What We Know about the Egyptian Places Mentioned in Exodus

For a discussion of what “supply cities” might mean, see my, “What Kind of Construction Did the Israelites Do in Egypt?” TheTorah.com (2018).

In addition to this verse, Ramesses the city is referenced in Exod 12:37, and Num 33:3, 5. In Genesis 47:11, however, it is used as a regional designation as “the land of Ramesses” (אֶרֶץ רַעְמְסֵס) synonymous with “the land of Goshen.” This is a retrojective term, since the period described in the Joseph story predates the 19th dynasty and the founding of Piramesses by centuries.

Labib Habichi, Tell el-Dabˁa I (Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2001), 23.

Compare the many Hebrew toponyms that began with “Beth” (בית), the Hebrew word for “house” (e.g., Beth-el, Beth-Shemesh, Beth-baal-meon, Beth-peor, Beth-hayeshimot, Beth-guvrin, Beth-haram, Beth-nimra, etc.).

Ricardo A. Caminos, Late-Egyptian Miscellanies (London: Oxford University Press, 1954), 220.

The toponym appears in several late Egyptian documents and monuments including in its long forms pr-rˁ-ms-sw-mry-ἰmn and <pr>-wsr-mȜˁ-rˁ-stp-n-rˁ, “House of Ramesses II.” Papyrus Anastasis III, 1:12 and 3:8. The toponyms used both the nomen (birth name) and prenomen (throne name) of the king uniquely identifying Ramesses II as the king after whom Piramesses was named.

Irene Forstner-Müller, Tomasz Herbich, Christian Schweitzer, and Michael Weissl, “Preliminary Report on the Geophysical Survey at Tell el-Dabᶜa/Qantir in Spring 2008.” Ägypten und Levante 18 (2008): 97-99.

The 18th dynasty ended with a succession crisis. After the death of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare and Tutankhamun (King Tut) both died without heirs. The dynasty continued briefly with Pharaohs from among the palace officials: the vizier Ay followed by General Horemheb. The succession crisis was resolved when Horemheb appointed his friend and northern general, Ramesses to be his successor. Pharaoh Ramesses I was already a grandfather at the time of his crowning and his accession established the 19th dynasty.

Manfred Bietak, “Avaris and Piramesse: Archaeological Exploration in the Eastern Nile Delta,” Proceedings of the British Academy 65 (1979): 274.

Avaris served as the Hyksos capital early on; beginning no more than 30 years after the Theban 13th dynasty, centralized at Lisht, lost control over the country. Editor’s note: For an overview of Egyptian history and its periodization, see Gary A. Rendsburg, “Ancient Egypt: An Overview of Its History,” TheTorah.com (2015).

Manfred Bietak, Nicola Math, and Vera Müller, “Report on the excavations of a Hyksos Palace of Tell el Dabᶜa/Avaris.” Ägypten und Levante 22/23 (2013): 15-35.

Even if it is Egyptian, given that the toponym seems to be a regional designation, i.e., “the land of Goshen,” as opposed to a specific site, the potential for its discovery by archaeological methods is lower. It is theoretically possible that we might find it referenced in an extra-biblical document someday, as we did with Sukkot/Tjeku (discussed below), but the chances are slim. Tjeku, as we will see, was part of a strategically important migratory corridor, and even so, less than a handful of documents mention it. Goshen, in contrast, was part of a relatively unimportant pastoral area in the Delta, which is known for having extremely poor archaeological preservation of documents.

This is another example of a pi removed by the Hebrew scribes.

James Hoffmeier suggests that Tumilat is etymologically related to Pithom (tum/thom). James K. Hoffmeier, Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 64.

Slawomir Rzepka, Mustafa Nour el-Din, Anna Wodzińska, and Łukasz Jarmużek. “Egyptian Mission Rescue Excavations in Tell el-Retabah. Part I: New Kingdom Remains.” Ägypten und Levante 22/23 (2013): 270.

LÄ 4:1055.

Rzepka et al. 2013, 273; Bertha Porter and Rosalind L. B. Moss, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, vol. 4 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1934), 53; William M. Flinders Petrie, Hyksos and Israelite Cities (London: Bernard Quaritch, 1906), 28.

Graham Davies, “Was there an Exodus?” In Search of Pre-exilic Israel: Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar (New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), 28.

Henri Brugsch, “Geographica,” Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 13 (1875), 8.

Alan H. Gardiner, “The geography of the Exodus,” Recueil d’études égyptologiques dédiées à la mémoire de Jean-François Champollion (Paris: Librarie ancienne honoré champion, 1922) 213 note 2.

Hoffmeier, Ancient Israel in Sinai, 64.

Caminos, 256.

Sukkot is listed as the first destination upon leaving Piramesses (Exod 12:37; Num 33:5).

