This question has been the source of much debate since it is related to disagreements over the date of the exodus. Those who hold to a thirteenth century date for the exodus typically posit Rameses II as the new king. However, as argued earlier, a fifteenth century date is more likely. Given this date, the Egyptian king of Exodus 1:1–22 is likely from the early part of the eighteenth dynasty founded by Amosis, if not Amosis himself.¹ He drove out the Hyksos, a foreign people who had come to power in the eastern part of Egypt and ruled it for the previous 150 years.² Since the Hyksos were Semitic and ethnically similar to the Israelites, it would make sense that this new dynasty was suspicious of Israel.

John Rea has argued that the new king was the first Hyksos king rather than a native Egyptian from the eighteenth dynasty. He bases part of the argument on Genesis 15:13, which states that Israel would be oppressed for 400 years. If the king was from the eighteenth dynasty, this would leave only 100–120 years for the oppression; if the king was Hyksos, the oppression would have lasted nearly 300 years. Of course, in neither case did Israel suffer for the full 400 years. And the hostility of the new Pharaoh towards Israel coupled with his refusal to acknowledge Joseph’s contributions to Egypt fits best with a native Egyptian ruler. Although the Hyksos would have been ignorant of Joseph, there is little reason to expect otherwise. That the new king did not know Joseph indicates a refusal to acknowledge him, which the Hyksos would not be expected to do anyways. For a native Egyptian, however, this refusal would be unexpected given the benefits Joseph had brought to Egypt.³

Of course, such historical reconstructions remain tentative because the text does not give us the name of the Pharaoh or any details about Egyptian dynasties. In fact, the Pharaohs are never named in Genesis or Exodus, despite their importance on the world stage and for Israel’s history. (This is not always the case in Scripture. For example, the Pharaohs Shishak (1 Kings 11:40; 1 Kings 14:25; 2 Chronicles 12:2–9) and Neco (2 Kings 23:29, 2 Kings 23:33–35; 2 Chronicles 35:20, 2 Chronicles 35:22; 2 Chronicles 36:4; Jeremiah 46:2) are both identified by name). Scripture is interested in how they act toward God’s people rather than in who they are. Although it records history, Scripture is not always focused on what may interest a modern historian.