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Friday, August 4, 2023

Everything You Need to Know About Ramesses II of Egypt and Moses and Forgot To Ask

 Nadene Goldfoot                                          


                  Ramesses II in Egyptian records ( c. 1303 BC – 1213 BC)  while Moses in Jewish records was (1391-1271 BCE).    They do seem to jive with dates always off from each other. Dates for Ramesses II I've seen vary from researcher to researcher.

 Either way you look at it, Moses was said to have been raised by the daughter of the pharaoh who put Israelite boy babies under the death sentence in fear that one would one day ursurp him during the Israelite's period of Slavery to Egypt, thought to be one of the Hyksos people who did become rulers. Moses came to know this pharaoh and most likely the future pharaoh, a brother to his adoptive mother. 


  Moses then dealt with another pharaoh at age 80 to 81 that didn't know him or his history-at least denied it,  when Moses was  demanding that his people be released from slavery and gave this pharaoh 10 good and scary plagues why he should.  

One of these pharaohs most likely was Ramesses II.  I think he was the father of his adoptive mother, his step-father.  Moses had to deal with his descendant.  Perhaps 4 or 5 pharaohs were involved in our Jewish history throughout 400 years that the Israelites, led by Jacob and his family of 70 had entered Egypt during a drought and did so well that they remained, only to be taken as slaves for a total of 400 years of remaining in Egypt.  

Ramesses II seems to be the name that Moses neglected to name, maybe on purpose, when writing his records of the Exodus.  as Ramesses the Great, was a special Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty,  He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom, which itself was the most powerful period of ancient Egypt. He is also widely considered one of ancient Egypt's most successful warrior pharaohs, conducting no fewer than 15 military campaigns, all resulting in victories, excluding the Battle of Kadesh, generally considered a stalemate.  

                                                     

Under this pharaoh, the Israelite slaves had to build the storage cities  called Pithom and Rameses (Exodus 1:11).  They were not builders of the pyramids. For the early part of his reign, he focused on building cities, temples, and monuments. After establishing the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta, he designated it as Egypt's new capital and used it as the main staging point for his campaigns in Syria.  Truly, the name “Rameses” appears to have referred to a whole district already in the time of Joseph. – Gen. 47:11   
Joseph, son of Jacob, meeting his brothers after a long absence, with young Benjamin, full brother, being met in picture.  
Joseph was the first Israelite to enter Egypt, but not by choice.  He was taken there after his brothers, all sons of Jacob, sold Joseph into slavery to a camel caravan on the way there.  Joseph had become the viceroy, 2nd in command, to the Pharaoh of that day !  Egyptian records may list this as Hyksos invasion.  
                                      
                          Battle of Kadesh

 Ramesses led several military expeditions into the Levant, where he reasserted Egyptian control over Canaan and Phoenicia--land that became Israel.  During his reign, the Egyptian army is estimated to have totaled some 100,000 men: a formidable force that he used to strengthen Egyptian influence.                    

He also led a number of expeditions into Nubia, all commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein. He celebrated an unprecedented thirteen or fourteen Sed festivals—more than any other. 

 In year 9 of his reign, Ramesses erected a stele at Beth Shean.  This was an Israeli town, the center of the Bet Shean plain and is mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions of the 2nd millennium BCE.  It was used as an Egyptian military and administrative center during the Egyptian occupation of Canaan at that time. The land was NOT called Palestine until after 135 CE.   Greek name, later was Scythopolis.                       

 After having reasserted his power over Canaan, Ramesses led his army north. A mostly illegible stele near Beirut (now capital of Lebanon) , which appears to be dated to the king's 2nd year, was probably set up there in his 10th. The thin strip of territory pinched between Amurru and Kadesh did not make for a stable possession.  Kadesh could have been one of several ancient places in Canaan-one being the Wilderness of Zin and was a stopping place for the Israelites in their wanderings (Num.33:36).  It was situated on the frontier of Edom, near the later Petra.  Another was Kadesh-Barnea, an oasis in the wilderness of Paran;  camping-place of the Israelites on their journey from  Egypt (Num 13-26)  It was one of the southern-most points of the territory of the Land of Israel as envisaged by Moses and Joshua.  The Israelites dwelt there for a considerable period, during which Moses dispatched the Twelve Spies with the job of checking out Canaan, which was not a country but the name of the land, populate by city-states with a king in each city.  The site is believed to be in east central Sinai.
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 Within a year, they had returned to the Hittite fold, so that Ramesses had to march against Dapur once more in his 10th year. This time he claimed to have fought the battle without even bothering to put on his corslet,(defensive armor) chest covering-  until two hours after the fighting began. 
                                                     

Six of Ramesses's youthful sons, still wearing their side locks, took part in this conquest. The sidelock of youth (also called a Horus lock, Prince's lockPrincess' lock, or side braid) was an identifying characteristic of the child in Ancient Egypt. It symbolically indicates that the wearer is a legitimate heir of Osiris. The sidelock was used as a divine attribute from at least as early as the Old Kingdom.

 So much of our attire is for identification as to the group we are part of...red or blue scarves of gangs, tattoos, etc.  

This reminds me SO much of the orthodox men wearing sidecurls.   The sidecurls are called 'Payos.' Here is an explanation: the Jewish rule is that a man must not cut or trim his hair within a special facial region.   is a Biblical scripture which states that a man should not "round the corner of his head."  There is no reason given, one is to just follow it.  

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