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This blog post is Part 4 of a series entitled "From Fear To Freedom" by Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith of Donelson First in Nashville, TN. 

Message Date: February 18, 2024

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Who is the Pharaoh, “… to whom Joseph meant nothing?” Who is the Pharaoh of the Exodus?

Exodus 1:8-10

Well, we do not know 100% for sure who is the Pharaoh to whom Exodus 1 refers as the King, “… to whom Joseph meant nothing?” Scholars offer a variety of names for consideration. Let me walk you through a timeline I have assembled. One King for consideration as the Pharaoh of the Exodus is: King Thutmose III. Thutmose III assumed the throne at the young age of 18 after his father died. In Genesis, God tells Abraham that His people, the nation of Israel, will be foreigners in a foreign land in Egypt for 400 years.

Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 
Genesis 15:13

The exact length of time the nation of Israel was in Egyptian captivity was a little bit longer. Take a look: Exodus 12:40-41

Then, in 1 Kings 6:1, we read that the years between the Exodus and the time King Solomon, son of King David, began construction of the temple was 480 years. We know the construction of the temple began in the fourth year of King Solomon’s reign.

In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord. 1 Kings 6:1

We too know that the fourth year of King Solomon’s reign was 966 BC.  Therefore, by my estimation, the Exodus must have taken place in the year 1446 or 1445 BC. If this were the case, this would mean that, based upon Egyptian historical records that do exist, King Thutmose III is a strong candidate for being the Pharaoh of the Exodus. We know that King Thutmose III succeeded his father, King Thutmose II, as the Pharaoh. And here is something really important to note: King Thutmose III is succeeded by his son, Amenhotep II . The “II” in his name indicates that he was in fact not the firstborn son of King Thutmose. There cannot be an Amenhotep “II”  if there is not an Amenhotep “I”.

Listen to this: Egyptian records indicate that King Thutmose lost his firstborn son at a young age to, of all things, a plague. Nothing more is written of him in any Egyptian historical records. Such Egyptian records squarely align with Scripture that says this:   

At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. Exodus 12:29

Of course, we will discuss this moment in the Exodus story soon. But Scripture appears to clearly align with Egyptian records that state Amenhotep I died as a result of a plague. We will soon see in this story that it was this plague, the last of the plagues, that ended the lives of every firstborn in Egypt, including, as we just read, the firstborn of the Pharaoh. This is fascinating stuff, y’all! If this is in fact the timeline of the Exodus, this would mean The Exodus took place during two important moments in history:

1. The King Thutmose III era was the one succeeding the Hyksos reign. If you were a part of last week’s study either live or via the podcast, recall that we examined the 8 different groupings of the Egyptian dynasties. The 5th Dynasty Grouping of the 8, is the Period: Second Intermediate Period [Dynasties XIV – XVII] (Hick-sos) 14-17. During this period, an alien people known as the Hyksos ruled Egypt. The Hyksos, branded as “Shepherd Kings,” greatly mistreated the Egyptian people. If this timeline is in fact true, then the antisemitic culture of the Egyptians toward the Israelites of which we discussed last week makes complete sense. Remember, the Hyksos people were shepherds. The Egyptians hated shepherds. And living under this mistreatment by the Hyksos “Shepherd Kings” would obviously still be fresh on the minds of the Egyptians once King Thutmose III steps into power.


2. God brought His people out of Egypt when Egypt was at its mightiest. The Dynasty Period following the Second Intermediate Period, the rule of the Hyksos, was the: New Kingdom Period [Dynasties XVIII – XX] 18-20. These dynasties ruled at the peak of Egyptian power and influence. Rameses II was one of the Pharaohs who ruled during this time and is considered to be the most famous of all the Pharaohs. This is God doing what only God can do, particularly the God of the Old Testament! During the Dynasty era of the New Kingdom Period, these kingdoms experienced financial, military, and educational supremacy known around the world. There was no kingdom on the planet during this time more dominant than that of the nation of Egypt. Defeating the greatest and most sophisticated and atrociously arrogant Kingdom on the planet is God’s way of saying:

God is most commanding, most powerful, and most dominant than even the world’s most commanding, most powerful, and most dominant.

Egyptian records make zero mention of the nation of Israel except on one ancient stone known as The Merneptah Stele. You might be wondering, “Why?” If the nation of Israel was held captive as slaves to this country for 430 years, why do God’s people not have a more prominent place in the Egyptian history books? Well, this actually makes complete sense when you consider the vanity of the Egyptians … Egypt, with all of its arrogance and pride, would just as soon forget about the nation of Hebrews, of shepherds, who defeated them and left much of their army floating in the Red Sea! But again, one ancient stone known as The Merneptah Stele mentions God’s people: The Merneptah Stele, also known as the “Israel Stele,” is an inscription written by the Pharaoh of Egypt, King Merneptah, on a stone tablet. The Stele was discovered by an Egyptian archaeologist, Flinders Petrie at Thebes in 1896. The Merneptah Stele is now housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. 

