Moses in Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty

by Damien F. Mackey When the Bible is forcedly contoured to the king-lists it just does not fit. Since Imhotep looks safe as Joseph of Egypt: Enigmatic Imhotep - did he really exist? (2) Enigmatic Imhotep - did he really exist? and since Imhotep (Joseph) belonged to Egypt’s so-called Third Dynasty, as a vizier of pharaoh Horus Netjerikhet, then we might expect the Fourth Dynasty to be the one into which Moses was born and lived. And what makes the Fourth Dynasty particularly appealing, from a biblical point of view, is that the Fourth Dynasty was a pyramid-building dynasty. Back in antiquity, historians (see below) claimed that slaves built the great pyramids of Egypt, a theory not at all popular today. Thus: The pyramids of Giza were not built by slaves - Australian Associated Press (aap.com.au) How the pyramids of Giza were built remains one of Egypt’s biggest mysteries but Macquarie University Egyptologist Dr Karin Sowada told AAP FactCheck, that archaeological evidence shows the pyramids were not built by slaves. That misconception began with the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus and later continued with Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who both claimed that slaves, Hebrew or otherwise, built the pyramids. …. Dr Karin Sowada might need to re-examine that “misconception”. But can the Fourth Dynasty be adequately matched to the life of Moses? Its list of rulers is generally given as follows: 1 Sneferu 2 Khufu 3 Djedefre 4 Khafre 5 Menkaure 6 Shepseskaf Six rulers, of whom several are poorly known. Those who seek to find a biblical match in relationship to ancient dynasties tend uncritically to accept the king lists as they stand, and will then try to force-fit the biblical data. We have seen this uncritical approach employed in the case of the Book of Tobit and the neo-Assyrian king-list: Holy Tobit immersed in history (DOC) Holy Tobit immersed in history | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu And, again, in the case of the Book of Daniel and the neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) king list: King Belshazzar? Not a problem (DOC) King Belshazzar? Not a problem | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu When the Bible is forcedly contoured to the king-lists it just does not fit. But when the king-lists are subjected to the cobalt gaze of biblical scrutiny, we learn that the received history needs to undergo a significant revision. That is because the king-lists generally contain duplicates, sometimes series of duplicates. On this, see e. g. my article: Chaotic King Lists can conceal some sure historical sequences (DOC) Chaotic King Lists can conceal some sure historical sequences | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu Might this pattern also, perhaps, apply to the era of Moses? Might we have been looking to fit the Book of Exodus, for instance, alongside an erratic Egyptian king list? In e.g. my article: Life of Moses and reform of the Old - Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2) Life of Moses and reform of the Old - Middle Kingdom of Egypt I seriously considered the conventional list arrangement of Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty, leading me to streamline several duplicate rulers there. Before discussing that, however, let us consider what dynastic structure we might expect from the biblical data (Exodus 1-2). According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was born during the reign of an oppressive ‘new king who knew not Joseph’ (1:8). When Moses grew up, he, at forty years of age, fled from a hostile ruler of Egypt to the land of Midian, and sojourned there for another forty years. At the end of that period, Moses was informed that all the men who were seeking his life had died. What is clear from this information, albeit meagre, is that a new dynasty came into being some time prior to the birth of Moses, and that that dynasty had terminated not too long prior to his return to Egypt from the land of Midian. Moses was now eighty years of age. This means that, if the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt was the dynasty of Moses’s birth and sojourn in Midian, it must have spanned roughly a century, and then died out before the Plagues and Exodus events occurred under a different dynastic ruler, who had no particular a priori grudge against Moses and Aaron. Conventionally, the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt spanned a little bit more than a century - close to according with the biblical data - estimated at from c. 2615 to c. 2495 BC. These dates, of course, in a Mosaïc context, will need to be lowered by about a millennium down the BC timescale. Traditionally, two major kings figure in this part of Moses’ life: namely: 1. the “new king”, whose daughter, “Merris”, saved the baby Moses from the water; and 2. the