregencies which would
collapse the time scale. We solved the problem, by ignoring that which is
uncertain (when they ruled) and focused on what was very certain: how long
each ruled, and in what order.
Without archeology, we would be unable to know any of this, but we
have found actual tombs, inscriptions, mummies, war records that supply the
information we need with great certainty.
Our approach, therefore, began with the assumption that the exodus
happened in the 18th dynasty of Egyptian Pharaoh's.
Because historians are "all over the map" in the dates they lived to
over 75 years, we considered all possible candidates for the pharaoh of the
Exodus. After a careful and detailed study of all the 18th dynasty
pharaoh's, it became rapidly clear Thutmoses III was the only real possible
candidate as the Pharaoh of the Exodus.
Thutmoses III was he pharaoh in 1446 BC using low Chronology
Two historical synchronisms occurred in 1446 BC. His 17 annual
military campaigns ended in his 18th year of sole reign after his mother
Hatshepsut died. Her image was chipped out of Egyptian relief starting in
1446 BC because she adopted Moses who brought about the destruction of
Egypt through the 10 plagues.
He was the most powerful of the 18th dynasty kings and a perfect
candidate for God to humble.
Think of our solution as two fixed blocks of time that are
"Indivisible Units of Chronology": Block one is the fixed 480 years between
the Exodus and the 4th year of Solomon in 1 Kings 6:1. Block two is the
fixed 258-year block of time for the 18th dynasty Pharaoh's. We know that
the Exodus of 1446 occurs in the middle of the 18th dynasty so the only
problem is exactly where we lock the two blocks together. Our solution was
that 1446 BC is the 18th year of Thutmoses III. We used a similar approach
to solve Eli - Solomon Chronology.
Using the Judges to calculate the exodus at 1446 BC:
The chronology of the Judges fits almost perfectly from Othneil, the
first Judge, down to Jephthah in 1100 BC.
The chronology of the Judges from Jephthah down to Solomon also fits
almost perfectly within 6 years.
In proving the exodus of 1446 BC, we can use the Jephthah to Solomon
Chronology in this way: According to Judges 11:26-28, Jephthah lived 300
years after Israel crossed the Jordan which is 1100 BC. Solomon's 4th year
as king was 480 years after Israel left Egypt and 140 years after Jephthah.
The period of the Judges ended when David became king in 1010 BC, since
Samuel judged till he died in 1014 BC. If we take the raw chronological
numbers from the book of Judges we get this: Jephthah 6 years + Ibzan 7
years + Elon 10 years + Abdon 7 years + Eli 40 years + Samuel 60 years (who
died in 1014 BC) + 40 years of David + 4 years of Solomon = 174 years.
Unadjusted it is only 34 years too long. (Remember the Bible tells us
plainly that Samson judged at the same time as Jephthah, so we don't count
Samson or the oppression that preceded him.) But we also know that Eli
judged from 1134 - 1094 BC which was before Jephthah! So we can actually
ignore the 40 years Eli judged altogether! Now if we add Jephthah's 300
years back to the crossing of the Jordan and add 40 years in the wilderness
and add the 134 years forward from Jephthah to the 4th year of Solomon, we
get 474 years. 1 Kings 6:1 says the actual period was 480 years. Using the
Judges Chronology, the difference is only 6 years! This is a stunning
confirmation of the statement in 1 Kings 6:1 that the exodus happened 480
years before the 4th year of Solomon. It clearly refutes the 1250 BC
exodus.
All this makes it utterly impossible for the Bible believer to teach
the exodus took place in 1250 BC. Trust your Bible, not Bible trashing
archeologists who teach a 1250 BC exodus.
Detailed study on the Chronology of Judges
Click to View
Bible chronologies and genealogies says the Exodus happened in 1446
BC:
To suggest that the exodus happened in 1250 BC creates problems with
the many chronologies and genealogies within the Bible that take us from
Adam to Christ.
The ten generations between Adam and Noah: Gen 5. "Noah was five
hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth."
Genesis 5:32
The ten generations between Noah and Abraham: Gen 11
The twelve tribes from Jacob to David: 1 Chron chapters 2 - 9
Adam to Jesus: Luke 3:23-38; Matt. 1:1-17
1 Kings 6:1, Judges 11:26 and Acts 13:19 are powerful, convincing
and consistent.
They are powerful because there is a witness of three distinct and
explicit texts that give a date of 1446 BC for the Exodus.
They are convincing because they are stated clearly in
non-figurative narratives cradled in true historical stories.
They are consistent because the three texts all give the same date,
not different dates.
B. Egyptian Chronology: Six-year shift applied to Kitchen's Low
Chronology
We accept and follow the low chronology of Kenneth Kitchen, which
makes Thutmoses III the pharaoh of the exodus, then make an adjustment
sliding his entire time scale six years earlier.
Kitchen's date for the 18th regnal year Thutmoses III's sole
reign after his mother died is 1440 BC.
Our chronology slides the 18th year of Thutmoses III six year older
from 1440 BC to 1446 BC.
Professional Egyptologists all agree that a 6-year shift is well
inside the error margin of any Egyptian chronology and therefore possibly
correct.
The year of the exodus in 1446 BC had two Egyptian chronological
markers:
Thutmoses III's 17 annual campaigns of war into foreign lands came
to an end in 1446 BC because his entire army was drowned in the Red Sea.
The erasure of images of Hatshepsut began in 1446 BC because she
adopted Moses who destroyed Egypt through the ten plagues.
The pharaoh of the Exodus is dependent upon which of low or high
Egyptian chronology is correct. It all depends upon which city the
"heliacal rising" of the Dog Star was observed.
Thutmoses III, low chronology: If "heliacal rising" of the Dog
Star was observed from Thebes, then low chronology is correct and Thutmoses
III would be the pharaoh of the Exodus because his reign falls between 1450
- 1440 BC.