The stone text is largely an account of King Pharaoh Merneptah's victory over the ancient Libyans and their allies, but the last 3 of the 28 lines of The Stele detail a separate campaign in Canaan, involving Israel. It is sometimes referred to as the "Israel Stele" because a majority of scholars translate a set of hieroglyphs in line 27 as "Israel.” The Stele represents the earliest textual reference to Israel and the only reference from ancient Egypt. We know that King Merneptah ruled as Pharaoh of Egypt from 1213 -1203 BC. And the Stele states that the Israelites were in Canaan by 1220 BC. Therefore, we know that the Exodus had to take place before this time.

I’ve been asked this week, “Well Pastor, why didn’t God just go ahead and spell it all out for us in Scripture? He gives us many details in His Word. Why didn’t He do so here? After all, His entire promise to Abraham is centered around this very event in Egypt with Pharaoh, the Exodus, and the nation of Israel.” My answer:

1. God can speak about whatever He desires. God can keep silent about whatever He desires.

Most importantly, I have learned through this study that this is so very true:

2. God does not want me to trust in dates and calendars. God wants me to trust in His Word. 

The Exodus is directly connected to the promise, the very important promise, God made to Abraham. Nonetheless, obviously God is not concerned that we know exactly when all of this happens. Instead, His concern is that I believe it all in fact did happen. So, as it relates to these dates and the timeline of it all, here is what is important: Why am I to believe in the story of the Exodus? The story is in the Bible. Either I take God at His Word, or I don’t. I do not need dates to believe in the story of the Exodus. I simply need faith to take God at His Word. Which is precisely what we are going to see is what God expects of Moses on his personal journey from fear to freedom.

You know, names are so very important in the Bible. We have studied this before. The name Jesus appears 1,445 times in the NIV. We read God’s name in the NIV over 7,000 times. King David appears almost 1,000 times in the Bible. And the central character of the Exodus story, Moses, we read his name over 900 times in the Bible. Names mean so very much to God. This is why we read so very often throughout Scriptures of locations in both the Old and the New Testament receiving very unique and specific names. We read where God gives people names. We too read of moments when God changes the names of people. We read stories where God blesses names. We too read where God anoints names.

Therefore, since names are very important to God, then the opposite must also be true. When we read of someone in the Bible, yet we do not learn this person's name, more times than not there is a reason for this. More times than not, I presume the reason is not a favorable one for the name of the individual being omitted from the Holy Scriptures. This could never be more true than in the case of the Pharaoh… than in the case of any Pharaoh. I presume it is of no coincidence that God chooses to not make us privy to the specific names of the Pharaoh of the Exodus story. We do not know the names of any Pharaoh in Scripture; not the Pharaoh of Joseph’s time, nor the Pharoah of the Exodus. And my assumptions as to who the Pharaoh may or may not be is exactly this… my assumptions. Likewise, how interesting that we do not know the name of the Pharaoh, but we do know the names of the two ladies the Pharaoh commanded to do the unthinkable!

Exodus 1:15-22

Shiphrah and Puah defied the command of the most powerful man on the planet. I’m surprised he did not kill them both! So… let’s pause it here a bit. Because this situation presents a perplexing dilemma, and this will not be the only time during the study on the life of Moses in which we find ourselves having to navigate such a quandary.

The dilemma: Should Shiphrah and Puah be applauded for lying? Another way in which we pose this question: Is it ever okay to tell a lie? I taught on this very question in great detail two years ago this month in our (re)Born to Lead Series. I encourage you to watch the archive at our YouTube channel @donelsonfirst or you can listen on the DF podcast.

I tried once again this week to interject myself into the story. I found myself asking this question: “If in telling a lie, I can save the life of my children, Bailey and Brynnan, would I do so?” This is precisely what happened here. These two ladies, known as Hebrew midwives, knew that if they did what the Pharaoh told them to do, innocent babies would die!

Shiphrah and Puah defied the command of the Pharaoh, and in doing so, they kept countless babies alive. After being found out as to their defiance of the king of Egypt and his order to kill all male Hebrew babies, the midwives were brought before the king to explain their actions. The midwives say: Exodus 1:19

This statement, in and of itself, seems to be a lie. So, is this wrong? Well, I believe in this situation, context is critical. The Bible does not say, “They lied to get what they wanted!” No, they did not lie to get what they wanted. Shiphrah and Puah lied because what the Pharaoh wanted was contrary to what God wanted.