husband of “Merris”, “Chenephres”. {The latter, “Chenephres”, seems to have exhibited the same sort of jealous and inimical attitude towards Moses as King Saul will have afterwards towards David}. This traditional information (from the Hellenic Jew, Artapanus) now gives me further confidence that I am on the right track in designating the Fourth Dynasty as that of Moses’s first 80 years. For it provides us with the perfect trio of: (a) Cheops (Khufu), now as the initial oppressor-king of Exodus 1:8; his celebrated successor (b) Chephren (Khafre), the husband of (c) Meresankh. The name fits are very good, too, allowing for Greek transliterations of Egyptian: Chephren becomes the traditional “Chenephres”, husband of Meresankh, she who is simply “Merris” with an Ankh, the princess who is said to have saved the baby Moses (Artapanus). It makes sense for Chephren to have been the inimical king from whom Moses fled to Midian. This reconstruction necessitates an alteration to the first part of the king list (1-4): 1 Sneferu 2 Khufu 3 Djedefre 4 Khafre Four kings now needing to become two. While Chephren (Khafre) stands firm here as the second oppressive ruler in the life of Moses, Cheops (Khufu), however, I would merge with Snofru, as follows: SNEFERU (SNOFRU) This (somewhat semi-legendary) ruler seems to me to connect well with Cheops in various ways. For instance (the pages are taken from N. Grimal’s A History of Ancient Egypt): Great “legendary” reputation – good natured P. 67 .... Snofru soon became a legendary figure, and literature in later [?] periods credited him with a genial personality. He was even deified in the Middle Kingdom, becoming the ideal king who later Egyptian rulers … sought to emulate when they were attempting to legitimize their power. P. 70 Cheops ... is portrayed in [Papyrus Westcar] as the traditional legendary oriental monarch, good-natured, and eager to be shown magical things, amiable towards his inferiors and interested in the nature of human existence. Cult figure P. 67 Snofru’s enviable reputation with later rulers, which according to the onomastica was increased by his great popularity with the people, even led to the restoration of Snofru’s mortuary temple at Dahshur. P. 69 ... cult among Middle Kingdom miners in the Sinai. P. 165 There is even evidence of a Twelfth Dynasty cult of Snofru in the region of modern Ankara. P. 70 Cheops was not remembered as fondly as Snofru, although his funerary cult was still attested in the Saite (Twenty-Sixth) Dynasty and he was increasingly popular in the Roman period. According to Papyrus Westcar, he liked to listen to fantastic stories of the reigns of his predecessors. Meresankh (“Merris”) P. 170 Snofru is also associated with a Meresankh, though she is considered to be his mother. P. 67 [She was] one of Huni’s concubines. There is no definite proof of this .... Meresankh will become something of a golden thread, linking the traditional “Merris” of Moses’ childhood to the 4th Dynasty (Meresankh) …. Like his alter ego Cheops, P. 67 [Snofru’s] reign ... appears to have been both glorious and long-lasting (perhaps as much as forty years). Snofru built ... ships, fortresses, palaces and temples ... Three pyramids. If Snofru were Cheops, as I am arguing, then Snofru’s three pyramids - built perhaps early in his reign - would have been the perfect preparation for his later masterpiece, the Great Pyramid at Giza. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneferu “Under Sneferu [Snofru], there was a major evolution in monumental pyramid structures, which would lead to Khufu's Great Pyramid, which would be seen as the pinnacle of the Egyptian Old Kingdom's majesty and splendour, and as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”. Less positive picture of the king P. 71 ... it is difficult to accommodate within this theory [building immoderation = unpopularity] the fact that Snofru’s reputation remained untarnished when he built more pyramids than any of his successors. Pp. 69-70 [Cheops’] pyramid transforms him into the very symbol of absolute rule, and Herodotus’ version of events chose to emphasise his cruelty. Taken from: https://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hh/hh2120.htm 124. ... Cheops became king over them and brought them to every kind of evil: for he shut up all the temples, and having first kept them from sacrificing there, he then bade all the Egyptians work for him. So some were appointed to draw stones from the stone-quarries in the Arabian mountains to the Nile, and others he ordered to receive the stones after they had been carried over the river in boats, and to draw them to those which are called the Libyan mountains; and they worked by a hundred thousand men at a time, for each three months continually. Of this oppression there passed ten years while the causeway was made by which they drew the stones, which causeway they built, and it is a work not