Amenemhet III was the Pharaoh of Moses birth. Moses-Amenemhet IV had to flea from him at the age of 40 after killing an Egyptian official.

Amenemhet III – 6th Pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty – The Pharaoh whom Moses fled from. When Moses was 40 yrs old. He had to flee to Midian after killing an Egptian official.

Amenemhet III was the last pharaoh of the 12th dynasty to build a pyramid. He was succeeded by his daughter Sobeknefru even though Amenemhet IV co-reigned with him for a period of 9 years.

There is no Egyptian record of Amenemhet IV’s parentage. He is sometimes considered the husband or brother of Sobeknefru. His mummy and his tomb were never found. It is possible that he may be the Moses of the Bible.

Moses was raised in the household of the Pharaoh as the Princess’s own. The Israelite slaves were being forced to make mud bricks and the pharaoh was trying to control the growth of the Hebrew population by killing newborn male babies. Moses somehow retained his Hebrew identity and one day, this caused him to defend a Hebrew slave who was being beaten by a Egyptian task master. He ordered that the Egyptian task master be killed and in so doing made it plain to all where his loyalties lay. When the pharaoh, Amenemhet III found out, Moses-Amenemhet IV feared for his life. He was forced to flea to Midian where he took refuge and met with God for the next 40 years. During this time, Aaron prepared the Israelites to return to promised land while Moses was being prepared to lead them.

After Moses fled to Midian, the 12th dynasty continued for another 10 years until Sobeknefru died. The thirteenth dynasty saw a rapid turn over of pharoahs. When Moses returned at the age of 80 years, a new pharaoh was in charge. This was Neferhotep I.

There would be almost 40 yrs between the death of Amenemhet III and the death of Neferhotep I accounting for the time Moses-Amenemhet IV spent in Midian.

The Israelite oppression really ended when the 12th dynasty ended marking 400yrs in Egypt. The Israelites, however, did not leave Egypt for another 30 years until Moses returned to lead them out of Egypt through the Red Sea.

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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Who were the Pharaohs of the Oppression?

The Israelites numbered about 70 when they first came to live in Egypt at the invitation of the Pharaoh whose vizier was Jacob’s 11th son Jospeh-Imhotep. They were allowed to live in the best part of the land; Goshen. Here they flourished and multiplied under the protection of Joseph who was second in charge of Egypt and had saved the country from a seven year famine by storing up grain to sell before the famine started. Joseph had brought up all the land of Egypt and had made the Pharaoh very rich and powerful. Joseph lived until the age of 110 years and served several pharaohs. When he died, he was embalmed and given a royal Egyptian burial – some 80 yrs after he first entered Egypt.

The Israelites came to Egypt in the 3rd dynasty when Netjerikhet was the Pharaoh. Pharaoh Netjerikhet came to be know as Pharaoh Djoser as time went by (the pharaoh of Joseph). The Israelites flourished and multiplied during the 3rd & 4th dynasties while Joseph was alive and continued to multiply during the 5th & 6th dynasties after his death. The 6th dynasty, which was based in Memphis in Lower Egypt, was contemporary with the 9th and 10th dynasties based in Herakleopolis and the 11th dynasty based in Thebes.

Amenemhet I – the first pharaoh of the 12th dynasty. He reigned for 30 yrs (including a 10 yr coregency with his son Sensuret I) and then was assassinated.

About 100 years after Joseph’s death, a pharaoh who did not know Joseph came to power. Amenemhet I was the vizier of Mentuhotep IV of the 11th dynasty based in Thebes (Upper Egypt). He assassinated Mentuhotep IV of the 11th dynasty and took over both Upper and Lower Egypt to start what is known as the 12th dynasty (or Egypt’s Middle Kingdom). The pharaohs of the middle kingdom did not like the Israelites and felt threatened by them. Fearing that they would join their enemies, they forced the Israelites into slavery.