Let me offer another Scriptural perspective…In the Old Testament book of Joshua, God uses the prostitute Rahab to accomplish His will. The dilemma: Rahab too tells a lie in order to protect God’s people and plan.

Joshua 2:1-7

So Joshua sent two men to spy out Jericho. The King of Jericho found out where they were. He sent a message to Rahab asking for the whereabouts of the men, and she lied. If we were to read on in Joshua, we would see that this woman believed in God and prayed that her family would be spared when Jericho came under attack. Look at what Hebrews 11:31 says about Rahab: 

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. Hebrews 11:31

Hebrews confirms that the actions of Rahab was a result of her faith in God. So with both the midwives of the Exodus story and the prostitute in the book of Joshua, lies were told. Yet… God’s will prevailed. Motivation plays a powerful role here too. And the motivation is extremely clear among the midwives. Notice Scripture does not say, “The midwives feared the King, so they did want they wanted to.”  No, their motivation is extremely clear: Exodus 1:17

The midwives were motivated by fear! And in this situation, their fear is a healthy God-fear. This is one of the few times in this study, From Fear to Freedom, where we read of a healthy rather than unhealthy fear leading the way! What makes this lie from the midwives, and the lie from Rahab the prostitute in the book of Joshua, different is again the motivation behind these two lies. I'm sure you would agree with me that there have been moments in your life when you have told a lie, and you have done so out of a motivation you presume will be of benefit to you. You tell a lie to protect yourself from getting caught; you tell a lie to get what you want; you tell a lie that you presume will bring about a benefit in your life. Neither is the case for the midwives or for Rahab. In both cases, these three ladies were motivated to lie in order to bring God glory. Scripture seems to offer some grey area when God’s glory is in the mix!

In both cases, these three ladies placed their very lives, and most likely the lives of their families, in tremendous risk. In the timeline of both stories, lying to a king and getting caught meant certain death. But again, the motivation behind their decision to lie is so very important in these stories. You see…

When my motivation is to honor myself, lying is always unacceptable to God. When my motivation is to bring honor to God, lying seems to be more acceptable than not to God.

Now, I too couple these thoughts with this very important addendum: God never verbally approves lying. Never. However, we do see, as is the case with the Hebrew midwives, there are times when the motivation is to bring honor to God, and the end result of a lie leads to a blessing on God’s people from God’s hand. This might be my most favorite part of the story thus far…

God blessed Shiphrah and Puah with the very thing the Pharaoh was seeking to deny: More Israelis - the growth of the nation of Israel!

Exodus 1:20-21

When I possess a healthy fear for God, I am often rewarded for my faithfulness in ways that bring God glory, bring me gladness, and bring my enemy a gut-punch. Therefore, Scripture does seem to convey that in unique circumstances, and to accomplish God’s will…It is possible for me to obey God, serve Him faithfully, and yet, in extreme life situations, to contest evil by intentionally being dishonest. Such life situations are rare and must be approached with both extreme precaution and prayer. 

Exodus 1:18-21

The Hebrew midwives feared God and allowed the male infants to live. To their credit, they valued God’s law above Pharaoh’s laws and refused to commit the act of infanticide. What a blessing from God! We know that midwives of the Old Testament were often ladies who either never married or who did marry but, for whatever reason, did not or could not have children of their own. I presume in the case of Shiphrah and Puah, the two ladies did in fact want a family of their own – a husband and children – but up until this point in their lives, had not yet married.

Let’s be clear here: Scripture does not say that these ladies eventually found an Israelite man and by chance finally got married and had children. No! Scripture is extremely clear here: Shiphrah and Puah eventually had their own families for one reason and one reason only: The fear of God! God blessed these ladies because they feared God… period!

Exodus 1:21

This part of the story reminds me to encourage anyone here today either desiring to get married or who, married, is desiring to have children but until this point has yet to be able to do so. I cannot tell you that a Godly fear will ensure you get the desires of your heart. But I can tell you what I have learned about such a fear in studying this aspect of the story:

Godly fear is the catalyst for God’s glory.

Now... before we end, I cannot ignore, no matter how badly I desire to do so, the part of this story of Moses that sickens me. I presume if you will allow your heart to also focus on this part of the story, it will, sadly, do the same for you. One verse in this story that is atrociously appalling and sickening:

Exodus 1:16

This appears to be a form of the first act of partial birth abortion. And the idea that a nation can issue a decree that ends the life of countless helpless babies who can do nothing about it is horrific and grotesque and unimaginable! This too is part of the Moses story I presume of which so very many people when reading the story quickly move past. After all, we want to get to the thrilling part of this remarkable story of a baby in a basket floating in the Nile and being saved by the very daughter of the man killing all the babies in the first place. But one cannot really move past this outlandish and horrendous act of killing newborns! After all, it is because of the baby killings that Moses is floating in the Nile in the first place.