Amenhotep II, high chronology: If "heliacal rising" of the Dog
Star was observed from Memphis, then low chronology is correct and
Amenhotep II would be the pharaoh of the Exodus because his reign falls
between 1450 - 1440 BC.
Our low Chronology is remarkably orthodox, but there is one
difference.
We can precisely pinpoint the Exodus of 1446 with the 18th year of
Pharaoh Thutmoses III. Just as all old Testament Bible events can be dated
in relation to the reign of Solomon, so too all the Pharaoh's of Egypt can
be dated in relation to the 18th year of Thutmoses III. Both are anchors in
historical dating.
This represents original research and we are not aware of anyone who
has ever connected the 18th year of Thutmoses III's reign with the year of
the Exodus in 1446 BC.
We use the Low Egyptian chronology as proposed by A. K. Kitchen and
add 6 years:
The Ebers Papyrus dates records the heliacal rising of Sothis on the
9th year, 3rd month, 3rd season (i.e. the 11th month of the Egyptian
calendar) as happening on the 9th year of the reign of Amenhotep I.
Egyptian Low Chronology + 6 years: We adjusted Kitchen's low
chronology dates upward by 6 years. The low Egyptian chronology is derived,
in part in part with the Ebers Papyrus, by assuming that the heliacal
rising of Sothis was observed from the city of Thebes (Theban) which
produces a date of 1523 BC (+ or - 6 years, so we use 1529 BC) and
therefore sets the reign of Amenhotep I to 1532-1511 BC.
High Chronology: The high Egyptian chronology is derived, in part
with the Ebers Papyrus, by assuming that the heliacal rising of Sothis was
observed from the city of Memphis (Memphite/Heliopolitan) which produces a
date of 1541 BC and therefore sets the reign of Amenhotep I to 1550-1529
BC.
Egyptian chronology is a mess and must be grounded upon Biblical
dating: The Bible is the far more reliable dating system for historical
chronology and synchronisms. There are many reasons why we cannot rely upon
the chronologies of the 18th dynasty pharaohs as being reliable given the
almost certain fact that there are many unknown coregencies which would
collapse the chronology by at least 6 years. So we are confident in our
choice to use Kitchen's low chronology numbers and then simply adding 6
years to each.
Kenneth Kitchen discusses Egyptian Chronology in the Anchor Bible
Dictionary:
"The rise of the Nile was not the only event noticed in the July
time of the year in Egypt. Quite by coincidence, the so-called "heliacal
rising" of the Dog Star (Gk Sothis, from Egyptian Sopdet) also took place
on the original July "New Year" of the civil calendar. (The heliacal
rising of Sothis is defined as that day on which this star first becomes
visible just before sunrise, after 70 days of invisibility, Parker 1950:
7.) Because of the behavior of Egypt's too-short civil calendar, some
1460 years have to elapse between one sighting of this heliacal rising of
Sothis on the 1st day of the 1st month of the 1st season (New Year's Day)
in the civil calendar and the next time this exact sighting could reoccur.
This period of about 1460 years is therefore called a Sothic cycle.
Fortunately, one such date point is known: within the period 139-42 a.d.
(Parker 1976: 182). Therefore, allowing for variations in the stellar
motion of Sothis, it can be calculated that previous Sothic cycles would
begin in 1313 b.c. and 2769 b.c., if observed at Memphis (see Parker 1976:
182, who uses astronomic notation). Fixing the date of these cycles should
(in theory) help us to date any reign of a pharaoh, if a heliacal rising of
Sothis is found mentioned in a particular year of his rule on a specific
date in the civil calendar-one only needs to know inside which cycle his
reign falls. For example, if some king who belonged within the period 2700
to 1350 b.c. had a document dated to his Year 1, mentioning the rising of
Sothis on the 6th day of the 4th month of the summer season (11th month in
the year), it is clear that the civil calendar had crept forward 335 days
since such a rising last happened on its New Year's Day. So, 4 × 335
years had elapsed since 2769 b.c., putting our theoretical king's
accession (Year 1) at about 2769 minus (4 × 335) years b.c., or 2769 minus
1340 = 1429 b.c. Alas, in practice things are not so simple. There are
several complications. First, one must allow for a 4-year margin of error
(before quarter days add up to one day, among other factors). Second, the
geographical location of any reported Sothic sighting affects reckoning of
the date. In practice, the further south the sighting, the later the date
b.c. So, we need to know, for example, whether a report of Sothis was made
in Memphis, Thebes, or Elephantine. Only two usable Sothic rising reports
are known to us at present: one in Year 7 of Sesostris (Senwosret) II or
III, and one in Year 9 of Amenhotep I. The former one may have been
observed either in Memphis or Elephantine; there would be a roughly 30-year
difference in date, depending on place of observation. The latter one would
have been seen in either Thebes (source of the Ebers Papyrus bearing the
datum) or Elephantine; the date difference is then only about 11 years.
(For the suggestion of Elephantine as the point of observation for both
risings, leading to ultra-low dates for both, see Krauss 1985; contrast
Kitchen 1987a: 42-44, 47, where the corresponding options of observations
made at Memphis and Thebes respectively are preferred.)" (ABD, Egypt,
History of, Chronology, K. A. Kitchen, v2, p324)
"A rising of Sothis is recorded for Year 9 of Amenhotep I in Papyrus
Ebers, a document found at Thebes. If the observation of Sothis was also
made at Thebes, the most natural solution, then it would lead us to set the
accession of Amenhotep I at 1525 b.c., and the beginning of the 18th Dyn.
