Moses was born during the co-regency of Senusret III and Amenemhet III in the 12th dynasty during the Israelite Oppression. The 12th dynasty was doomed when Moses (Amenemhet IV) went into exile and it was crippled by the Exodus of the Israelites 40 years later.

Moses was an Israelite who was adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter and raised as her own. Moses spend the first 40 years of his life growing up in Pharaoh’s household. There was no change of pharaoh during this time. As the princess did not have any other children, Moses would have become the next pharaoh if he did not have to flee to Midian after showing his loyalty to the Israelites.

Moses was born 80 years before the Exodus and fled to Midian 40 years before the Exodus.

Moses was born during the Israelite Oppression at a time when the Pharaoh was trying to kill all the Hebrew baby boys.

The Israelites had been in Egypt for 430-80=350 years and had been forced into slavery for about 150 years since the start of the 12th dynasty.

Senusret III (Sesostris III) – (The father of Amenemhet III)

Amenemhet III, the 6th pharaoh of the 12 dynasty, the last pharaoh to build a great pyramid, had an ambitious building program. His first pyramid at Dashur had flawed foundations and so he built a second pyramid at Hawara. He also build the Labyrinth; considered, in it’s day, to be one of the great wonders of the world by Heroditis. Both of his pyramids were constructed with a core that contained millions upon millions of mud bricks (as was the case for all the pyramids of the 12th dynasty). The labyrinth was a mortuary building that had over one thousand rooms. It was also built from mud bricks and was equal in grandeur to the pyramids themselves.

The Israelites now numbered around 2 million and the Bible says that their chief occupation was making mud bricks for the Pharaoh.

Petrie found a workers village at Kahun, not far from Hawara, where the 12th dynasty pyramids were centered. From his detailed collection of scarabs found in the village, he was able to determine that the village had been occupied from the time of Sesostris II (Senusret II) up until the time of Neferhotep I. The village appeared to have been evacuated fairly suddenly. Petrie also found numerous boxes containing the skeletons of one, two or three babies at a time. The boxes were found under the floors of the houses in the village and were left almost to commemorate the deaths hundreds of babies in the town.

The thirteenth dynasty was only a short dynasty but there was a quick succession of Pharaohs. Neferhotep I was the longest ruling pharaoh of that dynasty, ruling 11 yrs. His body was never found. As the slave village at Kahun was occupied up until the time of Neferhotep I and Neferhotep I ruled 20 to 30 years after the end of the 12th dynasty, it is likely that Neferhotep I was the Exodus Pharaoh whom Moses confronted when he returned from Exile.

There was a large Exodus of slaves during the reign of Neferhotep I according to Petrie. These slaves lived in Kahun which was a workers village for the builders of the 12th dynasty pyramids.

It is quite likely that these slaves were the Israelite slaves who were lead out of Egypt by Moses when he was 80yrs old, 30 years after the 12th dynasty ended.

The 6th pharaoh of the 12th dynasty Amenemhet III, the last pharaoh to construct any pyramids, constructed 2 mud brick pyramids and the labyrinth. He reigned for 46 yrs and so he was reigning long enough to have seen Moses adopted by his daughter (Sobeknefru) and reach 40 years of age.

Amenemhet III did have a 9 year co-regency with a figure called Amenemhet IV whose ancestry is not recorded in Egyptian records. Amenemhet IV suddenly disappeared and never got to reign over Egypt by himself.

When Moses-Amenemhet IV fled to Midian, the 12th dynasty continued for another 10 years. When Amenemhet III died 2 yrs after Moses fled to Midian, Sobeknefru had to assume the throne as there were no other heirs. She only lived for another 8 yrs and when she died, the 12th dynasty ended. Egypt became unstable and there was a rapid succession of pharaohs in the 13th dynasty until Neferhotep I.