Shiphrah and Puah will forever be known as the first two humans to fight for the life of the unborn. It is absolutely true that these ladies understood the risk they were taking to defy the command of the Pharaoh. But they did so to protect the life of those who could not protect themselves. They could have easily said, “This is not my responsibility. Let someone else fight this fight!” But they did not. Their Goldy fear saved countless Hebrew babies! And I am confident that every Hebrew baby they saved during this time is forever grateful to them. Now… full disclosure… I really wanted to just skim the surface on this moment and move on. But I could not! I just could not!

I too have friends of mine who believe this is something we should not discuss in the Church – friends who say this is a political issue, not a spiritual issue. I do not understand nor agree with this argument. Abortion is not a political issue. Now, some have made it a political issue. But at its core, abortion is clearly a “life issue.” This week I went to Lowes and I spent a little over $500. I did the same at Ikea in Memphis. I wonder how many of you have at least $500 in your wallet or purse right now... I presume many of you in this room do right now. Do you know the average cost of an abortion is $460. For $460, a baby’s life can be terminated in 21 states in America. Fortunately, our state is no longer one of these states. How can something so appalling and horrifying merely be considered a political issue... particularly when an innocent life is at stake?

We serve a God who is the very author of life. Evil forces have come against life and have convinced us this is a political issue. It is not. The nation in which we live has allowed 63 million abortions since 1973. If the Church does not lead the conversation, who will? The Church should be the loudest voice on this matter! Any act that attempts to eliminate the gift of life bestowed upon humanity by God should be met with holy retribution by the Church. We should never stop the discussion until the life of every unborn is free. As a matter of fact, the Church should be leading the discussion. Protecting the life of the unborn is a responsibility of God’s people.

I too want to make this very clear church: In the Bible, every time we see man attempt to end the life of babies and young children, God’s people step in to do something about it. Every time! Shame on our generation being the one that has mostly set silent and has continued to allow this to happen.

What can the Church do to protect the unborn? 

1. Fear.

The fear of God motivated the midwives to look past their fear of man! My fear of God must be my personal motivator to look beyond my fear of man.

2. Pray.
I’ll admit I have not prayed enough about the fact that babies are being killed in America; in the greatest nation on the planet. I need to pray. You need to pray. We need to pray: “God, show me what I can do; what I should do; what I must do to stop the killings!” The midwives took immediate action. “God, may we do the same!”

3. Vote.
Christians have mostly set silent on the sidelines on this one for so very many years. We cannot! And most pastors have been deceived into believing they can say nothing about for whom Christians can be voting. I can’t tell you for whom you should specifically be voting. I can tell you for what kind of candidate you should be voting. If you are looking for that perfect candidate, you will never vote, or you’ll just throw away a vote rather than making it count, because you don’t like any of the candidates. I do not think that is being a good steward of voting either. So you have to remove your personal likes and dislikes from the process. There is no perfect candidate. But here is what I tell people: I look at a candidates policies and I then compare them to the attributes of holiness as outlined in God’s Word. I do not look solely at character or party loyalty, because again, character seems to be in short supply among candidates these days. I don’t look at candidates from a viewpoint of who I like or who I do not like. I look at policies and compare them to God’s Word. And I have found, more times than not, there is always a candidate that rises to the top more so than another as it relates to aligning with Scripture.

Now, we are going to talk more about this as we get closer to our nation’s November elections. We are going to look at policies of candidates this fall, and as we do, I believe policies, not character, will help us clearly wade through the candidates to get to the best, not the perfect, but the best vote that aligns with the attributes of holiness as outlined in Scripture. For today, I have to remind you: God loves children! God abhors murder!

4. Speak.
We rarely speak up about this issue. The Church must! The Church must! We must continue to be a strong voice for life; for the sanctity of life; for the life of the unborn. Shiphrah and Puah were! And God blessed them for their obedience.I want to remind you of a point I made earlier: Godly fear is a catalyst to God’s blessings.

Exodus 1:21 makes this extremely clear: And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Exodus 1:21

God blessed Shiphrah and Puah because of their Godly fear of Him. I end with this beautiful promise written by the Psalmist and recorded in Psalm 128:

Psalm 128

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Jeffrey Dean Smith is a husband, father to Bailey & Brynnan, author, and the Senior Pastor at Donelson First in Nashville, TN. If you are in Music City, meet Jeffrey and enjoy iced tea on the front lawn each Sunday at 10:30a.