much less, as it appears to me, than the pyramid; for the length of it is five furlongs and the breadth ten fathoms and the height, where it is highest, eight fathoms, and it is made of stone smoothed and with figures carved upon it. For this, they said, the ten years were spent, and for the underground chambers on the hill upon which the pyramids stand, which he caused to be made as sepulchral chambers for himself in an island, having conducted thither a channel from the Nile. For the making of the pyramid itself there passed a period of twenty years; and the pyramid is square, each side measuring eight hundred feet, and the height of it is the same. It is built of stone smoothed and fitted together in the most perfect manner, not one of the stones being less than thirty feet in length. Moreover: 126. Cheops moreover came, they said, to such a pitch of wickedness, that being in want of money he caused his own daughter to sit in the stews, and ordered her to obtain from those who came a certain amount of money (how much it was they did not tell me); but she not only obtained the sum appointed by her father, but also she formed a design for herself privately to leave behind her a memorial, and she requested each man who came in to her to give her one stone upon her building: and of these stones, they told me, the pyramid was built which stands in front of the great pyramid in the middle of the three, each side being one hundred and fifty feet in length. …. DJEDEFRE He to be considered further on in the section, “Who was the Fourth Dynasty’s Moses?” (ii) Djedefhor. I suspect that kings 5-6 of the list are a duplicate set of, respectively, Cheops and Chephren: 5 Menkaure 6 Shepseskaf MENKAURE Menkaure, or Mycerinus may have been, similarly to Cheops, disrespectful to his daughter: https://analog-antiquarian.net/2019/01/11/chapter-1-the-charlatan-and-the-gossip/ Legend had it that Menkaure had a daughter who was very special to him. One version of the tale said that she died of natural causes, whereupon in his grief he had a life-size wooden cow gilt with gold built as a repository for her remains. This, Herodotus claimed, could still be seen in his time in the city of Sais, “placed within the royal palace in a chamber which was greatly adorned; and they offer incense of all kinds before it every day, and each night a lamp burns beside it all through the night. Every year it is carried forth from the chamber, for they say that she asked of her father Mykerinos, when she was dying, that she might look upon the sun once in the year. Another, darker version of the tale had it that Menkaure had been rather too enamored of his daughter. She sought refuge from his unwelcome advances with his concubines, but they betrayed her, and her father proceeded to “ravish” her. She hanged herself in the aftermath, whereupon a remorse-stricken Menkaure buried her in the gilt cow and her mother the queen cut off the hands of the concubines who had betrayed her. This explained why, in a chamber near that of the cow in Herodotus’s time, there stood many statues of women with the hands lopped off, “still lying at their feet even down to my time. …. P. 74 … Menkaure (‘Stable are the kau of Ra’), or, to take Herodotus’ transcription, Mycerinus. We recall Menkaure’s allegedly shameful treatment of his own daughter, reminiscent of Cheops’ own prostituting of his daughter, at least according to Herodotus. Grimal continues: “Manetho is uncertain about the length of his reign, which was probably eighteen years rather than twenty-eight”. Whilst this reign span may not accord so well with some of our longer-reigning (say forty years) alter egos, it is fascinating, nonetheless, that Phouka (http://www.phouka.com/pharaoh/pharaoh/dynasties/dyn04/05menkaure.html also has for Menkaure a Manethonian figure of sixty-three years, a figure that we have already met in the case of two other of our alter egos, Cheops and Djedefre. Whether or not our composite king, (Snofru)-Cheops-Menkaure really reigned for a colossal 63 years (which is most unlikely in an Exodus context, even if he well preceded Moses’s birth), the attribution of the same extensive reign to three names that I have fused together as the one grandiloquent monarch gives me further confidence in my reconstruction. SHEPSESKAF The poorly known Shepseskaf: Shepseskaf - Wikipedia Shepseskaf's family is uncertain. Egyptologist George Andrew Reisner proposed that Shepseskaf was Menkaure's son based on a decree mentioning that Shepseskaf completed Menkaure's mortuary temple. This, however, cannot be considered a solid proof of filiation since the decree does not describe the relationship between these two kings. Furthermore, the completion of the tomb of a deceased pharaoh by his successor does not necessarily depend on a direct father/son relation between the two.