The loss of Moses-Amenemhet IV in itself was a big blow to Amenemhet III as it meant that he had no male successor to the throne. His daughter Sobeknefru had to take over when he died. She did not build a pyramid and there are very few monuments commemorating her. Amenemhet IV’s tomb and mummy have never been found. This is likely to be because Amenemhet IV was Moses who fled to Midian and then returned 40 years later to confront a different pharaoh (Neferhotep I), and lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

The Exodus of the Israelites was an even bigger blow to Egypt because Egypt lost not only it’s slave labor force, it lost it’s army, it’s pharaoh, it’s transportation system, it’s firstborn children and much of it’s crops and animals. It is little wonder that Egypt was not able to undertake massive projects like the construction of pyramids after the Exodus had taken place. What’s more, Egypt had lost all of it’s defenses and was recovering from the plagues that had besmitten it. Consequently, Egypt was vulnerable to invasion and this is just what happened. Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos (also known as the Amu or the Amalekites) shortly after the Exodus. The Hyksos set up a fort at Avaris where they occupied and controlled Lower Egypt for the next 400 years. During this time, the Israelites were in the wilderness for 40 years and then in the Promised Land where they were ruled by a series of Judges.

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History aligned with the Bible

History and the Bible aligned – View PDF

The History of Egypt synchonises well with that of Israel as recorded in the Bible.

Amenemhet IV – Amenemhat IV – Maakherure – Moses

The ?adopted son of Amenemhet III, (the 6th Pharaoh of the 12th dynasty).  He co-reigned with Amenemhet III for 9 years over Upper and Lower Egypt, Elephantine and Lower Nubia and then suddenly disappeared.  His ancestry is not recorded in Egyptian records.  (Many believe him to be the Moses of the Bible who was born {1526BC}, raised by a princess in Pharaoh’s household, went into exile in Midian at the age of 40yrs {1486BC} and then returned to Egypt at the end of the 13th dynasty at the age of 80yrs to confront Neferhotep {1446BC} and lead the Israelites out of Egypt but died at the age of 120yrs before the Israelites entered the ‘Promised Land’ (Canaan) {1406BC}.)  Sobekneferu, the daughter of Amenemhet III may have been the Princess that found him in a basket in the Nile and, being childless, raised him as her own. Amenemhet III had no sons to inherit the throne so when he died Sobekneferu, in the absence of Amenemhet IV, became the next Pharaoh.  When she died, after reigning only 4 years, the 12th dynasty ended and Egypt was destabilized and eventually over run by the Hyksos {1444BC} bringing an end to the 13th dynasty. The revised dates of his reign: 1495-1486BC (approximately).

Amenemhet IV

 

Sphinx made of gneiss, which has Amenemhet IV inscribed on the side. The face was reworked during Roman times leaving its features uncertain.

Amenemhet IV was a pharaoh of Egypt who served as a junior co-regent under Amenemhet III during the Twelfth Dynasty. According to the Turin Canon papyrus, the full term of his reign is said to have been just over 9 years.^[1] His ancestry to his precedessor is enigmatic, and there are no records of Amenemhet III having any sons. Furthermore, he mysteriously disappeared before the death of Amenemhet III, resulting in Sobekneferu (one of Amenemhet III’s daughters) ascending to the throne and becoming Egypt’s first female ruler.^[2]

Biblical synchrony

Main Article: Evidence for the Israelites (JEWS) in Ancient Egypt

Main Article: Moses and Amenemhet IV

Some believe that Amenemhet IV should be identified as the Moses of the Biblical Exodus.^[3]

Moses was born to a Hebrew slave Jochebed during the first six years of the reign of Amenemhet III when Amenemhet III was co-reigning with his father Sesostris III.  Amenemhet III (or mayby his father Sesostris III) ordered the Egyptian midwives to kill the male babies of the Hebrew slaves when they were born.  The midwives resisted doing this.  Moses was hidden by his sister Miriam amongst the reeds of the Nile in a basket only to be found by the pharaoh’s daughter Sobekneferu.  She being childless, adopted him and raised him in her own household, no doubt training him to be the next pharaoh Amenemhet IV.

Sobekneferu is often listed as Amenemhet IVs sister and also his wife, but it seems to have been she who found Moses in the Nile River. It is known that she had no children, which may explain why Amenemhet III was willing to accept him as heir to the throne. But when Moses came of age and identified himself with the people of Israel, he was forced to flee from Egypt, leaving way for Sobekneferu to take the throne. When Sobekneferu died the 12th dynasty ended and was succeeded by the 13th dynasty.