(and NK) with the accession of Ahmose I at ca. 1550 b.c. If, however, we
follow the theory of Krauss that all Sothis observations were taken far
south in Elephantine, then the 18th Dyn. would have begun 11 years later,
in 1539 b.c. From the reign of Thutmose III we have a lunar date which
would imply his accession to the throne in 1479 b.c., in line with a
similar datum from the reign of Rameses II, favoring his accession in 1279
b.c., in conjunction (1) with synchronisms with other Near Eastern rulers
and (2) with the lapse of generations linking the Rameside period to later
epochs. If the 18th Dyn. began in 1550 b.c., there is ample time for the
reigns of Thutmose I and II in between those of Amenhotep I and Thutmose
III. If, however, the dynasty began in 1539 b.c. (so Krauss 1985), then
only 13 years are available for those two reigns-which is decidedly
cramped and not realistic. Between the reigns of Thutmose III of 54 years
(1479-1425 b.c. and Rameses II of 66 years (1279-1213 b.c.), all the
intervening reigns can be fitted in without any serious problems. Most
lengths of reigns can be determined quite closely (Kitchen 1987a; 1989).
Bones of contention include the possibility of a coregency between
Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, which would require a longer reign for
Amenhotep II; and whether or not Amenmesses of the 19th Dyn. had an
independent reign (on the latter point, see Kitchen 1987b)." (ABD, Egypt,
History of, Chronology, K. A. Kitchen, v2, p327)
Double chronological marker in the 18th year of Thutmoses III:
Click to View
Our Egyptian Chronology chose Thutmoses III as the Pharaoh of the
Exodus because an incredible double marker stands out two flashing neon
lights in Thutmoses III's life. Two key events happened as a direct result
of the 10 plagues and the exodus of Moses in 1446 BC:
First: After 17 yearly military campaigns, they suddenly stopped
because pharaoh's army was killed in the Red Sea.
Second: The beginning of the erasing of Hatshepsut's image from
statues and records at precisely the same time because she adopted Moses.
Thutmoses III's annual campaigns ended out of necessity and the
erasure of Hatshepsut's image began out of revenge.
1 Kings 6:1 confirms the 18th dynasty pharaohs witnessed the
Exodus:
Using 1 Kings 6:1 we can harmonized the 18th dynasty Pharaohs
directly with the reign of Solomon.
The Exodus occurred exactly 480 years (479 literal BC years when
adjusted for inclusive counting) before the temple was built by Solomon.
Looking at the many candidates for Pharaoh in 1446, we were able to
conclude, with a high level of confidence, that the 18th year of Thutmoses
III's reign after his stepmother Hatshepsut died, is the date of the exodus
in 1446 BC. It is a truly stunning fit!
This Chronology creates a solid anchor between the 18th year of
Thutmoses III as being the date of the Exodus and the 480 years to the time
Solomon started the temple. (1 Kings 6:1).
Connecting the 18th year of Thutmoses III with the year of the
exodus has never been done before.
C. Thutmoses II and Hatshepsut: Pharaoh's of the oppression:
The Hyksos "knew Joseph" but the 18th dynasty "did not know
Joseph":
The slavery of the Hebrews coincides with the Hyksos being expelled
from Egypt. The Hyksos rule Egypt for 119 years (1657-1538 BC): "The
Pharaohs who knew Joseph". The timing of the expulsion of the Hyksos
and the enslaving of Israel perfectly fits Thutmoses III as the pharaoh of.
In 1657 BC the Hyksos overthrew the pharaohs of Egypt and built
their palaces at Tel el-Dab'a. The Hyksos ruled for about 119 years,
displacing the Egyptians as the government of Egypt. They were the Pharaohs
who "knew Joseph" and cooperated with the Hebrews. Archeology has confirmed
that the Hyksos built three palaces at Tel el-Dab'a directly beside the
Hebrews.
From the time of Joseph down to the end of the Hyksos period, the
Hebrews enjoyed freedom with no slavery, but that was about to end. The
Hyksos were expelled by the 18th dynasty Pharaohs of Egypt who "Knew not
Joseph".
In 1538 BC Ahmoses I finally defeated the Hyksos and the Hebrews
were stripped of their financial control of the commercial shipping hub and
became oppressed slaves who built two storage cities of Pithom and Ramesses
(Ex 1:11).
The oppression of the Hebrews began in 1538 BC and ended in 1446 BC
with the Exodus of Moses. No one can be certain about who the Hyksos were
but they were most likely the Edomites. They were the "shepherd kings" that
were friendly to the Hebrews so one might infer that they were a fellow
Semitic tribe.
Hyksos were Edomites: The book of Job shows Job to be the king of
Edom or a preeminent patriarch, at about the time that Joseph enters Egypt.
Perhaps the Hyksos were friendly to the Hebrews because they were fellow
Semites who shared a common heritage through Abraham. When the Hyksos were
defeated, a New Kingdom of 18th dynasty of pharaohs arose who "knew not
Joseph". This would explain why the Hebrews were enslaved by the 18th
dynasty pharaohs because the Hebrews were relatives of the Hyksos. Esau
(Edom) and Jacob were twin brothers of Isaac. Isaac's blessing to Esau was:
"Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, "Behold, away from the
fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of
heaven from above. "By your sword you shall live, And your brother you
shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you
will break his yoke from your neck." Genesis 27:39-40. The entire world
was ruled by Egypt under Joseph because they sold everything they had in
order to get the wheat of Egypt. During the first 200 years that Israel was
in Egypt, the sons of Jacob (Israel) ruled the world. If the Hyksos were
the children of Esau (Edom) this fulfilled Isaac's prophecy of a time
when Esau "broke the yoke" of being ruled Jacob. It was a friendly
rule, just as Jacob's rule over Edom had been. It was a role reversal
prophesied by a dying Isaac. The expulsion of the Hyksos and the beginning
of the New Kingdom through the 18th dynasty, is perfect timing because
Moses is born in 1526, only 12 years after the Hyksos were finally expelled
in 1538. The Hyksos were foreign shepherd king Pharaoh's "who knew
Joseph" and were replaced by the Thutmoside dynasty who "knew not
Joseph".
Hatshepsut is "Pharaoh's daughter" who adopted Moses:
Click to View
Hatshepsut, is the only candidate for the "Pharaoh's daughter" who
drew Moses out of the Nile.