[4] The mother, wives and children of Shepseskaf are unknown. …. who I think (without much investigation) is probably just a duplicate of Khafre (Kaf-Shepses) - but it does not really affect this reconstruction. Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty dies out with a female ruler, who I suggest was Khentkaus, while Moses was still in Midian. Who was the Fourth Dynasty’s Moses? (i) Kagemni I have already set the ball rolling here by linking up my Sixth Dynasty Moses, Weni, and my Twelfth Dynasty Moses, Mentuhotep, Vizier and Chief Judge of Egypt (cf. Exodus 2:14), with the “chief justice and vizier”, Kagemni, of both the Fourth and the Sixth dynasties: Vizier Kagemni another vital link for connecting Egypt's Fourth and Sixth dynasties (DOC) Vizier Kagemni another vital link for connecting Egypt's Fourth and Sixth dynasties “Kagemni was a chief justice and vizier, who lived at the beginning of the Sixth Dynasty (reign of King Teti)”. Inside Egypt Vizier Kagemni, then, is one iteration, and a most important one, of Moses in Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty. But there is yet another one to be considered, and of even greater rank. He is: (ii) Djedefhor An actual son of Cheops, who is my choice for the new dynastic king of Exodus 1:8. We read of Djedefhor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djedefhor Djedefhor or Hordjedef (died c. 2530 BC[1]) [sic] was a noble Egyptian of the 4th Dynasty. He was the son of King Khufu and his name means "Enduring Like Horus". Biography …. Djedefhor was a son of Khufu and half-brother of kings Djedefre and Khafre.[2] Queen Meritites I is named in the tomb G 7220 of Djedefhor and it is possible she is his mother.[3] He is mentioned on an inscription in Wadi Hammamat, his name appears in a cartouche, written after the names of Khufu, Djedefre and Khafre, preceding the name of another of his brothers, Baufra.[4] There is no evidence that either Djedefhor or Baufra ruled as a king, even though only kings' names were written in cartouches during the 4th dynasty. The Teachings of Djedefhor, a document of which only fragments remain, is attributed to him. Djedefhor seems to have been deified after his death.[2] The wisdom text by Djedefhor was written as advice to his son, Prince Auibra.[citation needed] …. Djedefhor's titles were:[5] Title Translation Jones Index imy-rȝ kȝt nbt (nt) nzwt overseer of all works of the king 950 imy iz he who is in the iz-bureau, councillor 247 ˁḏ-mr wḥˁw (ȝpdw) overseer of fishers/fowlers 1323 mniw nḫn protector/guardian of Hierakonpolis 1597 ḥȝty-ˁ count 1858 zȝ nswt n ẖt.f King's son of his body 2912 smr wˁty sole companion 3268 Translation and indexes from Dilwyn Jones.[6] …. Earlier I had written of Djedefre: “To be considered further on in the section, “Who was the Fourth Dynasty’s Moses?” (ii) Djedefhor. Since the names Djedefre and Djedefhor are identical, apart from the theophoric (re, hor), I would identify this as just the one person, son of Khufu. Queen Meritetes would then more than likely be the same as Meresankh, the legendary “Merris” who was the Egyptian foster-mother of Moses. Here we learn that he, Djedefhor, was a half-brother of Khafre (an abbreviation of Kha-nefre?), the legendary “Chenephres”. And, like his alter ego, Kagemni, Djedefhor wrote down wise Instructions. As we shall discover next, Djedefhor, like Weni (the Elder), was known as Djedefhor the Old (meaning the Scholar?): https://althistory.fandom.com/wiki/Djedefhor_I_(Pharaonic_Survival) Djedefhor I (Pharaonic Survival) …. Djedefhor, called the Old and the Scholar, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He is also known as Hordjedef. Djedefhor was the son of Khufu I … and his mother was Meritites I. He is notable for being one of the few Egyptian Pharaohs to Abdicate …. Damien Mackey’s comment: I had been quite adamant that Moses was not, as according to a tradition, a “king”: ‘Chenephres’ drives Moses out of Egypt (1) 'Chenephres' drives Moses out of Egypt But now, with the new recognition, potentially, of Moses as the briefly-reigning, or Crown Prince (co-ruler?) Djedefre-Djedefhor, I may need to reconsider my view on this. Having Moses as a ruler, or perhaps a co-ruler, would give some force to the quaint legend of Moses, as a baby, rejecting the crown of Egypt, and to the far more solid information by St Paul (Hebrews 11:24-25): “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin”. Biography Djedefhor was a son of Pharaoh Khufu and brother of pharaohs Djedefra I and Khafra I. his mother was Queen Meritites I making him a full brother of Djedefra is named in the tomb G 7220 of Djedefhor and it is possible she is his mother. The Teachings of Djedefhor, a document of which only fragments remain, is attributed to him. Djedefhor was deified after his death. The wisdom text by Djedefhor was written as advice to his son, Prince Auibra. As a prince, Djedefhor dedicated himself to scholarly pursuits, showing a profound interest in education and intellectual