Pharaoh
Pharaoh was a title of the kings of Egypt until 323 BC. The word pharaoh in the Egyptian language means, "great house." The word was originally used to describe the palace of the king. Around 1500 BC it was applied to the king and meant, "his honor or his majesty." The Egyptians believed the Pharaoh was a god and key to the nation's relationship with the cosmic gods of the universe. While the Pharaoh ruled, he was the Son of Ra, the sun god. His word was law and he ruled everything. The Pharaoh was the head of the army as well as the main figure in the nation's religious life. He often functioned as a high priest in temples of Egypt. The people believed their fate was in the hands of the Pharaoh and although some Pharaohs were very cruel their subjects seldom attempted to overthrow the government.
Pharaoh Rameses II may have been the new king over Egypt that "knew not Joseph" and used the Israelites as forced laborers to build the supply cities of Pithom and Rameses. Some scholars suggest that Rameses II didn't build these cities but merely made improvements on them and then renamed them and took credit for building them. This was a common practice of the Pharaohs of Egypt. The dating of these cities has caused a couple of theories to abound as to the time of the Exodus and exactly who was the Pharaoh at that time.
See Exodus 1:8; 5:4-19; 10:11, 16, 28; and Exodus 11-14.
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