The 12th dynasty pharaohs constructed their pyramids from mud brick with only a veneer of limestone. The 12th dynasty pharaohs needed a large slave labor force to make the mud bricks required for their pyramids. This became the task of the Israelites who by the time of the Exodus had come to number over two million. The 12th dynasty lasted some 200 years and during this time, 7 pyramids were constructed as well as the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth was considered one of wonders of the ancient world by Heroditis.

Moses was born during the co-reign of Senusret III and Amenemhet III about 4yrs into Amenemhet III’s reign. Amenemhet III built two pyramids and the Labyrinth. He was very cruel to the Israelites and it was probably he who ordered the midwives to kill the Hebrew baby boys. His daughter Sobeknefru was childless and there was no male heir to the throne. Sobeknefru adopted a Hebrew baby Moses that she found in a basket amongst the reeds of the Nile and she brought him up as her own in her household. He was known as Amenemhet IV.

When Amenemhet IV was old enough, 30yrs, he began a co-regency with Amenemhet III. This lasted 9 yrs and then Amenemhet IV suddenly disappeared. This left no male heir to the throne. Consequently, Sobeknefru had to assume the throne but she only lived for 8yrs and then she died. When she died, the 12th dynasty ended and Egypt became unstable. There was a rapid succession of pharaohs in the 13th dynasty. The longest ruling was Neferhotep I who reigned for 11 years. It was Neferhotep I who was the pharaoh when Moses-Amenemhet IV returned from exile. Neferhotep I was the Exodus Pharaoh who chased the Israelites and whose army and chariots were drowned in the Red Sea.

Egypt was crippled by the Exodus of the Israelites and became vulnerable to invasion. Not long after the Exodus, the Hyksos, shepherd kings from Arabia, invaded Egypt and built a fort at Avaris. From there, they occupied and controlled Lower Egypt for the next 400 years.

The relationship between the Israelite sojourn (430yrs) and the dynasties of Egypt.

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!

Moses was born in 1526BC – between the 3rd and 6th year of the reign of Amenemhet III when he was co-regent with Sesostris III.

Amenemhet III – Amenemhat III – Nimaatre was considered by some to be the greatest pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom. He was the 6th Pharaoh of the 12th dynasty. He reigned for 46 years over Upper and Lower Egypt, Elephantine and Lower Nubia. He may have had a long co-regency (of 20 years) with his father, Sesostris III. The Hebrews / Jews / Israelites were in Egypt at this time and the pharaohs of the 12th dynasty had enslaved them and forced them to work the fields and make mudbricks for the inner core of their pyramids and other public works. Moses was born to the Hebrew slave Jochebed about 4-6 years into Amenemhet III’s reign (approximately 1526BC). Sesostris III was co-reigning with Amenemhet III at the time Moses was born. It was either Sesostris III or Amenemhet III who ordered the Egyptian midwives to drown the Hebrew babies if they were male. Moses was left in a basket in the Nile to be found by the Princess Sobeknefru. Moses was adopted and raised by Sobeknefru who was childless. She raised Moses as her own son in pharaoh’s household. She would have been grooming Moses to be the next pharaoh (Amenemhet IV). Towards the end of Amenemhet III’s reign, he had a co-regency with Amenemhet IV lasting 9 years. (The revised dates of Amenemhet IV’s co-reign: approximately 1495-1986BC) When Moses (Amenemhet IV) was 40 years old, he killed an Egyptian official for beating a Hebrew slave, revealing his loyalties to the Hebrews. As a consequence, Moses / Amenemhet IV was not suitable to be an Egyptian Pharaoh and had to fee from Amenemhet III once this became known to the pharaoh. This left Amenemhet III with no male heir to the throne. When Amenemhet III died a few years later, his daughter Sobekneferu succeeded him to become the last pharaoh of the 12th dynasty. The revised dates of Amenemhet III’s reign: 1530-1484BC (approximately).

Amenemhet III – 6th Pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty – The Pharaoh whom Moses fled from. When Moses was 40 yrs old. He had to flee to Midian after killing an Egptian official.

