Assuming That The Bible Is True; What Is The Name Of The Egyptian Pharaoh That Released The Jews From Slavery?

Question

This is more a historical question than anything else. Assuming that the Bible is true (and that's another debate for another time) ; what is the name of the actual Egyptian Pharaoh that was pressured by Moses to let the Jews go; was convinced by God and Moses to do so; and then chased after them, only to be stopped by the rushing back Sea? Or, the Pharaoh that most scholars (be they Biblical, Christian, Jewish, Israeli, Egyptian, general ancient historical, or otherwise) accept as being the one (assuming that there is one)?

Answer 1

The Torah says that it was Ramses II, however, he didn't release them really, but was forced to due to the ten plagues. Otherwise that selfish snob would have kept the Jews as slaves.

Answer 2

It is not definitively known, as it is not known that the event actually happened, for there no Egyptian documents that make mention of the Israelites' bondage or of their Exodus.  In the Bible the Pharaoh is unnamed, but the majority of both religious and secular scholars believe it to be Ramses II.  A large minority of religious scholars believe it to be Thutmose III.  The difference is the time periods.  Ramses II ruled from 1279 to 1213 BCE while Thutmose III had ruled earlier, from about 1479 to 1425 BCE.  There are possibilities for both pharaohs since historians suggest the Exodus was supposed to take place sometime between 1580 and 1215 BCE.

Answer 3

Ramses II.  There is some controversy over the historical truth of this, as many pharos were called Ramses; so the author of this part of the Bible may have just been making an educated guess.

Answer 4

Rameses the second -Its in this link you may like to read the whole thing

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/e...

Answer 5

It is generally accepted that the Pharoah of Oppression was Ramesses II.  The Pharoah that followed him was Merneptah.  Merneptah would have been the one that Moses dealt with.

[edit - I do agree that it is not known for sure, as the Bible does not name the Pharoahs.  But I think Ramesses II is the Pharoah described in Exodus Chapter 1, who told the midwives to cast every Hebrew son into the river (Exodus 1:22).  

However:  "And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died..."  Exodus 2:23.  

So the Pharoah that Moses met on his return to Egypt was a different Pharoah than the one who enslaved the Hebrews.  If the despotic Pharoah in Chapter 1 is Ramesses II, then the Pharoah in the rest of the story is his son, Merneptah.

Hope that helps clear it up.]

[edit 2:  Sorry, Noles, I am pretty sure the Torah book of Shemot (which is the same as the book of Exodus in the Old Testament) does not name the Pharoahs either.  If you know of a specific passage where it does, I'd like to look it up.  

But the Pharoah that enslaved the Hebrews was not the same one that released them and sent the army after them.  The Torah and the Bible agree on that.

BTW, the link that Indianjohn provided contains the following statement:  'That Rameses II was the Pharaoh of the captivity, and that Meneptah, his son and successor, was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, are now among the accepted presumptions of Egyptological science'.]