The most
conservative scholarship considers that the pharaoh of Egypt at the time of the
Exodus (c. 1446 BC) was Amenhotep II (1450-1424 BC). The overwhelming biblical
and historical evidence is that he did not die with his army in pursuit of
Israel.
In Psalm
136:15, we find that God "overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red
Sea." The Hebrew word translated here as "overthrew" is na'ar,
also found in Exodus 14:27. It does not mean "to drown" or "to
toss or tumble about as in the water" as some have attempted to assert. It
simply means "shook off" as is mentioned in the margins of many
Bibles and in the Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon. (Nehemiah 5:13
illustrates how na'ar should be translated: "Then I shook out the fold of
my garment. . . .") Therefore, these verses simply say that God shook off
the Egyptians, including Pharaoh, from their pursuit of the Israelites. These
scriptures say nothing of who was drowned.
In Exodus
14:28, the waters cover "all the army of Pharaoh," but Pharaoh
himself is not mentioned. Exodus 15:19 supports this: "For the horses of
Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD
brought back the waters of the sea upon them." Naturally, the horses and
horsemen of Egypt were considered to be Pharaoh's. But this verse does not say
that Pharaoh's personal horse, or that Pharaoh himself, drowned in the sea.
This is significant because the death of such an
important person would almost certainly have been given special note in the
Bible. The Old Testament contains many clear references to the deaths of enemy
kings, most of them much less important than this pharaoh. Archaeology proves
that Amenhotep II, if he is the Pharaoh of the Exodus, ruled for about 22 more
years.
לא נשאר
בהם עד אחד, “not a single one of them
remained.” The word עד is sometimes used as inclusive statement whereas
other times it is used as exclusion, i.e. in this instance the meaning is that
only a single Egyptian survived this drowning. The survivor was Pharaoh
himself. We read in Psalms 106,11: אחד מהם לא נותר, “not one of them was left.” How do we reconcile
this? The Torah refers to all of Pharaoh’s soldiers having perished. He himself
was forced to survive and bear the disgrace of his defeat.
לכל חיל
פרעה, “of Pharaoh’s entire army;”
according to Rashi these words are superfluous, however, this is not
an uncommon occurrence in our Scriptures. Nachmanides writes that in this
instance these words are not superfluous, but that the meaning of the words לכל חיל פרעה
is that part of the army described thus was the infantry, as opposed to the
cavalry who were riding in chariots. The latter Pharaoh had taken with him
immediately he heard about the Israelites having made a U turn at Baal Tzefon, whereas the infantry took longer to catch up with
the cavalry.
Mekhilta d'Rabbi
Yishmael 14:28:1
(
Exodus 14:28) "And the waters returned and
covered the chariot, etc.": even that of Pharaoh. These are the words of
R. Yehudah, it being written (Ibid. 15:4) "the chariots of Pharaoh and his
host, etc." R. Nechemiah says: except for that of Pharaoh, it being
written (Ibid. 9:16) "But, because of this I have preserved you."
Others say: Pharaoh descended last and he drowned, viz. (Ibid. 15:19) "For
the horse of Pharaoh came with its chariot and its riders into the sea, and the
L rd turned back upon them the waters of the sea."
Did Pharaoh accompany his army when they went after
the Israelites? If so, did he die with them?
Answer:
We read in Exodus 14 that Pharaoh personally led his
army against the Jews.
There are differing opinions in the Midrash1 concerning
his fate. Some say that he drowned in the Red Sea together with his army, while
others opine that he survived the miraculous event. He survived in order to
retell a firsthand account of the miracles and wonders that G‑d performed.
According to one Midrash,2 he
made his way to Nineveh, Assyria, where he became king—the same king
who when hearing the prophet Jonah's message from G‑d foretelling Nineveh's destruction, encouraged all his
subjects to repent in order to avert the divine decree. Apparently he had
learned his lesson.
Wishing you a happy and kosher Passover!
Yours truly,
Rabbi Menachem Posner
FOOTNOTES
Mechilta Beshalach 2:6.
Yalkut Shimoni Exodus 176.
yes this is specific In Psalm
136:15, we find that God "overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red
Sea." The Hebrew word translated here as "overthrew" is na'ar,
also found in Exodus 14:27. It does not mean "to drown" or "to
toss or tumble about as in the water" as some have attempted to assert. It
simply means "shook off" as is mentioned in the margins of many
Bibles and in the Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon. (Nehemiah 5:13
illustrates how na'ar should be translated: "Then I shook out the fold of
my garment. . . .") Therefore, these verses simply say that God shook off
the Egyptians, including Pharaoh, from their pursuit of the Israelites. These
scriptures say nothing of who was drowned.
In Exodus 14:28, the waters
cover "all the army of Pharaoh," but Pharaoh himself is not
mentioned. Exodus 15:19 supports this: "For the horses of Pharaoh went
with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the
waters of the sea upon them." Naturally, the horses and horsemen of Egypt
were considered to be Pharaoh's. But this verse does not say that Pharaoh's
personal horse, or that Pharaoh himself, drowned in the sea.
