by
Damien F. Mackey
… we now proceed to connect the Old to
the ‘Middle’ kingdom.
What facilitates this right at the
start is that Teti, our founding Pharaoh
(Exodus 1:8) for the Sixth Dynasty,
has striking likenesses to Amenemes
(as picked up by historians like
Nicolas Grimal), our founding Pharaoh
(Exodus 1:8) for the Twelfth
Dynasty: same throne name, Seheptibre;
same Horus name, Sehep-tawy;
and death likely due to assassination.
Introduction
The life of the historical Moses embedded in dynastic
Egypt enables for the unifying of a great deal of ancient Egyptian history. But
this is best exemplified by tracing through the jealous Pharaoh, “Chenephres”,
a rival to Moses, who eventually sought his life. The reason that I say this is
because the name “Chenephres”, a Greek version of Khaneferre/Neferkare is
something of a constant, he along with “Merris”, Egyptian
Meresankh/Ankhesenmerire (also Meritites), the Egyptian foster-mother of Moses
according to Artapanus, the woman whom “Chenephres” would marry.
Our tracing of this pharaoh Khaneferre/Neferkare will
lead us to conclude that the life of the Egyptianised Moses (i.e. before
Midian) had spanned what in conventional Egyptian terms is five dynasties (Fourth,
Fifth, Sixth, Twelfth and Thirteenth) occupying the Old and
so-called ‘Middle’ kingdom of Egypt.
Once “Chenephres” has been found (along with the
woman, “Merris”), then it becomes easy to isolate the dynastic founding
Pharaoh, the “new king”, of Exodus 1:8, and also to discover Moses himself.
Basically the structure for dynastic Egypt during the
first forty years of Moses, Egyptianised, consisted only of, as we shall find:
(1) Dynastic founding Pharaoh (Exodus
1:8);
(2) Moses briefly as Pharaoh, then
abdicating;
(3) Pharaoh rival of Moses (and the
Pharaoh’s wife).
Fourth Dynasty
This one is fairly straightforward.
Khaneferre/Neferkare is found (name in abbreviated
form) in the great Khafre (Greek Chephren), builder of the second Pyramid of
Giza and the Sphinx.
His wife, appropriately, was Meresankh (“Merris”),
so-called III.
The founding Pharaoh, then, must be Khufu (Cheops)
himself.
Moses is the somewhat obscure pharaoh, Djedefre (also
Djedefhor - the sage Hardedef - and the shadowy Djedefptah).
Fifth Dynasty
Not quite so straightforward - I have chopped and
changed a bit on this one.
The Fifth Dynasty appears to be somewhat jumbled.
Khaneferre/Neferkare, though, is found fairly clearly
in Neferirkare.
Once again, we find a Meresankh, so-called IV, married
to a pharaoh – but, which one, is not certain.
The founding Pharaoh would be Djedkare Isesi.
Moses is pharaoh Niuserre Ini. He was later greatly
venerated.
For Moses’s Ini type names, see my article:
Ini, Weni, Iny, Moses
Sixth Dynasty
This one, again, is straightforward.
Khaneferre/Neferkare is Pepi Neferkare, who was
married to Ankhesenmerire (“Merris”), also called Meritites (“Merris”
again).
The founding Pharaoh would be Teti.
Moses is Pharaoh Userkare (also the sage Ptahhotep),
upon whom the jealous Pepi would declare a damnatio memoriæ, relegating
Userkare’s kingship to the “desert”.
Though conventional scholarship would be horrified at
this, we now proceed to connect the Old to the ‘Middle’ kingdom. What
facilitates this right at the start is that Teti, our founding Pharaoh (Exodus
1:8) for the Sixth Dynasty, has striking likenesses to Amenemes (as
picked up by historians like Nicolas Grimal), our founding Pharaoh (Exodus 1:8)
for the Twelfth Dynasty: same throne name, Seheptibre; same Horus
name, Sehep-tawy; and death likely due to assassination.
Twelfth Dynasty
This one, now, becomes straightforward.
Khaneferre/Neferkare is Sesostris Neferkare.
The founding Pharaoh is Amenemes (Amenemhat).
Moses is the semi-legendary, Sinuhe, who flees
Egypt from Sesostris Neferkare.
Thirteenth Dynasty
Khaneferre/Neferkare, both of these names were held by
a pharaoh Sobekhotep.
The founding Pharaoh would be one or another
Amenemhat, and/or Seheptibre (the lists are chaotic), who precedes
Sobekhotep.
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