Is Rameses Responsible?

            Ramesses (/ræˈmɛsiːz/ or /ˈræməsiːz/), also commonly spelled Rameses[1], is the infamous pharaoh reported to be the heart-hardened antagonist from which Moses and the Israelites flee in the book of Exodus. His name (with spellings varied per translation) is mentioned numerous times in the Torah, and his relationship with Moses has been elaborated upon (and fictionalized) for television and the silver screen. Despite a lack of Semitic-related archaeological evidence in Egypt during Rameses II’s rule in the New Kingdom, and discrepancies regarding the length of time the Israelites dwelled in Egypt (four generations versus 430 years per Christine Hayes), Egypt’s builder-king remains the publicly accepted adversary of Exodus (100).

            However, the first mention of Rameses actually occurs in Genesis, “And Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a holding in the land of Egypt in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded” (Gen. 47:11). Per Robert Alter’s commentary, it is agreed upon by scholars that the name Rameses does not refer to the pharaoh as owner of the property; rather, it is used as a synonym for the land of Goshen (273). This apparent anachronism is allegedly because of a city with the same name that was later built by Israeli slave labor, and that name was a commonly known geo-locator for generations. Per James Kugel, this city, the “House of Rameses,” was built by Rameses II between 1290 and 1224 BCE (206). Hayes points out, “We know that the fortified city of Pi-Ramesee was rebuilt in the early thirteenth century on the site of the old Hyksos capital of Avaris in the area of Goshen, and that the city was reoccupied in the time of Pharaoh Ramses II” (100).

            The name appears again in Exodus 1:11, “And they set over them forced-labor foremen so as to abuse them with their burden, and they built store-cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Ramases.” In Exodus 12:37, “some six hundred thousand men” reportedly traveled on foot with their children and livestock “from Rameses to Succoth,” but again, in both instances, Ramases refers to a city and not the pharaoh. This is reiterated in Numbers 33:3, “And they journeyed from Rameses” and Numbers 33:5, “And the Israelites journeyed from Rameses and camped at Succoth.”

            Ramses the Great, the son of Seti I, and the third Egyptian pharaoh of the New Kingdom[2] is not at any time actually named in the Torah as the famed pharaoh of the Exodus. Had he been the Israelite adversary, one would have suspected at least a boastful mention in the song of Moses and Miriam, which is said to be the oldest text of the Torah. However, though “Pharaoh’s chariots and his force” are recounted in Exodus 15:4, Ramesses (and all of its spelling variations) only refer to the city of Ramases in the Torah and not the pharaoh. Consequently, there is no scriptural evidence to prove that Rameses II is the pharaoh of the Exodus.

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[1] “Ramses.” Bible Hub. amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/rameses-ii-and-the-bible/

Accessed 30 April, 2017.

[2] "Seti I and the Bible." Amazing Bible Timeline with World History. amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/seti-i-and-the-bible/. Accessed 30 April, 2017.