Pharaoh
The king of Egypt who asked "Who is the LORD?" and learned the answer through ten plagues.
Old Testament · c. 1400–1250 BC · Exodus, Romans · Also known as King of Egypt, Pharaoh of the Exodus
About Pharaoh
The king of Egypt in the Exodus is never named; "Pharaoh" is a title. Moses and Aaron came to him with God’s message, "Let my people go," and he answered, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD." Through ten plagues he refused, again and again hardening his heart, though once he admitted, "I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous." After the death of the firstborn he finally said, "Rise up, and get you forth... and bless me also." Then he changed his mind and pursued Israel to the Red Sea, where his army was drowned.
This guide speaks about Pharaoh, not as him, out of care. Several pharaohs appear in Genesis and Exodus: the one who honoured Joseph, "a new king... which knew not Joseph" who enslaved Israel, and the king of the Exodus. Scholars have suggested Thutmose III or Ramesses II among others; there is no agreement.
The story
Which knew not Joseph
"Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph." Fearing Israel’s numbers, the Egyptians "made their lives bitter with hard bondage," and Pharaoh ordered, "Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river." That king died while Moses was in Midian, but the slavery went on.
Exodus 1:8-22; 2:23
Who is the LORD?
Moses and Aaron said, "Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go." "And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go." He made the slaves gather their own straw for bricks.
Exodus 5:1-9
He hardened his heart
Plague followed plague: blood, frogs, lice, flies, sick cattle, boils, hail, locusts and darkness. "When Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart." After the hail he confessed, "I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked," but when it stopped "he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart."
Exodus 8:15; 9:27-34
Get you forth
After the last plague, the death of the firstborn, "he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said... and be gone; and bless me also."
Exodus 12:29-32
Into the midst of the sea
"Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" Pharaoh chased them with six hundred chariots. God parted the sea for Israel, and when the Egyptians followed, "the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them."
Exodus 14:5-28
Key moments
- "Who is the LORD?": Refuses Moses and Aaron. (Exodus 5:2)
- The plagues: "He hardened his heart." (Exodus 8:15)
- "I have sinned this time": Then hardens again. (Exodus 9:27)
- Lets Israel go: "And bless me also." (Exodus 12:31-32)
- Army lost in the sea: "There remained not so much as one of them." (Exodus 14:28)
Questions about Pharaoh
Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart, Pharaoh or God?
Exodus says both. Pharaoh hardens himself: "when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart." Later, "the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh." God had said in advance, "I will harden his heart." Many readers see God confirming the path Pharaoh had already chosen; Paul says God raised him up "that I might shew my power in thee." Christians have long discussed how the two fit together.
Which pharaoh was it?
Exodus never names him; "Pharaoh" is a royal title, like "the king." There are actually several pharaohs: the one who honoured Joseph, "a new king... which knew not Joseph," and the king of the Exodus, who came to the throne after that one died. Historians have suggested Thutmose III, Ramesses II and others, depending on how they date the Exodus. There is no agreement.
Did Pharaoh drown in the Red Sea?
Exodus says the waters "covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them." It doesn’t say directly whether Pharaoh himself went in. Psalm 136 praises God who "overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea." Readers take that differently: as Pharaoh’s death, or as the defeat of his power.
Connected people
- Moses: Opponent
- Aaron: Opponent
- Joseph: An earlier pharaoh honoured him
- Jochebed: Defied the king’s command
- Pharaoh’s daughter: A daughter of the king
- Miriam: Sang of his defeat
Read it yourself
Start with Exodus 5:1-2; 9:27-35; 12:29-32; 14:5-28.