growth. His elder brother Kawab's untimely death left a vacancy in the line of succession. Their father, Khufu, initially intended for Djedefhor to ascend the throne, recognizing his wisdom and capabilities. However, Djedefhor declined the offer, feeling that his contributions were better suited to other roles. Consequently, his younger brother [sic?] Djedefra was named Crown Prince. Djedefhor continued to cultivate his reputation as a learned and highly respected individual. His counsel was sought after and greatly valued during the reigns of his brothers, contributing significantly to the governance and intellectual climate of the time. Upon the premature death of King Bakara, Djedefhor was elected king by the Great 20 of Upper and Lower Egypt. Reluctantly, he accepted the position but made it clear that he would only serve until a more suitable candidate could be found. During his brief reign, Djedefhor refrained from commissioning any grand public works, maintaining a focus on stability and continuity. He expressed a desire to be buried in the family tombs in the eastern field at Akhet Nesu. In November, the Great 20 of the two lands selected Menkaura as the new Crown Prince. Djedefhor spent the remaining days of his reign preparing his successor for the responsibilities ahead. On February 12, he formally abdicated the throne, and Menkaura succeeded him as Pharaoh. Djedefhor then served as a state councilor, continuing to offer his invaluable wisdom and guidance until his death 8 years later [sic]. Teaching of Djedefhor The Instruction of Hardjedef, also known as the Teaching of Hordedef and Teaching of Djedefhor, belongs to the didactic literature of the Egyptian Old Kingdom. It is possibly the oldest of all known Instructions, composed during the 5th Dynasty according to Miriam Lichtheim, predating The Instructions of Kagemni and The Maxims of Ptahhotep. Damien Mackey’s comment: But “the 5th Dynasty” was actually contemporaneous with those dynasties associated with Kagemni. The first lines of the text establish Prince Djedefhor, Khufu's son, as the author of the Instruction. In antiquity Hardjedef enjoyed a reputation for wisdom, his name appears in the Westcar Papyrus, and according to the Harper's lay from the tomb of King Intef, a copy of which survives in Papyrus Harris 500, he is mentioned in the same breath as Imhotep, his maxims having survived while his tomb had been lost. His fame was especially great during periods of classicistic revival, when he and other Old Kingdom sages became role models for aspiring scribes. Sample text (lines 11–15): Set up a house in the graveyard and make your abode in the West exquisite. Remember that death means nothing to us; remember we value life - but the house of death serves life! Nicolas Grimal (op. cit.): P. 72 The place of Djedefre in the royal family, particularly his relationship with his half-brother [sic] Chephren who succeeded him on the throne, is unclear. His mother’s name is unknown …. … now we encounter the great Djedefhor. P. 73: “… a figure who, in some regards, was almost equal to Imhotep” [that is, the biblical Joseph of Egypt’s Third Dynasty]: he was considered to have been a man of letters and even the writer of an Instruction from which scribal students were taught. A number of passages from his Instruction were quoted by the best authors, from Ptahhotep to the Roman period …. Djedefhor was also the person who was said to have introduced the magician Djedi in Papyrus Westcar. Pp. 73-74 The rift between the reigns of Djedefre and Chephren was probably not as great as scholars have often suggested, and there was in fact no real ideological contrast between the two kings: On the contrary, Chephren seems to have pursued the same theological course as his predecessor pursued: he continued to bear the title of ‘son of Ra’ and also developed, in a masterly fashion, the theological statement of Atum’s importance vis-à-vis Ra, which had already been emphasized by Djedefre. Whilst there may be no solid “evidence” to indicate that Djedefre had killed his own brother: https://mathstat.slu.edu/~bart/egyptianhtml/kings%20and%20Queens/Djedefre.html “There are stories about that Djedefre killed his brother and then grabbed the throne. There is no evidence for this theory however. It seems that Prince Kawab died during the reign of his father and was buried in a mastaba in Giza”, Djedefre himself may have been murdered: http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp455-fs14/2014/10/09/djedefre/ “Djedefre … was later succeeded by his brother Khafre, and one theory is that Khafre killed Djedefre …”. http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp455-fs14/2014/10/09/djedefre/ Damien Mackey’s comment: Khafre, indeed, sought to kill - but did not succeed in killing - Djedefre (Moses), who was thereby forced to flee to Midian (Exodus 2:15): “When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian …”.