The abbreviation, l.p,h. stands for “life, prosperity, health,” which was standard to write after invoking the name of a Pharaoh. Editor’s note: It is comparable to the rabbinic Jewish custom of putting שליטא–an acronym which stands for “may he merit good, long days” (שיזכה לימים טובים וארוכים)–after a living rabbi’s name.

Alan H. Gardiner, Late Egyptian Miscellanies (Brussels: La Fondation Égyptologique, 1937), 76. Papyri Anastasis III, V, VI, and Papyris Sallier IV are part of a collection of student copies of documents that the ancient Egyptians used as teaching templates for training young scribes. This collection, known as the Late Egyptian Miscellanies, includes a selection of source documents from the 19th and 20th dynasties.

Pi-Hahiroth also appears in the list of way stations in Num 33:7.

This material on the meaning of the name Pi-Hahiroth was first accepted for publication as a footnote in my forthcoming “The Egyptian Sojourn and Exodus,” Background Studies of the Old Testament. eds. Jonathan Greer, Richard Hess, and John Hilber (Baker Books).

Florence Dunn Friedman, “Economic Implications of the Menkaure Triads” in Towards a New History for the Egyptian Old Kingdom: Perspectives on the Pyramid Age. eds. Peter Der Manuelian and Thomas Schneider (Boston: Brill, 2015), 18-59.

A determinative is a letter in a word that has no phonetic value but visually conveys to the reader additional information about the meaning of the word.

To solve this problem, Albright further posited that the word for canals may be derived from the name of an unknown Egyptian goddess, “Heret,” bringing us back to where we started. Moreover, Albright was working with an imprecise reconstruction of the Egyptian. He assumed Pi-Ḥ-r-t, but, as noted above, the Egyptian spelling is actually pr-ḥwt-ḥrt. See, William F. Albright, “Exploring in Sinai with the University of California African Expedition.” BASOR 109 (1948): 16. Hoffmeier held a view similar to Albright’s but rejected his etymology. See, James K. Hoffmeier, Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 170. Donald Redford once suggested that ḥrt could be based on a Semitic root, and thus, be the name of a Semitic goddess. Donald B. Redford, “An Egyptological perspective on the Exodus narrative” in Egypt, Israel, Sinai: Archaeological and Historical Relationships in the Biblical Period. ed. Anson F. Rainey (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University Press, 1987), 142-143. Nevertheless, Redford later abandoned this suggestion since no Semitic goddess of that name has been identified either. Donald B. Redford, “Pi-Hahiroth.” in Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5 (ed., David Noel Freedman; New York: Doubleday, 1992), 371.

With the tp (Gardiner Sign D1) abbreviated to a t (Gardiner Sign X1)

This spelling is comparable to the orthography found on the Karnak Rhetorical Stela (KRI V 89.10); Buhen, Lesser Stela, Year 1 (KRI I, 101.10); Serapeum stela, Apis-Burial, Year 30 (KRI II, 370.9); Battle of Qadesh (KRI II 89.7-9); and P. Harris I (50,2).

Caminos, 338; Gardiner, LEM, 89.

Its etymology and use as a divine title can be traced back to Old Babylonian, CAD 2:193.

Gardiner Sign C7.

The native Egyptian words for “tower” are ḫtm and swnw.

The site is referred to as, e.g., “Migdol of Seti-Merneptah (Seti I).” Gardiner, LEM, 67.

The map is located in the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak Temple.

It was excavated by James Hoffmeier from 1998-2007; James K. Hoffmeier, Excavations in North Sinai: Tell el-Borg I (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2014), 1-33.

James K. Hoffmeier and Stephen O. Moshier, “The Ways of Horus,” Excavations in North Sinai: Tell el-Borg I. ed. James K. Hoffmeier (Winona Lake, IA: Eisenbrauns, 2014), 44.

Eliezer Oren, “Migdol: A New Fortress on the Edge of the Eastern Nile Delta,” BASOR 256 (1984): 7-44. Perhaps, like the Dwelling of the Lion, Migdol may have been rebuilt multiple times as need arose, depending on the severity of the threats from the East.

Editor’s note: For more on the problematic identification of Yam Suf on the Bible, see David Ben-Gad HaCohen, “The Yam-Suph in the Transjordan,” TheTorah.com (2017). 

Stephen O. Moshier and James K. Hoffmeier, “Which Way Out of Egypt? Physical Geography Related to the Exodus Itinerary” in Israel’s Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective: Text, Archaeology, Culture, and Geoscience. eds. Thomas E. Levy, Thomas Schneider, and William H. C. Propp (New York: Springer International Publishing Switzerland, 2015), 106-107.

Gardiner, LEM, 22.

Gardiner, LEM, 23.