The pharaohs of the 13th dynasty had very short reigns.  The 13th dynasty ended with the invasion of the Hyksos not long after the Exodus of Israel.

Egypt’s wealth and power reached it’s peak in the 12th dynasty under Sesostris III and his son Amenemhet III.  By the end of the 12th dynasty, the Jews had come to number about 2 million.  They had been in Egypt for 400 years and they had served as slaves for about half of this time.  The 12th dynasty pharaohs had long forgoten Joseph / Imhotep of the 3rd dynasty and were becoming fearful of the Jews because they were so numerous.  The 12th dynasty pharaohs decided to oppress the Jews and made them in to slaves.  They were forced to work the fields and make mudbricks for the inner core of the 12th dynasty pyramids.

As Amenemhet III was left with no male successor, the Middle Kingdom started to fall apart when he died. Amenemhet III hoped that Moses, an Israelite baby, adopted by the Princess Sobekneferu and groomed to be the next Pharaoh (Amenemhet IV) would be able to continue the 12th dynasty. Amenemhet IV did in fact co-reign with Amenemhet III for a period of 9 yrs, but when he revealed his affections towards his biological kindred (the Hebrew slaves), he had to flee to Midian (when 40 years of age).  Suddenly, there was no male successor for Amenemhet III. Sobekneferu, the princess that found Moses amongst the reeds of the Nile and raised him as her own, had to take over the reigns herself when Amenemhet III died. She only lived for another 4 yrs (maybe 8 years) and when she died, the 12th dynasty ended.   Egypt fell into turmoil and became politically unstable. There was a quick succession of Pharaohs in the 13th dynasty until Neferhotep who was the Pharaoh who was ruling when Moses (Amenemhet IV) returned from his exile in Midian.

Moses (Amenemhet IV) brought God’s message to the Pharaoh (Neferhotep); namely, “Let My People (The Israelites) Go“.  Supported by his biological brother Aaron and his biological sister Miriam who were Hebrew slaves, Moses alias Amenemhet IV became the God ordained leader and spokesman of the Israelites who had grown in number to 2 million and had been serving the 12th dynasty pharaohs as slaves for around 200 yrs; making mubricks for the inner core of the 12th dynasty pyramids and working the fields.  The pharaoh of the time, Neferhotep would not listen to Moses and is brother Aaron.  After a series of ten plagues that were inflicted on Egypt, Neferhotep let Moses (Amenemhet IV) take the Israelities into the desert. When they did not return, he pursued them with his army. The Israelites were able to cross the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aqaba but Neferhotep and his army drowned when they tried to follow.

Not only did Egypt lose its slave labour force, it lost it’s monarch, it’s firstborn, it’s entire army and it’s transportation system. It was a massive defeat and not something that Egyptian historians would want to memorialize. In fact, much has been don’t to white wash this defeat from their records.

When the Israelites left Egypt (the Exodus), the Pharaoh Neferhotep and his son died and all the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea taking all of Egypt’s chariots with them.  Egypt’s first born were dead.  Their slave labour force had gone. Egypt was then thrown into turmoil.  Egypt was no longer able to undertake major constructions and so no more pyramids were built.  The Egyptians were not able to defend themselves.  They became vulnerable to invasion and they were easy pickings for any of their neibours.

Not long after the Exodus, the Amalekites / Hyksos were able invade Egypt and take contol of Lower Egypt.  This was the beginning of  Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period / the 15th dynasty.  Just as if by chance, as Israel was leaving Egypt (lead by Amenemhet IV / Moses), the Hyksos were on there way in.  In fact, the Hyksos / Amalekites had a brief battle with the Israelites at Rephadim in which the Israelites prevailed and sent the Hyksos / Amalekites packing.  The Hyksos / Amalekites eventually went to Egypt where they constucted a fort on Egypt’s boundary at Avaris.  From there, they mounted a campain to take over the rest of the country.  They controlled Lower Egypt for the next 400 years (corresponding to the Israelite’s 40 years in the Wilderness and the  period when the Judges ruled in Israel).  They were eventually defeated in a rebellion starting in Upper Egypt lead by Kahmose of Thebes with the assistance of King Saul of Israel, ushering in the 18th dynasty Ahmose I).

