Pharaohs in the Bible
The Bible makes reference to various pharaohs (, "Parʿō") of Egypt. These include unnamed pharaohs in events described in the Torah, as well as several later named pharaohs, some of whom were historical or can be identified with historical pharaohs. Unnamed pharaohs. In the Book of Genesis. The passages narrate how Abraham moves to Egypt to escape a period of famine in Canaan. The unnamed pharaoh, through his princes, hears of the beauty of Abraham's wife Sarah, whom God commanded Abraham to say was his sister, and who is summoned to meet the pharaoh. Because of  her, Abraham rises in the pharaoh's favor and acquires livestock and servants. After discovering Sarah's true relationship to Abraham, the pharaoh chooses not to take her as his own wife. He releases her and Abraham and orders them to take their goods and to leave Egypt. The last chapters of the Book of Genesis () tell how Joseph, son of Jacob/Israel, is first sold by his brothers into Egyptian slavery but is promoted by the unnamed pharaoh to vizier of Egypt and is given permission to bring his father, his brothers, and their families into Egypt to live  in the Land of Goshen (eastern Nile Delta around modern Faqus). In the Book of Exodus. In the Book of Exodus, the Israelites—the descendants of Jacob's sons—are living in the Land of Goshen under a new pharaoh who oppresses the Hebrews. He forces them to work long hours without breaks and issues a decree to kill their newborn males in order to reduce their numbers due to concerns about their growing population. Moses, a Levite, is saved by his mother who instructs his sister Miriam to watch over him after he is placed in a reed basket  in the Nile River. He is discovered and adopted by the pharaoh's daughter. Miriam asks the princess if she would like an Israelite woman to help nurse the child and returns with Moses' own mother, who is then able to raise her child under royal protection. During his infant years, Moses is instructed about the customs and history of the Israelites, and is taught about Yahweh. Later, Moses is returned to the pharaoh's daughter and raised as part of the royal household. Though scholars generally do not recognize the biblical portrayal of the Exodus as an actual historical  event, various historical pharaohs have been proposed as the corresponding ruler: In the Books of Kings. In , it is narrated that to seal an alliance, the pharaoh of Egypt gave a daughter in marriage to Solomon. The same ruler later captured the city of Gezer and gave it to Solomon as well (). No name is given for the pharaoh, and some hypotheses have been proposed: Conjectural pharaohs: Shishak and So. and sqq. tell of an invasion of Israel by Shishak, and a subsequent raid of Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon. He is generally identified with Shoshenq I (943–922 BC ). Historical pharaohs: Taharqa, Necho and Apries/Hophra. and mention a Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia (Kush), who the Bible says waged war against Sennacherib during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. Some scholars have identified him as the pharaoh Taharqa. The events in the biblical account are believed to have taken place in 701 BC, whereas Taharqa came to the throne some ten years later. A number of explanations have been proposed: one being that the title of king in the Biblical text refers to his future royal title, when at the time of this account he was likely only  a military commander. Necho II is most likely the pharaoh mentioned in several books of the Bible. mentions his successor Apries or Hophra (589–570 BC).