Born in 1541 BC, she would have been 15 years old when Moses was
born in 1526. Hatshepsut's father was Thutmoses I and her mother was Queen
Amoses.
Queen Ahmose had four children with Thutmosis I, but three died
young leaving Hatshepsut as the only person who could wear the title of
"Pharaoh's daughter". (Ex 2:7-10; Acts 7:21; Heb 11:24) The bible says that
pharaoh's daughter adopted Moses out of pity. However, since she was unable
to ever bear a son to Thutmoses II, Moses became her only chance for
personal succession. This all changed when Moses was about 30, when
Thutmoses II's second wife named Iset, bore him a son named Thutmoses III.
Remember that Thutmoses II was Hatshepsut's stepbrother whom she married
and jointly raised Moses to adulthood. Moses was heir apparent, until
Thutmoses III was born when Moses was 30 in 1496 BC. The timing of the
birth of Moses and the much later birth of Thutmoses III is proven by the
fact that Thutmoses III was very young while he was coregent with his
stepmother Hatshepsut until she died.
Thutmoses II and Hatshepsut the pharaohs of oppression:
Thutmoses II and Hatshepsut were married stepchildren. Thutmoses II was the
Pharaoh of the oppression who wanted to kill Moses who then fled to Midian.
At this time, several things came together all in accordance with God's
providence. It all started when Moses killed the Egyptian.
First: Moses was putting his trust in God and was turning away from
the riches of Egypt. (Heb 11)
Second: a true full blooded "first born heir" to the throne had been
recently been born to Thutmoses II through his second wife, Iset.
Third: this placed enormous pressure on the ambitious Hatshepsut who
only had Moses as an adopted "first born" heir.
Fourth: there was likely a rivalry with bad feelings between Iset
and Hatshepsut just like Sarah and Hagar.
Fifth: Moses, like Hatshepsut, could also "read between the lines"
and see that there was an upcoming power battle over the rightful heir to
the throne of Egypt between him and Thutmoses III. Queen Hatshepsut was
furious woman scorned because "Moses refuses to be called Hatshepsut's son"
Heb 11:24. Moses insulted and hurt his stepmother by turning his back on
everything she thought was important. In reality, both Thutmoses II and
Hatshepsut were out to kill Moses for different reasons and were both
"Pharaoh's of the oppression". Thutmoses II wanted to kill Moses to make
his biological first-born son, Thutmoses III Pharaoh, because Moses had
legal first right! Hatshepsut wanted to kill Moses out of vengeful hurt of
rejection as a "mother spurned".
D. Thutmoses III was the Exodus Pharaoh:
Moses derives his name from the 18th dynasty not the 19th dynasty of
Ramesses.
"Moses" derives his name from Ahmoses, Thutmoses I and the
"Thutmoses" dynasty of kings. Thutmoses I was the father of Hatshepsut who
named Moses. It is obvious Moses did not get his name from not from the
19th dynasty era of Rameses II.
It is sad that bible trashing archeologists deliberately spell
"Thutmoses" in ways that breaks any connection with "Moses" of the Bible.
These variant spellings include: Tuthmosis, Tuthmose, Thotmes. Remember
that the name "Thutmoses" was written in hieroglyphics (pictures), but the
name Moses is written in Hebrew and Greek. Because we are certain of how
Moses' name was spelled in English, and that he got his name from
Hatshepsut, the daughter of Thutmoses I, the modern archeological world,
and all Bible students would be both prudent and correct to spell the 18th
dynasty pharaohs as "Thutmoses". This is a case of using the inspired text
of the Bible to teach Egyptologists how to correctly spell the Thutmoses
18th dynasty of pharaohs!
Click to View
Thutmoses III was Pharaoh in 1446 BC: (1485-1431, low chronology)
Thutmoses III was Pharaoh in 1446 BC for a total reign of 54 years.
(1485-1431). There were three distinct phases to his rule.
First: (1495-1464) from when he was a baby and his step-mother
Hatshepsut ruled as co-regent for 21 years. This period is generally
ascribed directly to Hatshepsut as Pharaoh, especially since she proclaimed
herself pharaoh before she died. Thutmoses III was Hatshepsut step son and
when her husband and step brother Thutmoses II died, she ruled until
Thutmoses III grew up.
Second: (1464-1446) after Hatshepsut died Thutmoses III ruled as
Pharaoh for 18 years until the exodus.
Third: (1446-1431) Thutmoses III ruled another 15 years after the
exodus.
Thutmoses III was great, powerful and prideful vs. weak Amenhotep II
Thutmoses III was one of the greatest and most powerful Pharaohs of
Egypt. He is in the class of Herod the Great in 39 BC and Hadrian in 135
AD. Thutmoses III's son, Amenhotep II, was small, insignificant and
unaccomplished in contrast.
The 17 campaigns of Thutmoses III into the promised land and
surrounding areas (Levant), are numbered successively throughout his reign.
His 17 campaigns started in the second year and then one campaign each year
for the next 17 years, then they ended in 1446! This means that his last
campaign ended in year 18 after Hatshepsut died! Thutmoses III's military
conquests softened up Canaan for the eventual conquest of Joshua 40 years
later.
When you are looking for a powerful prideful Pharaoh that God wanted
to humble, Thutmoses III is the man.
This where Thutmoses III's second born son, Amenhotep II is a poor
candidate for the pharaoh of the exodus because he was weak and
ineffective! Amenhotep II had only two military campaigns, in contrast to
his father's seventeen.
Thutmoses III conquered the Mitanni with a powerful surprise attack
on his eighth campaign (1436 BC), but Amenhotep II merely signed peace
treaties with Mitanni in year 9 of his reign (1422 BC).
Click to View
Victory stele of Thutmoses III
The text is a poem praising 'son' for victories over Canaan, Nubia, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Asia Minor, Greek Archipelago. Unless this is another case of exaggeration like the Merneptah stele, it appears Thutmoses III had conquered the promised land at the time Israel was at Kadesh Barnea. He was powerful enough, that he may have done such.
