What is the name of the Pharaoh who ruled during Moses' time?

Answer 1

The Bible confidently states that Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt 480 years before the fourth year of Solomon's reign, which would therefore be approximately 1444 BCE, placing the Exodus in the reign of Thutmose III. However, the circumstances of Thutmose' death are known, and his mummy has been discovered. He could not have been the pharaoh who confronted Moses, pursued the Israelites and was drowned in the Red Sea (eg Exodus 14:6...28: "...there remained not so much as one of them."). Moreover, the Amarna letters demonstrate that Egypt and the Canaanite petty kings continued to exercise complete control over Palestine until well into the next century.

Because archaeological evidence has made the traditional date of the Exodus untenable, some modern Jews suggest a date around 1313 BCE, shortly after the Armana letters, but Egypt still ruled the Canaanites at that time, thus ruling out an Exodus in this century.

Some liberal Christians have suggested that the Exodus really took place shortly before 1200 BCE, when Israelites are known to have begun to arrive in the Palestinian hinterland. This would then make Moses and Rameses II contempories. However, Ramesis could not have been the pharaoh who pursued the Israelites, since he also died peacefully in Egypt and was buried there.

We do not know a pharaoh any time in the second millenium BCE who would fit the Book of Exodus, and over ninety per cent of scholars are reported to believe that there never was an Exodus from Egypt as described in the Bible. Without an Exodus, there would have been no historical Moses.

Answer 2

The answer is that we do not know. However, that does not mean that the Exodus is a fable. See also:

Proving the Exodus

Answer 3

The leader of ancient Egypt was called Pharaoh.

Answer 4

rameses2