The Hebrew word (merkabah) in the Bible can be translated as ‘chariot’ or ‘riding seat’. It does not distinguish between a vehicle that is horse drawn or a vehicle that is carried.

The Bible records that Joseph was given a chariot to travel through Egypt.

If Joseph and Imhotep were the same person, this would mean that chariots existed in Egypt as early as the third dynasty.

In the third dynasty, only high officials like the pharaoh and his chancellor / sage / vizier were afforded a chariot to travel in.

Chariots in the 3rd dynasty were not horse drawn, they were carried by a procession of servants.

The Hebrew word (merkabah) in the Bible can be translated as ‘chariot’ or ‘riding seat’.  It does not distinguish between a vehicle that is horse drawn or a vehicle that is carried.

The enigma of chariots in the third dynasty is, therefore, easily explained.

Horse drawn chariots were used for military purposes and were not introduced until the 12th dynasty.   Most of the chariots of the 12 & 13th dynasty were lost in the Red Sea at the time of the Exodus and paintings depicting horse drawn chariots in the 12th dynasty would not have survived.

It is hardly surprising then that there are no findings of horse draw chariots before the Hyksos (15th dynasty) unless, of course, one accepts that the chariot wheels found in the Red Sea by Wyatt in 1978 were from the 12th and 13th dynasty.

Egypt lost all it’s chariots at the time of the Exodus. The Exodus would have immediately PRECEDED the dynasty in which chariots reappeared in Egypt.

The Hyksos used chariots to invade Egypt after the Exodus

The Hyksos were able to invade Egypt with little resistance because Egypt had lost it’s army and all it’s chariots at the time of the Exodus.

While the Hyksos are credited with having introduced the horse drawn chariot to Egypt, this should be an indication to Bible scholars that the Exodus took place just prior to the Hyksos invasion.

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No discoveries horse drawn chariots have been found prior to the 15th dynasty. This would tend to suggest that the Exodus took place before the 15th dynasty. One would not expect to find chariots of dynasties prior to the Exodus because they were all destroyed at the time of the Exodus.
Wyatt found chariot wheels covered with coral strewn across the bottom of the Red Sea. There was a well preserved golden 4 spoked chariot wheel. He also found six and eight spoked chariot wheels covered with coral from one side of the Red Sea to the other in the Gulf of Aqaba where there is a large beach and a natural land bridge at the opening of the Wadi Wadir, just a little bit north of Jabel Lawz on the opposite side. Wyatt also found a pair of columns which appeared to have been left by Solomon to mark the site of the Red Sea crossing at this point.
Unfortunately, as no examples of 12th dynasty chariots have been found, the chariot wheels found by Wyatt were dated to the 18th dynasty. This has lead many an archaeologist to go looking for the Exodus in the 18th dynasty. There is no evidence for a mass Exodus in the 18th dynasty. There was an exodus at the end of the second intermediate period but this is when the Hyksos kings were evicted from Egypt and is clearly not the Israelite exodus.
The Bible states that the exodus pharaoh pursued the Israelites with all of Egypt’s chariots and that these were lost in the Red Sea. One would, therefore, not expect to find a chariot that predated the exodus. If a chariot has been found, other than in the Red Sea, then it must have been produced after the Exodus.
While the Hyksos (15th dynasty) did use chariots to invade and occupy lower Egypt, they were only able to do this because the Egyptian army had been decimated by the Exodus and all of it’s chariots were at the bottom of the Red Sea.
Many historians and archaeologists believe that the horse drawn chariot was introduced to Egypt by the Hyksos because there are no findings of 12th and 13th dynasty chariots. If all of Egypt’s chariots were lost at the time of the exodus, the finding of 15th dynasty chariots should suggest that the Exodus occurred prior to the 15th dynasty, namely the 13th dynasty. It also follows that the chariot wheels found in the Red Sea by Wyatt were from the 12th and 13th dynasties.

The Hyksos were credited with having introduced the chariot to Egypt only because no 12th and 13th dynasty chariots have been found until 1978 when Wyatt discovered chariot wheels covered with coral strewn across the bottom of the Red Sea at Nuweiba.   The fact that Hyksos chariots are the earliest surviving chariots to have been found means that the Exodus took place immediately before the Hyksos entered Egypt.  This would further support a 13th dynasty Exodus.

Also supporting a 13th dynasty exodus is the prolific use of mudbricks in the 12th dynasty and the finding of a slave village at Kahun that was rapidly evacuated in the 13th dynasty when Neferhotep I was ruling (as evidenced by scarabs found by Petrie).   Amenemhet III has the credentials to be the pharaoh of Moses birth and the pharaoh that Moses fled from.  Sobeknefru has the credentials to be Moses foster mother and Amenemhet IV has the credentials to be Moses himself!

The Pyramids were not made by ‘Aliens’ from another planet. The Israelites, however, were aliens to Egypt and did help make mud bricks for the 12th dynasty pyramids.

Pharaohs of the Israelite Oppression

The period when the Israelites were oppressed in Egypt corresponds to the 12th dynasty of Egypt.

The pharaohs of the 12th dynasty required a large slave labour force for the construction of their pyramids and other public works.

The Pyramids of the 12th dynasty, unlike those of earlier dynasties, were made almost entirely of mud bricks which were finished with a limestone veneer. Over the centuries, the limestone veneer has fallen away due to erosion, earthquakes and pilfering. What remains is the inner cores of the pyramids which contain millions of mud bricks.

The Israelites were given the task of making these mud bricks and working in the fields. The 12th dynasty lasted almost 200 years and at least seven pyramids were constructed during this time.

