Who Was the Pharaoh - Triumph Pro

1 1 1 Who Was the Real Pharaoh of the Exodus? Egyptian history has been totally confused by Egyptologists, and as a result the true account of the Exodus of Israel under Moses has been denied, misunderstood, and rejected by world historians and scholars. But new historical light on the ancient Egyptian dynasties leads to a massive reconstruction of Egyptian history, which fits perfectly with the Biblical account of the Exodus. Read, here, of the Egyptian eye- witness to the divine plagues which struck Egypt, the collapse of the greatest Dynasty of Egypt up to that time, and the amazing proven identity of the Pharaoh of that epochal upheaval in Egypt whose life was cut short as he perished in the maelstrom of the Red Sea. William F.

2 Dankenbring Who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus? Did the awesome ten plagues recounted in the Biblical story of the Exodus really happen? Was there independent Egyptian eye-witness corroboration of these unique, spectacular plagues? For generations Biblical scholars have rejected the Biblical account of the Exodus, and Moses leading the children of Israel about 3,000,000 strong out of Egypt. The event did not fit in with what was believed about Egyptian dynastic history of that period of time. However, new scholarship has shed amazing new light on this age-old controversy and dilemma. A new book by Ted T. Stewart, entitled Solving the Exodus Mystery, goes a long way to dispel the scholarly bias and prejudice against Biblical history of the Exodus period. In this article, we will explore just a relatively small portion of Stewart s research into the Exodus problem and its repercussions on ancient Egyptian history.

3 A Common Error In the famous motion picture epic The Ten Commandments, Yul Brynner played the part of the Pharaoh of the Exodus. How well I remember seeing this movie for the first time in Seattle in the late 1950's, and how disappointed I was in the so-called "plagues" on Egypt, as they were illustrated. I was also aware that the movie showed Pharaoh returning to Egypt to the temple of his "god," after the Israelites passed through the Red Sea in their triumphal escape. Many years ago, in the March-April 1988 issue of the Good News magazine, author Keith Stump, a prot g of Herman Hoeh, wrote on this subject, claiming that the Pharaoh of the oppression of the Israelites has been identified in history as Tutmose III, "the Napoleon of ancient Egypt." He went on to claim that Amenhotep II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Stump, who followed the thinking and teaching of Herman Hoeh, who jumbled up the reigns of Egyptian kings and dynasties for decades, who wrote as 2 2 if he had proved conclusively his claims.

4 The drophead of the article claims, "Read here Egyptian accounts of the pharaohs who ruled at the time of the oppression and the Exodus." Stump introduced his subject by recounting the discovery of the tomb of Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings in 1898 by the French archaeologist Loret. Loret found a sarcophagus containing the mummy of this ancient king in the tomb of Amenhotep II. Keith then claims Amenhotep reigned about 1440 , at which time he places the Exodus of Israel. He then identified the famous queen Hatshepsut with the "daughter of Pharaoh " who found Moses in the bulrushes (Hatshepsut was the grandmother of Amenhotep II and mother of Tutmose III, the great conqueror). All these claims are made without any evidence or proof supplied, as if we should all understand (or take the word of the author). But the word of God commands us to "prove all things" (I Thess. 5:21). Why do so many today, ignore and resist this Biblical imperative?

5 This is a very important subject, for it involves the very Passover celebration which God commands us to observe every year, as a memorial of deliverance from Egypt and sin (Exodus 12). Who, then, was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, who stubbornly refused to let Israel leave Egyptian slavery? What is the truth? An Amazing Claim A noteworthy, even crucial, part of Stump's article makes the bold assertion, "Contrary to the common notion about the Pharaoh of the Exodus, Amenhotep II did not drown in the Red Sea with his army. Read carefully Exodus 14:23-31. Ancient records reveal that Amenhotep II's reign lasted no less than into his 26th year.. Sixteen of those 26 years followed the Exodus." The mummy, or body, of Amenhotep II presently rests in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquity in Cairo, where I have personally seen it. This fact brings up a major disproof of Keith Stump's (and therefore Herman L.)

6 Hoeh's) contention that Amenhotep II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. The question is, whom will we believe -- these egregious claims? Or the plain and simple inspired Word of the living God? Obviously, if we can PROVE BEYOND DOUBT that the Pharaoh of the Exodus died in the Red Sea, then this would prove beyond question that Amenhotep could not have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus, by any bizarre stretch of the imagination! If the Pharaoh of the Exodus drowned and perished in the raging waters of the Red Sea, then his body could not possibly be the mummified remains of Amenhotep II, now lying in the Egyptian Museum! What does the Bible say about this question? The Powerful Biblical Record Speaks Let us quickly read through the Biblical account of this most amazing time and event. Beginning in Exodus 14, the Lord said to Moses, "And I will harden Pharaoh 's heart, that HE shall follow after them; and I will be honored UPON Pharaoh , and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord" (Exodus 14:4).

7 Notice! God said He would harden Pharaoh 's heart, and that HE -- Pharaoh -- would follow after 3 3 the fleeing Israelites, not just an army he sent after them. Then God said He would be "honored upon Pharaoh ," as well as upon "all his host." This certainly sounds like God meant He would bring calamity on both Pharaoh and his army. But notice, also: God then said that as a result, the "Egyptians" would know that He is the Lord. If God had intended Pharaoh to survive the holocaust, then why didn't He say that then " Pharaoh would know that He is the Lord"? But let's read on. The account continues, "And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

8 "And HE ( Pharaoh ) MADE READY HIS CHARIOT, and took his people WITH HIM: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them .. and HE pursued after the children of Israel .. But the Egyptians pursued after them, ALL the horses and chariots of Pharaoh , and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea .. And when Pharaoh drew nigh the children of Israel lifted up their eyes .." (Exodus 14:6-10). Notice how clear the account is that Pharaoh himself led this massive army. He was at the head. He wanted the glory to be his, and his alone. He was a megalomaniac of his time, and his people worshipped him as a "god." God Almighty, however, had other ideas in mind. He told Moses again that He would "get me honour upon Pharaoh , and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen" (Exo. 14:17). In verse 23 we read, "And the Egyptians PURSUED, and went in after them to the midst of the sea.

9 EVEN ALL Pharaoh 's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen." Not one remained behind! Everyone plunged into the sea, in hot pursuit -- including Pharaoh himself! Now verse 27 -- ".. and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and ALL the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; THERE REMAINED NOT SO MUCH AS ONE OF THEM" ( )!!! Did you get that? Not a single one of them escaped! Not a single one of them remained alive to tell the story! How awesome! Indeed, God did "get Himself glory," not only upon Pharaoh 's army and chariots, but also upon Pharaoh himself! How clear it should be -- how inescapably clear and plain -- that Amenhotep II, whose mummy today lies in the Cairo Museum, could not possibly be the Pharaoh of the Exodus! But there is even more crystal clear evidence. Notice further: In chapter 15 of Exodus, the children of Israel sang a song about this fantastic, incredible deliverance from Egypt.

10 They sang, "unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER hath he thrown into the sea" (verse 1). " Pharaoh 's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea" (verse 4). "The ENEMY (and remember, the "enemy" was Pharaoh himself, more than anyone else!) said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil .. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the SEA 4 4 COVERED THEM: they sank as lead in the mighty waters" ( ). This should be perfectly clear, but the final nail in Pharaoh 's watery coffin is driven home by verse 19. Notice this final, conclusive, incontrovertible proof. God records in His inviolate Word: "FOR THE HORSE OF Pharaoh WENT IN WITH HIS CHARIOTS AND WITH HIS HORSEMEN INTO THE SEA, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them.