The Israelites, therefore, had a profound influence on Egypt.  Joseph (Imhotep) saved Egypt from a seven year famine and acquired all the land of Egypt, making the pharaohs wealthy and powerful.  He designed the first pyramid (in the third dynasty) and was the first to build with columns and write on papyrus.  Later in Israel’s sojourn, the Israelites provided slave labour for various public works which included making mudbricks for the construction of the last of the great pyramids (those of the 12th dynasty). Egypt was destabilised when Moses (Amenemhet IV) went into exile as there was nobody to continue the 12th dynasty. Egypt suffered massive losses 40 years later as a result of the Exodus at the end of the 13th dynasty (1446BC) and as a result became vulnerable to invasion. The Hyksos took over and ruled Lower Egypt for the next 400 yrs (the second intermediate period). [F] .^[4]

There is now quite a lot of evidence to suggest that the Hyksos of Egypt were the Amalekites. The Amalekites captured Egypt without a fight and became its aristocracy, until Ahmose I would capture their capital city of Avaris^[5] and throw them out with the help of King Saul of Israel.

If it is true that Joseph and Imhotep were the same person, then the first pyramid (the Step Pyramid in Saqqara) was designed by an Israelite at the begining of Israel’s Sojourn in Egypt and if the last of the great pyramids (those of the 12th dynasty) were constructed with a core made from mudbricks which were made by Israelite slave labour, then the Israelites were in Egypt while all of the great pyramids were being constructed. After the Israelites departed from Egypt in the 13th dynasty, lead by Moses (Amenemhet IV), there were not enough slaves left in Egypt to construct pyramids any more. The Pyramid Age, therefore, coincides with Israel’s sojourn in Egypt. The Pyramids were thus constructed over a period of around 400 years and no more large pyramids were built after Moses (Amenemhet IV) lead the Israelites out of Egypt in 1446BC.

Amenemhet IV, if he was the Moses of the Bible, would have continued to lead the Israelites for another 40 years in the Wilderness.  He would have received the Law on Mt Sinai in Arabia (Jabel el Lawz) not long after the Exodus of Israel through the Red Sea (1446BC) at the age of 80 years.

If Amenemhet IV was Moses, he would have spent the first 40 years of his life growing up in Pharaoh’s household being groomed to be the next pharaoh by Sobekneferu.  This would include 9 years co-reigning with his adoptive father Amenemhet III.  He would have spent the next 40 years of his life in exile in Midian.  The final 40 years of his life would have been spent in the wilderness leading the Israelites and preparing them to enter the Promised Land.  If Amenemhet IV was Moses, he would have died at the age of 120 years and never got to enter the ‘Promised Land’ (Canaan).

Thus, the History of Egypt synchonises well with that of Israel as recorded in the Bible.

References

1. ↑ Amenemhat IV
2. ↑ Searching for Moses by David Down. Journal of Creation 15(1):53–57. April 2001
3. ↑ Ashton, John F., and Down, David. Unwrapping the Pharaohs: How Egyptian Archaeology Confirms the Biblical Timeline p.92, Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2006.
4. ↑ Who were the Hyksos? Save-Soderbergh, t. (1951) The Hyksos rule in Egypt, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Egypt Exploration Society.
5. ↑ the Hyksos identified  Terry Hurlbut http://www.examiner.com/article/the-hyksos-identified

 

Links

A   [The Pharaohs of the oppression]

B   [The Exodus and the Red Sea Crossing]

C   [The Israelites had a profound influence on Egyptian History]

D   [How long did the Israelites sojourn in Egypt?]

E   [The true mount Sinai]

F   [[http://www.bukisa.com/articles/210623_who-were-the-hyksos Save-Soderbergh, t. (1951) The Hyksos rule in Egypt, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Egypt Exploration Society. Follow us: @bukisa on Twitter  bukisa on Facebook ]]

G   [The Hyksos Identified]