The only known Mud brick making by foreign slaves in 1446 BC:
The only record of mud bricks being made by non-Egyptian foreign slaves is
in the tomb of Rekhmire who lived at the same time as Thutmoses III.
Pictured below are Hebrews making mud bricks in the Tomb of Rekhmire the
Vizier (tomb TT100) in ancient Thebes (Luxor). Dated to Thutmoses III.
Although mud brick making was common, it is amazing that the only
archeologically known example of non-Egyptian foreign slaves making bricks,
dates from the time of the Exodus in 1446 BC.
Click to View
5. Moses was firstborn by adoption and Thutmoses III legally
second born:
a. There are two reasons why Thutmoses III survived the tenth
plague even though he was biologically first born.
i. First: Even if Thutmoses III was the first born,
he was exempted from the 10th plague. God told Moses that after the death
of the firstborn, Pharaoh would let Israel Go, not that the 10th plague
would kill him. The whole point was to humiliate Pharaoh, not kill him.
ii. Second: Thutmoses III was not the legal
"firstborn", merely the biological firstborn.
b. Moses had been adopted into the family and took the legal
place of firstborn and therefore heir to the throne. The matter of
succession would have become a point of conflict between Hatshepsut and her
husband Thutmoses II, once Thutmoses III was born. Thutmoses III would have
surely been make fully aware of this huge family fight and it was in his
best interest to side with biology.
c. Moses left the matter unresolved when he fled for Midian.
The question would have lingered in Thutmoses III's mind until he got his
answer in the 10th plague that Moses really was the rightful firstborn heir
to the throne he sat upon.
d. When Moses first shows up and demands that his stepbrother
"Let Israel go", it was a bizarre irony. Here you have Moses, the rightful
legal heir to the very throne that he turned his back on, demanding of
Thutmoses III the usurper to let Israel go. The pride and the rivalry must
have been enormous for Thutmoses III. After 9 plagues, Moses stands before
his stepbrother and says that the first born will die. Thutmoses III had to
emphasize his claim as firstborn, in order to gain the throne! Moses'
statement that all the firstborn of Egypt would die caused terror to enter
Thutmoses III's heart. When Moses said, "you will never see my face again",
Pharaoh may have interpreted this to be a prediction of his imminent death.
e. When Thutmoses III survived the death of the firstborn he was
relieved to be alive but shamed that he was proven to be a usurper. The
fact he did not die, proved that Moses was in fact firstborn and the living
rightful pharaoh of Egypt.
Thutmoses III did not die in the red sea:
a. The Pharaoh of the Exodus did NOT die in the Red Sea. The
Bible nowhere says Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea. Further, drowning in the
Red Sea was the easy way out. It was far more humiliating for Thutmoses III
to have to travel back to a destroyed Egypt WITHOUT his army to face his
people.
b. Some rule out Thutmoses III as a candidate for the Pharaoh of
the Exodus BECAUSE he died 15 years after the Red Sea crossing in 1431 BC.
It must be noted that using high or low Egyptian chronology neither
Thutmoses III or his son Amenhotep II died in 1446 BC in the Red Sea.
c. With all the factual errors in the classic 4-hour Hollywood
movie, "THE TEN COMMANDMENTS" with Charlton Heston, the spectacular scene
where Pharaoh army are drowned before his eyes and he drops his staff is
correct!
d. Ps 136:15 says God "shook off" Pharaoh but didn't' kill him.
The Hebrew word for "overthrew" is literally "shook off" and is metaphoric
of ridding the Hebrews of Pharaoh's control. It DOES NOT say that God
drowned or killed Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea.
i. "But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red
Sea" (Psalm 136:15)
e. Notice how scripture carefully differentiates Pharaoh from HIS
ARMY:
i. "Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all
Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into
the midst of the sea. At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the
army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the
army of the Egyptians into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to
swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said,
"Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the
Egyptians." Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over
the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their
chariots and their horsemen." So Moses stretched out his hand over the
sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the
Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians
in the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and
the horsemen, even Pharaoh's entire army that had gone into the sea after
them; not even one of them remained." (Exodus 14:23-28)
ii. In the victory song of Moses notice it never says
Pharaoh himself drowned: "Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast
into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea."
(Exodus 15:4)
7. Thutmoses III's annual campaigns ended in 1446:
a. Thutmoses III made 17 yearly military conquests into Canaan
and the levant that started in his second year and continued every year
until his 18th year which was 1446 BC when his army drowned in the Red Sea.
b. His campaigns did not start until after his coregent
stepmother Hatshepsut died in 1464. In the 34 years that Thutmoses III
ruled after Hatshepsut died, he launched 17 military campaigns into Canaan
and Syria, and Nubia (southern Nile).
c. Thutmoses III's annual campaigns ended because his army
lay 1381 meters (4530 feet, almost a mile) under water at the Straits of
Tiran.
d. After 17 annual campaigns, the 18th campaign of 1446 never
happened! Nothing in the Bible says that Thutmoses III died with his army
in the Red Sea.
