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[Red Thorn]

Was the Pharaoh killed in Exodus?

I've read Exodus several times but the verses didn't seem to specify it. I knew it was the Pharaoh that led the army to go after the Israelites and the army drowned when they tried to across the Red Sea, but did that include Pharaoh? I don't know if I've missed something. Was the Pharaoh killed?

[jimwalton]

The Israelites, like most countries in the ancient Near East, often spoke of warfare in terms of hyperbole and rhetoric. When it says "they all died," that was common language that a convincing victory had happened, not necessarily that all died.

There are some scholarly theories (see below if you're interested in reading that much) that possibly the Pharaoh did die in the Exodus, but since we don't know the date of the Exodus or what pharaoh was in power at the time, it's impossible to know for sure.

NOTES:

From Lawrence Geraty, “Exodus Dates and Theories” p. 57:

"By the traditional dating of about 1450 BC for the Exodus, this pharaoh would have been Thutmose III. We know about the death of Thutmose III in March (i.e., the time of Passover) of ca. 1450 BC from the tomb biography of Amenemhab who served in the Egyptian navy under several pharaohs. The cities of Pithom and what would later be called Ra’amses, cities built by the enslaved Israelites (Ex. 1:11), would have been needed as store cities for the many expeditions Thutmose III led into Asia.

"It is interesting that the mummy in the Cairo Museum labeled Thutmose III has been estimated to be between 35 and 40 years of age according to Harris and Wente in their X-Ray Atlas of the Royal Mummies (1980: table 6.4) or 45 years as per Harris and Weeks in their book X-Raying the Pharaohs (1973: 138)1; yet, we know that he reigned 54 years, so presumably he should have been at least 60 if not 70 when he died. Could another body have been substituted for Thutmose III when his was not recovered from the Reed Sea/Red Sea?

"There is good evidence for a 2-year 4-month, co-regency of Thutmose III and his son, Amenhotep II, who happened to be campaigning in Asia when his father died. He rushed back to Egypt to assume sole kingship at which time he executed the foreign chiefs he brought back with him as captives. From a biblical point of view, such an unusual action fits the actions of an enraged son of the pharaoh of the Exodus who returned to Egypt to find his father dead from circumstances caused by the Hebrew slaves. It is also interesting to note that the first contemporary Egyptian reference to ‘Apiru outside of Egypt comes from this time when Amenhotep II brought back to Egypt from Syro-Palestine some 3,600 ‘Apiru from among his 90,000 captives. Was this to compensate for the loss of Hebrew slaves?"

So, who knows.