Exodus 1: A New King for a New Book?

The book of Exodus begins with the transition from a story about a single family to a story about a nation. After Yosef saved the Egyptians from starvation at the end of Genesis and became a right-hand man of Pharaoh, the fortunes of the Israelites changed dramatically.“A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8)Hebrew: וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ־חָדָשׁ עַל־מִצְרַיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדַע אֶת־יוֹסֵף.Rashi brings a debate in the Talmud between Rav and Shmuel. One held that this was a brand-new king and the other felt this king simply gave new edicts. Chizkuni explains that because the text did not mention the previous Pharaoh dying, this was the same king who simply changed policy. The thread that this was the same king who simply changed his mind is difficult from a timeline perspective. The text explains that the entire generation of Yosef had died out:“Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation” (Exodus 1:6)Hebrew: וַיָּמָת יוֹסֵף וְכָל־אֶחָיו וְכֹל הַדּוֹר הַהוּא.That would make this king very, very old. On the other hand, it is possible that the king was a child at the time that Yosef came into the picture. As he grew older, he changed his policies toward the Israelites. Later in Tanach, there will be kings of Judah and Israel that will start off as one type of king—whether righteous or wicked—and by the end of their reign, they will flip, for example Yoash in II Chronicles 24. It is, therefore, not unrealistic that Pharaoh would change his tune as he grew older.Another question is how Pharaoh could forget that Yosef saved Egypt during the famine years and even instituted policy that enriched the crown! The simple answer is that that is not out of the ordinary. If this was a brand-new Pharaoh, he might have wanted to make a clean break with the previous regime. Modern-day politicians often try to undo the work of the previous administration even if that work was positive. This would be the case even if the new Pharaoh was the son of the previous one. Later in Tanach as well it is not uncommon to see a righteous king of Judah be followed by an extremely wicked one despite the good that the parent brought to the nation—for example, Manasseh the wicked king who followed Hezekiah, one of the most righteous kings. Pharaoh could have been elevated in a precarious position and needed an easy scapegoat to gain favor quickly. Unfortunately, this is also a well-known tactic that lasts to this day.Historically, there are some Egyptologists who believe that the Yosef story took place around the time of foreign control in Egypt by a group called the Hyksos. This theory is widely discussed in academic circles. The Hyksos were Semitic rulers who controlled parts of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period (circa 1650–1550 BCE). Many scholars suggest that if Yosef rose to power under Hyksos rule, the “new king” in Exodus could refer to an Egyptian dynasty that expelled the Hyksos and sought to erase their influence—making the Israelites, who were associated with Semitic outsiders, a political liability. This fits the narrative of a Pharaoh “who did not know Joseph” because he deliberately rejected the policies and alliances of the previous regime.