8. Defacing and erasure of Hatshepsut by Thutmoses III started in
1446:
Click to View Click to View
a. Immediately after the Exodus, Thutmoses III erased all
evidence of both the Hebrews in Goshen and his step-mother, Hatshepsut for
adopting Moses into the royal family.
b. The well documented erasure of Hatshepsut from records and
monuments began after 1446 BC at the hand of Thutmoses III.
c. The erasure of Hatshepsut from history did not occur before
his 42nd regnal year (year 20 after Hatshepsut died) which brings us to
exactly 1443 BC, which is three years after the exodus! Another perfect
fit!
d. Bible trashers say Thutmoses III was a misogynist who hated
women:
i. Bible trashing historians dismiss the exodus as
myth and make it their primary goal is to hide any connection between Egypt
and the Exodus. These Bible hating archeologists suggest that Thutmoses III
was motivated by sexist male revenge against an "overbearing and dominant
wicked feminist step-mother who usurped her female place in a male
dominated world"! But this is a ridiculous and strained explanation given
the fact that Thutmoses III waited 21 years after the death of Hatshepsut
to erase her memory. The anger and revenge of Esau to kill Jacob for
stealing the title of first born, had fully subsided after 21 years. (An
amazing co-incidence in both numbers and the usurping of the firstborn
birthright.)
ii. "If Thutmoses III was the culprit [of erasure],
he must have had sufficient motive to attempt to prevent her from living
eternally. According to Egyptian religion, removing the name or image of a
deceased person was a direct assault on his/her spirit. For him to live
forever in the Field of Reeds, his body, image, or name must survive on
earth. If all memory of him were lost or destroyed, the spirit too would
perish, initiating the much-dreaded "second death," a total obliteration
from which there could be no return. This act against Hatshepsut was an
attempt to 'condemn her to oblivion - a fate worse than death for an
Egyptian.' Thus the extermination of Hatshepsut's image from the earth was
indeed a drastic step: the removal of her spirit from its perpetual
existence in the afterlife. Such reprisal seems far too severe to fit the
motive of mere sexism." (Amenhotep II and the Historicity of the Exodus
Pharaoh, Douglas Petrovich).
9. Defacing and erasure of Senenmut (or Senmut) by Thutmoses III
in 1446:
Click to View Click to View
Senmut was a man:
Senmut literally means, "mother's brother" which fits well with an older trusted servant. The statue (right) in the Louvre museum shows Senmut as a male. You can see his nipple. Important women in Egypt, like women today, wear tops! So that settles it. There are no bearded statues of a topless Hatshepsut with nipples showing. These show her bearded but fully clothed with obvious breasts under her shirt. The inscription on the stone says: "Neferure: daughter of Pharaoh."
a. Thutmoses III not only ordered the erasure of all images of
Hatshepsut, but also to a man known in history as "Senenmut".
b. Senmut was one of Hatshepsut's most trusted advisers. Perhaps
he was seen by Thutmoses III, as being a contributor to the exodus disaster
that came upon Egypt.
c. Thutmoses III was a baby when his father died and he
inherited the throne, since Moses had very recently fled to Midian. This
explains why Hatshepsut ruled as co-regent with her stepson, Thutmoses III
for 21 years until her death.
d. The Cairo museum has a statue of "Senmut" with a baby's head
in front. (below left) Senmut was an elderly man whom Hatshepsut trusted.
He is often pictured with Neferure (daughter of Pharaoh) as a child. This
is the correct interpretation. Being an old man, it may be that Senmut was
Hatshepsut's nurse, as well as Thutmoses III's and Neferure's (Hatshepsut
daughter).
e. Wild Speculation and Fiction:
Myth #1: In the statues, the adult is Hatshepsut and the child is Moses.
Myth #2: Neferure = Hatshepsut = Nefure.
Myth #3: Hatshepsut did not have a daughter named Neferure. Neferure is
Hatshepsut.
Myth #4: Senmut = Moses = Hatshepsut Xnem Amen = Thutmoses II.
Myth #5: The statues memorializes baby Moses under the care of the daughter
of Pharaoh.
Myth #6: Moses actually became Pharaoh with the title Thutmoses II.
f. Facts: In the statues, the adult is Senmut and the child
is Neferure. Neferure was the daughter of Hatshepsut. The name Nefure is
never applied to Hatshepsut but is a fictional invention. Hatshepsut
married Thutmoses II not Moses. However, because it is a fact that
Hatshepsut wore a fake beard and took on the male persona later in her
reign, some mistakenly believe the adult in the statue is her, not the male
servant Senmut (or Senenmut). These two statues are not of a "fake bearded
Hatshepsut" (aka Neferure) and the baby is Senmut, which is another name
for Moses.
g. Senmut remained single his whole life, (probably because he
was a eunuch), disappeared mysteriously and his tomb was unfinished. This
fueled the speculation that Senmut is Moses who also unmarried before he
fled Egypt for Midian at age 40.
h. The adult in these two statues is Senmut, a trusted steward of
Queen Hatshepsut, and Thutmoses III defaced his statues because of
Senenmut's obvious close role he played in association with Hatshepsut.
Senmut is not Moses, Neferure is not Hatshepsut. However, it is entirely
possible that Senmut, being Hatshepsut's "mother's brother", was the
official "eunuch guardian" that cared for Hatshepsut as a baby and later
Moses, Thutmoses III and Neferure!
i. Thutmoses III defaced both Hatshepsut and Senmut statues
and wanted to erase them both from history as a direct result of the exodus
in 1446 BC.
E. Amenhotep II: Second born son who survived the 10th plague (1431-1406
BC)
1. Amenhotep II was "second born" son of Thutmoses III:
a. Thutmoses III is confirmed as the pharaoh of the exodus in
that his firstborn son "Amenemhat" by Queen Merytre-Hatshepsut died in the
10th plague but his second born son, Amenhotep II survived the 10th plague
and succeeded Thutmoses III on the throne.
i. Thutmoses III's firstborn son Amenemhat by was
killed by the tenth plague.
ii. In the providence of God, it is well documented
that Amenhotep II, was Thutmoses III's second born son by Queen Satiah, who
became Pharaoh in 1431 BC.
b. Low vs. high Egyptian chronology:
i. Using low Egyptian chronology, Amenhotep II
survived the 10th plague in 1446 BC, then died exactly 40 years later when
Joshua crossed the Jordan in 1406 BC! He survived death the year the slaves
left Egypt and died the year the runaway slaves became a nation with land
of their own!
ii. Using high Egyptian chronology, those who wrongly
believe Amenhotep II was the pharaoh of the exodus, have no evidence that
his firstborn son died in the 10th plague of 1446 BC. In other words, we
are 100% sure that Amenhotep II was not firstborn and 0% sure that
Amenhotep II's own firstborn son died before he did.
