Some help requested

William

How could I find the name of the Pharaoh that Moses and Joshua spoke to when demanding that he/she let God's people go.  I only say she because I just saw a show about Queen Hatshepsut which ruled in the 18th dynasty and Pharaoh Atemotep I was a instigator of the slavery and task labor of the Hebrews.

Rosie Perera

Do a Basic Search in your Entire Library for timeline pharaohs.

The best result came from Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary, Volume 1:

From that it looks like "Thutmose III" was pharaoh at about the time of the Exodus (noticing that there are two possible datings of the Exodus: early and late), but wanting to confirm that I did a search for "Thutmose III" Moses and lots of useful information turned up there, including mention of Hatshepsut, who was the daughter of Thutmose I (during whose reign Moses was born) and might have been the daughter that rescued Moses from the river and adopted him.

Another useful bit was from the NET Bible Notes for Exodus 4:19, study note 59: "The text clearly stated that Pharaoh sought to kill Moses; so this seems to be a reference to Pharaoh’s death shortly before Moses’ return. Moses was forty years in Midian. In the 18th dynasty, only Pharaoh Thutmose III had a reign of the right length (1504–1450 B.C.) to fit this period of Moses’ life. This would place Moses’ returning to Egypt near 1450 B.C., in the beginning of the reign of Amenhotep II, whom most conservatives identify as the pharaoh of the exodus. Rameses II, of course, had a very long reign (1304–1236). But if he were the one from whom Moses fled, then he could not be the pharaoh of the exodus, but his son would be – and that puts the date of the exodus after 1236, a date too late for anyone. See E. H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 62."

New Unger's Bible Dictionary says "The Pharaoh of the Oppression.  If the early date of the Exodus (c. 1441 B.C.) is subscribed to, Thutmose III (c. 1482–1450 B.C.) furnishes an ideal figure for the pharaoh of the oppression. According to the Bible, Moses waited for the death of the great oppressor before returning to Egypt from his refuge in Midian (Ex. 2:23). However, late-date theorists commonly identify Seti I (c. 1319–1301 B.C.) as the pharaoh of the oppression, disregarding the Masoretic chronology."

There's a whole article on the Pharaoh of the Exodus in the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics which starts out, "The predominant view of modern biblical scholars is that the Pharaoh of the Exodus was Rameses II (see BIBLE CRITICISM). If so, the Exodus took place about 1270 to 1260 B.C. However, the Bible (Judg. 11:26; 1 Kings 6:1; Acts 13:19–20), dates the Exodus to about 1447 B.C. Given the commonly accepted dating, that would make the Pharaoh of the Exodus Amenhotep II, an identification archaeologists and biblical scholars have traditionally rejected."

So it looks like there are at least four possibilities for which pharaoh Moses and Aaron (not Joshua) spoke to: Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, Seti I (also spelled Sety I), or Rameses II. Searching your entire library for those will give you more information. There doesn't appear to be a conclusive answer.