During the time Khnumhotep II was Nomarch (from year 19 of Amenenhat II to 6 of Senruset II) a Semitic chief named Abishai, a Biblical Hebrew name,offered gifts to him in the Bani Hassen region. (Bard, Kathryn A. An Introduction To The Archaeology Of Ancient Egypt. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Ltd, 2008. p. 190.). Also this link.
We do have documented Evidence of Semitic Slaves with Hebrew names
during the 13th Dynasty at least one of them matches a name of an
individual mentioned in Exodus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiphrah
The text in question is discussed here, with no mention of a possible Exodus tie in.
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/3369/Historical_Papyrus_in_Five_Pieces
Add
to that the mysterious Sithathor being listed on some kings-lists
between Neferhotep I and Sobekhotep IV though Archaeology presents no
evidence of his Reign, in my theory he was the 1st Born of Pharaoh, who
may have been made a Co-Ruler with Neferhotep already before he died as
was a common Egyptian practice.
Sir Flinders Petrie excavated
the city of Kahun in the Fayum and Dr Rosalie David wrote a book about
his excavations in which she said,
‘It is apparent that the Asiatics
were present in the town in some numbers, and this may have reflected
the situation elsewhere in Egypt … . Their exact homeland in Syria or
Palestine cannot be determined … . The reason for their presence in
Egypt remains unclear.’(David, A.R., The Pyramid Builders of Ancient
Egypt: A Modern Investigation of Pharaoh’s Workforce, Guild Publishing,
London, p. 191, 1996.)
Neither Rosalie David nor Flinders Petrie
could not identify these Semitic slaves with the Israelites because they
held to the traditional chronology which placed the Biblical event
centuries later than the 12th dynasty.
There was another
interesting discovery Petrie made. ‘Larger wooden boxes, probably used
originally to store clothing and other possessions, were discovered
underneath the floors of many houses at Kahun. They contained babies,
sometimes buried two or three to a box, and aged only a few months at
death.’(David, Ref. 15, Plate 16.)
My time frame for the Hyksos
period is longer then normally given, It really begins with the later
13th Dynasty. Dedoumes was the Pharaoh they overthrew, and I believe Hor
II was the same as the Midianite king Hur mentioned in the Bible as
contemporary with the Wandering.
The original reason for identifying Neferhotep is that he's the last Pharaoh attested by Scarabs at Kahun.
There
are also numerous inscriptions in the Aswan region mentioning
Neferhotep I's name, as well as the names of family members and
officials serving under this king. It is from these inscriptions that we
know the name of his wife (Senebsen) and his son Haankhef and his
daughter Kemi. (Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the
Second Intermediate Period, 231)
He had a Son, and yet the throne was
passed to his brother, this suggests his Son predeceased him, and
perhaps was the same person as Si-Hathor (That being his Throne name or
something like that).
I don't agree with the Traditional
assumption (Which also influenced The Ten Commandments) that the Bithiah
mentioned in Chronicles is Moses's foster mother. Mostly for two
reasons, she probably adopted Moses in part because she was barren (She
may have been at the Nile at the time doing a sort of fertility ritual)
and Bithiah bore Children to Mered. At the time of the Exodus Moses's
Foster Mother would have been nearly 100 at the youngest if still alive
which is itself unlikely.
Bithiah is interesting though, she was
probably the Daughter of the Exodus Pharaoh, or one soon before. Bithiah
is not an Egyptian name, it's Hebrew, in fact it's Yahweh theophoric.
So that wasn't her original name but one she took after converting. It's
possible she is the same person as Kemi.
There are several monuments
mentioning Neferhotep I and Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV together. This
could mean that they may have reigned for some time together.
Nevertheless the reigns of these two brothers in the Thirteenth Dynasty
mark the peak of this otherwise rather shaky era.[W. Grajetzki: The
Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, London 2006] There are many private
monuments date-able under these kings, and especially in sculpture some
remarkably high quality art works were produced.
Artpanus claims
Chenephres/Khaneferre was the Phraorh Moses served under when he
campaigned for Egypt against Ethiopia (an extra Biblical detail about
Moses recorded by Josephus) he may have had garbled information that
Chenephres/Khaneferre was involved in Moses's life, but was mistaken on
how. If this Pharaoh did campaign against Nubia, perhaps it was to try
and replace the recently lost Hebrew slaves? Maybe in a fictional
depiction based on this theory, if Neferhotep did perish in the Red Sea
(I've decided it's unclear whether or not the Bible says that happened,
but Neferhotep doesn't have a Mummy found yet) then maybe it's
Chenephres who should get the "His god is God" line, though originally I
would have given that to either Jannus or Jambres.
The 13th
Dynasty was originally just a local Theban Dynasty under the 12th,
Sobekhotep II is the soonest one to have likely had sole rule of Egypt,
his reign starts about 25 years before Neferhotep died. So that means it
was under the 12th Dynasty that Moses fled. It makes sense, if I recall
God said ALL who sought Moses's life where gone, which could imply an
entire change in Dynasty.
Amenemhet IV is frequently listed as a
son of Amenemhat III, but there isn't much evidence to back that up, it
seems how long it took Amenemhat III to choose a co-regent implies a
dynastic Crisis. I think Moses was exiled right before Amenemhat IV was
made co-regent (And perhaps Moses had an alternate Egyptian Throne or
Horus name while being groomed as a possible Heir that could potentially
be Hellenized as Lamares or Ameres, who Manetho throws into the 12th
Dynasty though no records of him exist).
This would make Moses's birth early in Amenemhat III's reign.
http://ggreenberg.tripod.com/writings/articles/w-m12d-jssea29-t2.htm
I agree with this timeline for the 12th Dynasty.
I
would sort of put Sobekneferu in the Nefertari role, the woman the
successor has to marry. Given the length of this Pharaoh's Reign, I
think she was a much younger Daughter then the lesser known Neferuptah,
who seems to have predeceased her Father and was originally the intended
Dynastic wife. Neferuptah was the Foster Mother of Moses I think.
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