2. Amenhotep II: Replacement Slaves in 9th year conquest of 1422
BC
a. While Amenhotep II makes a poor choice as the pharaoh of the
exodus, he had one successful campaign into Canaan year 9, 1422 BC, when
Israel was at Kadesh Barnea year 22. Amenhotep II had to go on a raid to
replenish 3 million lost Hebrew slaves 22 years earlier because of the
exodus. Amenhotep II records his capture of 101,128 slaves in Canaan during
his 9th year campaign in 1422 BC. In truth, the year 9 campaign was more
about refueling a devastated nation, rather than a truly powerful display
of military might like that of his father, Thutmoses III.
b. The Memphis Stela documents Amenhotep II's two campaigns. The
first into Syria in year 7 (May 15, 1424 BC), and the second into Canaan
and Edom in Year 9 (Nov 15, 1422 BC). However, the Amada Stela and
Elephantine Stela both indicate the first campaign happened in year 3 (July
4, 1428 BC). In year 9 (1422 BC), Amenhotep II signed a peace treaty with
the king of Mitanni. Strangely, the total number of slaves captured in the
stela is 89,600, but the sum of the individual numbers add up to 101,128
slaves.
i. "A record of the plunder that his majesty carried
off: 127 princes of Retenu; 179 brothers of princes; 3,600 Apiru [or Habiru
Hebrews at Kadesh Barnea]; 15,200 Shasu; 36,300 Kharu; 15,070
Nagasuites/Neges; 30,652 of their family members; total: 89,600 people, and
their endless property likewise; all their cattle and endless herds; 60
chariots of silver and gold; 1,032 painted chariots of wood; 13,500 weapons
for warfare." (Amenhotep II, Memphis Stela, 2nd campaign, year 9, 1422 BC)
c. The capture of 3600 Habiru (Hebrews) in 1422 BC occurred
year 24 of the exodus and year 22 at Kadesh Barnea. The 3600 men were
likely deserters from Kadesh Barnea who had complained to Moses. The Bible
records more than once, that Israel mutinied Moses and started marching
back to Egypt. Evidently 3600 of these Hebrews got their wish and were once
again enslaved in Egypt by Amenhotep II. Good riddance!
i. "We remember the fish which we used to eat free in
Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the
garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at
except this manna." Numbers 11:5-6.
ii. "So they said to one another, "Let us appoint a
leader and return to Egypt." (Numbers 14:4)
F. Amarna Tables document the conquest of Joshua in 1406 BC
Click to View
The Amarna Tablets (1404 - 1341 BC)
More: Amarna Tablets which chronicle the conquest of Joshua
Tablet EA 286: "The Habiru are now capturing the fortresses of the Pharaoh. Not a single governor remains among them to my lord the King: all have perished. Zimrida of Lachish has been killed. May the King send help. Lo, if no reinforcements come this year, all the countries of my lord the King will be utterly destroyed. ... The land of the King is lost to the Habiru. And now indeed a city of the territory of Jerusalem, Bet-Ninib, has been captured. ... After taking the city of Rubuda, they are now attempting to take Jerusalem... , What have I done against my lord the King, that thou lovest the Habiru, and hatest the governors? ... The Habiru have wasted all the territory of the King', and so on." (Amarna Tablet, A Letter from Abdu-Heba of Jerusalem, EA 286)
Tablet EA 276: "They are now attempting to take Jerusalem. ... Gezer, Ashkelon, and Lachish have given oil, food, and supplies to the Habiru. ... Labaya and the land of Shechem have given all to the Habiru." (Amarna Tablet, A Letter from Abdu-Heba of Jerusalem, EA 287)
1. The 382 Amarna Letters represent one of the greatest
archeological proofs that the conquest under Joshua of the promised land is
true.
a. The Amarna Letters fully document the Habiru (Hebrews)
conquest of Canaan by Joshua starting in 1406 BC.
The Amarna tablets are a second record of the conquest from Egyptian
and Canaanite cuneiform tablets written in Akkadian Babylonian.
c. A broader date for the Amarna tablets is 1404 - 1340 BC (64
years). They cannot be any earlier than the beginning of the conquest of
the Judah (1404 BC) or any later when Amarna was destroyed in the second
year of King Tut (1340 BC). These dates represent the outer limits and the
actual period of the Amarna letters is likely shorter than 64 years.
2. David Rohl destroys this powerful synchronism with the
conquest by shifting the date for the Amarna tablets and Akhenaten to the
time of king Saul of Judah.
a. During the time of Saul and David the promised land was
under the control of the Philistines not Egypt.
b. In the Bible narrative of Saul, David and Solomon, Egypt is
never even mentioned at a combatant.
c. In Rohl's chronology, the mass Philistines immigration
into Canaan did not occur until the 8th year of Ramesses III which he
misdates to 916 BC.
d. Rohl believes Ramesses II is the same person as Shishak of the
Bible (945-924 BC) who attacked Jerusalem in 925 BC and died in 924 BC.
e. This means that the Philistines did not mass migrate into
Canaan until 916 BC (8th year of Ramesses III).
f. Rohl therefore cannot use the Amarna tablets to document
the conquest of Joshua. Rohl has Saul fighting the Egyptian control of
Canaan as seen in the Amarna Tablets but Egypt is not mentioned in the
Bible even once during the reign of Saul or David in any way. The Bible
shows Saul's main enemy was the Philistines where David killed Goliath,
yet according to Rohl, this was 100 years before the Philistines arrived in
large numbers after the death of Solomon in 924 BC.