The Hebrew Oppression probably began with Amenemhet I, the first pharaoh of the 12th dynasty. By the time of Sesostris II, a workers villages had been built to house the slaves working on the pyramids at Hawara and Dashur. These villages were occupied up until the time of the Neferhotep I when the exodus occurred.

The pharaohs of the oppression therefore included: Amenemhet I, Sesostris I, Sesostris II, Amenemhet II, Sesostris III, Amenemhet III, Sobekneferu and the 13th dynasty pharaohs from Sobekhotep I to Neferhotep I.

Of note was Amenemhet III who was the 6th pharaoh of the 12th dynasty. He reigned for 46 yrs but had a 20 year co-regency with his father Sesostris III at the beginning of his reign.Moses was born early in the reign of Amenemhet III. It was Amenemhet III who tried to kill the male Israelite babies at birth. It was his daughter Sobekneferu who found Moses in a basket among the reeds of the Nile and adopted him and raised him as her own. Moses was groomed to be the next pharaoh Amenemhet IV and may have even been co-regent withAmenemhet III for 9 years (as Amenemhet IV). Moses never got to rule by himself. When his affections for the Israelites became known, Moses (alias Amenemhet IV) had to go into exile in Midian or be killed by Amenemhet III.

Pharaohs during the time of Moses’ Exile

Moses (Amenemhet IV) was in exile in Midian for the last few years of Amenemhet III‘s reign and during the reign of Sobekneferu.Exodus 2:23-25

Moses remained in exile for much of the 13th dynasty from the reign of Sobekhotep I to Neferhotep I.

Pharaoh of the Exodus

Neferhotep I was one of the last Pharaohs of the 13th Dynasty. He reigned for 11 years according to the Turin King List; longer than any other Pharaoh of that dynasty. Neferhotep Iwas succeeded by his brother Sobekhotep IV rather than his son Haankhef^[4] (Wahneferhotep).^[5] He was probably the ‘Pharaoh of the Exodus’. The Pharaoh that refused to ‘let the Israelites go’. Moses (at the age of 80 years) and Aaron (aged 83 years) would have contronted Neferhotep in 1446BC which is when the Exodus occurred. Neferhotep I‘s mummy has never been found because he drowned in the Red Sea when pursuing the Israelites who were leaving Egypt (the Exodus). The semitic slave villages of Kahun and Tel ed-Dabawere occupied up until the time of Neferhotep I. Scarabs of the 12th and 13th dynasty pharaohs from Sesostris II up until Neferhotep I were found by Flinders Petrie at Kahunindicating that it was Neferhotep I who was reigning when the Exodus occurred.^[6] These towns were suddenly evacuated near the end of the 13th dynasty.

Pharaohs when Israel was in the Wilderness

Neferhotep I was succeeded by his brother Sobekhotep IV rather than his son Haankhef^[4] (Wahneferhotep).^[5]

A 14th dynasty started but did not last long.

The Hyksos saw their chance to become established in the region and so they built a fort at Avaris on Egypt’s border.

From Avaris, they gradually began to occupy and take over Lower Egypt (The 15th dynasty) where they demanded tribute from the Nomarchs of the North and the South (The 16th dynasty in ?Lower Egypt and 17th dynasty in Upper Egypt).

Pharaohs during the time of the Judges in the Promised Land

Moses (Amenemhet IV) never got to enter the Promised Land. Moses only saw it from a distance.

The Israelites spent 40 years in the Wilderness before Joshua lead them into the Promised land (Canaan). Israel was then ruled by Judges for the next 360 years. This corresponds to Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period.

The Hyksos (Amalekites) took over and ruled Lower Egypt (15th dynasty) for much of the Second Intermediate Period.

Upper Egypt was governed by the Pharaohs of the 17th dynasty although the Hyksos kings who were based in Avaris in Lower Egypt made them pay homage. The second last Pharaoh of the 17th dynasty Seqenenre was actually arrested and taken to Avaris by Apopi II (Agag) where he died.

This provolked Kahmose, the last pharaoh of the 17th dynasty in Upper Egypt (also the son of Seqenenre) to lead a rebellion against the Hyksos (Amalekites). Eventually, the Hyksos(Amalekites) were defeated and forced to leave Egypt where they encountered Saul of Israel who virtually wiped them out. Their king Apopi II (Agag) was captured alive and taken to Samuel who put him to death.

Pharaohs during the time of the Kings when Israel was united

Ahmose I, the brother of Kahmose and son of Seqenenre became the first Pharaoh of Egypt’s New Kingdom (18th dynasty) at a time when King Saul of Israel was on the throne.

Summary

The Israelites	Moses	Pharaohs
Oppression	Moses raised by Sobeknefru in Pharaoh’s household until 40 years old during the reign of Amenemhet III.  Moses co-reigns with Amenemhet III for 9 years as Amenemhet IV during this time	Amenemhet I, Sesostris I, Sesostris II, Amenemhet II, Sesostris III, Amenemhet III. (12th dynasty)
Waiting	Moses (Amenemhet IV) flees to Midian where he lives with Jethro for 40 years	Amenemhet III, Sobekneferu (12th dynasty) Sobekhotep I to Neferhotep I (13th dynasty)
Exodus	Moses becomes the leader of the Jews and Aaron their spokesman	Neferhotep I (13th dynasty)
Wilderness	Moses leads the Israelites in the Wilderness for 40 years. During this time, Moses receives the Law on Mt Sinai, sets up the Sanctuary and positions the Israelites to take the Promised Land	Sobekhotep IV (13th dynasty)14th dynasty
Canaan	Moses dies on Mt Nebo in Moab just before the Israelites invade Canaan (The Promised Land).  Israel is ruled by ‘Judges’	Hyksos (15th dynasty)