Sesostris III – (The father of Amenemhet III)

The Princess who found baby Moses in a basket amongst the reids of the Nile. Her father Amenemhet III had directed the Egyptian midwives to kill all Hebrew children, She adopted Moses and raised him as an Egyptian.

Sobeknefru – The Daughter of Amenemhet III. The Princess who found baby Moses in a basket amongst the reids of the Nile. Her father Amenemhet III had directed the Egyptian midwives to kill all Hebrew children. As she had no children of her own, she adopted Moses and raised him as an Egyptian. When Moses fled to Egypt, there was nobody to inherit the throne. Sobeknefru became the Queen of Egypt after Amenemhet II died. She ruled for up to 8 years. When she died the 12th dynasty Ended.

Amenemhet IV, the boy Sobeknefru adopted – Could this be Moses?

The 12th dynasty Amenemhet III pyramid at Hawara. The limestone venere has fallen away over the centuries exposing the inner core composed of millions of mudbricks.

Mud bricks in the Ameenhet III pyramid at Hawara. This was the last great pyramid to be built.

The entrance to the Amenemhet III pyramid at Hawara. The pyramids of the 12th dynasty had an inner core made from mudbricks and an outer veneer made of limestone. Over the centuries, the outer limestone veneer has fallen away revealing the inner core which was made of mud bricks. The mudbricks are likely to have been made by Israelite slaves who were in Egypt at the time. After the Exodus of the Israelites in the 13th dynasty (Neferhotep), no more large pyramids were constructed. Petrie found a workers village at Kahun in 1890.

The Amenemhet III pyramid at Hawara showing the mudbricks of the inner core, the limestone blocks that were part of the external venere and the considerable erosion that has occured over the centuries. This was the last of the Great Pyramids of Egypt. The Israelites were slaves in Israel during the 12th dynasty when this pyramid was made. Moses was brought up by Amenemhet III. It is quite likely that the millions of mudbricks that went into building this pyramid were made by the Israelites. When the exodus occured, there was not enough slave labour to make pyramids anymore and so the pyramid age ended.

The inner core of Amenemhet III’s pyramid at Hawara

Sobeknefru. Daughter of Amenemhet III, Foster mother of Moses. Last Pharaoh of the 12th dynasty of Egypt.

Could this be Moses (Amenemhet IV)?

Amenemhet IV, the boy Sobeknefru adopted – Could this be Moses?

This is a statue of Amenemhet IV

He was the adopted son of Sobeknefru who was the last Pharaoh of the 12th dynasty

He never got to rule Egypt himself – he is a bit of an enigma

Many historians and theologians believe that he was Moses of the Bible

Moses was adopted by the Princess Sobeknefru and was raised as an Egyptian in Pharaoh’s household up until the age of 40.  He identified with the Hebrew people even though he was raised as an Egyptian.  He had to flee to Midian after killing an Egyptian.  He returned to Egypt 40 years later when Neferhotep of the 13th dynasty was ruling.  God told Moses to tell Pharaoh to “Let My People go” but Pharaoh did not listen.  God inflict several plagues upon Egypt and eventually, Neferhotep let Moses take the Israelites into the desert.  As they did not come back, Neferhotep pursued them with his army.  The Hebrews were able to cross the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aquaba – Nuweiba Beach to be precise.  (We know the location because Solomon left pilars to mark the site of the Red Sea Crossing and many artifacts have been recovered from the bottom of the Red Sea at this point.  Mount Sinai in Arabia is not far from the crossing site.)   When Pharaoh and his army tried to follow, they drowned.  After the Exodus through the Red Sea, Moses received the Law – the Ten Commandments – on Mount Sinai.  Moses lived in the Wilderness for another 40 years until the age of 120 but he never got to enter the promised land.

The statue of the young man in the picture above may well be that of the young Moses who was raised as Egyptian royalty yet retained his Hebrew identity.