3. The Hebrew conquest of Canaan under the command of Joshua took
exactly eight years to complete (1407-1399 BC) but it wasn't until 1404 BC
that Joshua began the conquest of southern Israel, followed by the conquest
of northern Israel.
a. Aaron died on the 1st day of the 5th month of the 40th year
of the wilderness wandering (summer 1407 BC). Shortly after mourning Aaron
for 30 days, the people left Mount Hor, defeated the Transjordan nations,
and then mourned for Moses 30 days. They crossed the Jordan on the 10th day
of the 1st month of the 41st year (spring, 1406 BC), four days before the
41st Passover, which was exactly 40 years to the day they left Goshen. They
started counting sabbatical years and Jubilee after crossing the Jordan.
(Num 33:38; 20:28; Deut 34:8; Josh 4:19; 5:10)
b. From Josh 14:10 we know that Caleb was given Hebron 45 years
after Moses promised it to him. This corresponded with year 5 after
crossing the Jordan in 1406 BC. Caleb possessed Hebron in 1401 BC.
c. "Now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke,
these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to
Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am
eighty-five years old today." (Joshua 14:10)
4. A cry for Egypt to send military help:
a. The letters are correspondence between the city kings of
Canaan to pharaoh in Egypt where they beg pharaoh to send troops to defend
against the invading Hebrews. There is no evidence that Egypt ever sent any
troops as requested but remained a distant observer as Joshua conquered
Canaan.
b. Collectively, the Amarna tablets tell the story of how the
local Canaanite population first begged Egypt for help, then betrayed and
deceived each other for survival and committed treason by surrendering to
the Hebrews.
c. Most of the local Canaanites were killed by the invading
"Habiru".
5. In a breathtaking confirmation of the conquest of Joshua the
cities of Jerusalem, Shechem, Gezer, Ashkelon, Lachish and others are
mentioned by name in the Amarna Tablets.
6. One tablet exactly agrees with the Bible in that Shechem was
taken early "given all to the Habiru" and other tablets confirm that the
unconquered cities of Jerusalem, Gezer, Ascalon, and Lachish had started to
pay tribute: "given oil, food, and supplies to the Habiru".
a. Jerusalem was taken in a later stage after the death of
Joshua: " Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of
Israel inquired of the Lord, saying, "Who shall go up first for us against
the Canaanites, to fight against them? ... Then the sons of Judah fought
against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword
and set the city on fire." Judges 1:1,8
b. Ashkelon was taken in a later stage after the death of Joshua:
"And Judah took Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory and
Ekron with its territory." Judges 1:18
c. Gezer was not immediately captured: "But they did not drive
out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live in the midst
of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers." Joshua 16:10
7. Complete list of conquered cities in the Amarna Tablets:
Bible city name
Amarna city name
City mayor/king
Acco
Akka
Satatna & Surata
Aijalon
Ayyaluna
Ammiya
Arka
Irqata
Aduna
Arvad Island
Arwada, Ruad
Ashkelon
Ashqeluna
Yidya
Ashtaroth
Astartu
Biridashwa & Ayyab
?
Batruna
?
Berothai, Berothah
Beirut, Biruta, Berytus
Ammunira
Cypress
Alashiya
Damascus
Dimaški
Biryawaza
Gammad
Kumidu, Gammadim, Gammatites
Gaza
Hazzatu
Yahtiru
Gebal
Byblo, Gubla
Rib-Hadda
Gezer
Gazru
Milkilu & Yapahu
Hamath
Lapana, Ematu
Teuwatti/Tiwati
Hazor
Hasura
Abdi-Tirshi
Hebron
Qiltu (might be Keilah)
Shuwardata
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
Abdi-heba
Joppa
Yapu
Kadesh on the Orontes
Qidsu, Qissa, Qinsa
Etakkama/Aituamma
Keilah
Qiltu (Might be Hebron)
Shuwardata
Kenath
Qana, Nobah
Lachish
Lakisha
Zimredda & Shipti-bala
Megiddo
Magidda
Biridiya
Qatna
Mishrefeh
Akizzi
Shechem
Sakmu
Labayu
Sidon
Siduna
Zimredda
Shiloh
Silu
Yaptih-Hadda
Sumur
Simyra, Zemar
Taanach
Tahnaka
Tunip
Tunip
Aki-Teššup
Tyre
Surru
Abi-Milku
Ugarit
Ugaritu
Niqm-Adda II
?
Muhhazu
?
G. The conversion of Akhenaten to monotheism
1. One of the most stunning events in religious history is the
conversion of Akhenaten to monotheism in 1358 BC.
2. Akhenaten became Pharaoh in 1358 BC only 2 years before Joshua
died in 1356 BC. He reigned 17 years and died in 1341 BC.
a. Akhenaten was very aware of the power of the Hebrew God
which demanded monotheistic worship.
b. As Pharaoh, he knew how the 10 plagues of Moses had destroyed
Egypt.
c. He would know how the Hebrews had crossed the Red Sea on dry
ground through 300-meter-high walls of water on either side, which came
crashing down to drown Egypt's entire military.
d. It was clear to Akhenaten the monotheistic God of the Hebrews
was superior to the polytheistic pantheon of Egyptian gods.
e. Akhenaten could clearly see that monotheism was superior to
polytheism.
f. Akhenaten converted to monotheism by worshipping the sun
god, "Aten".
3. Akhenaten's conversion to monotheism (sun worship) is a
stunning marker unparalleled in Egyptian history and only the exodus and
conquest can explain it.
Conclusion:
The evidence that Thutmoses III was the Pharaoh of the exodus is
overwhelming. The only other possible candidate might be Amenhotep II, his
son, but he pales against the towering stature of his father in all ways.
Pharaoh who killed Hebrew children: Amunhotep I: 1532-1511 BC
Pharaoh's Daughter who adopted Moses: Hatshepsut: 1526 BC
Pharaoh of Moses' flight to Midian: Thutmoses II + Hatshepsut:
1498-1485 BC
Pharaoh of the Exodus: Thutmoses III: 1485/1464 - 1431 BC
The Bible is quite clear that the exodus happened in 1446 BC.
By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.
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