Misquoting Moses with Joel Baden
Aug 21, 2026 · 45 min · 10 segments
The great flood of Noah. The walls of Jericho tumbling down. The ten plagues striking Egypt. The Red Sea splitting in two. These are some of the most famous biblical stories ever told — but did any of…
Joel BadenGuest
Megan CraigHost
Many people who are familiar with the Exodus story will know the Pharaoh that was oppressing the Israelites during their time in Egypt, not just as a Pharaoh, but as Ramesses II, Ramesses the Great.
How did this tradition come about? Because I read the Exodus story and I'm sure that it doesn't say anywhere that this is Ramesses II.
Um, uh, and, and because, you know, I, I, and I would even say that like the, how do you get to Ramesses? Partly it's, like part of it is chronology.
It, it would, the Exodus would have to be around this time, and that's about the time of Ramesses.
But of course like that chronology itself is dependent on like a, a flat reading of the text of Exodus.
But like if you looked at the different sources of Exodus, right, these are our literary sources of the Pentateuch, their chron- their chronologies aren't gonna be the same, right? Some of them have 400 years in, in, in Egypt.
So, so, you know, h- it can't be the same king even in their own tellings in the Bible.
So a little bit silly to be like, well, let's narrow down w- which king it, it actually was.
Many people who are familiar with the Exodus story will know the Pharaoh that was oppressing the Israelites during their time in Egypt, not just as a Pharaoh, but as Ramesses II, Ramesses the Great.
How did this tradition come about? Because I read the Exodus story and I'm sure that it doesn't say anywhere that this is Ramesses II.
Um, uh, and, and because, you know, I, I, and I would even say that like the, how do you get to Ramesses? Partly it's, like part of it is chronology.
It, it would, the Exodus would have to be around this time, and that's about the time of Ramesses.
But of course like that chronology itself is dependent on like a, a flat reading of the text of Exodus.
But like if you looked at the different sources of Exodus, right, these are our literary sources of the Pentateuch, their chron- their chronologies aren't gonna be the same, right? Some of them have 400 years in, in, in Egypt.
So, so, you know, h- it can't be the same king even in their own tellings in the Bible.
So a little bit silly to be like, well, let's narrow down w- which king it, it actually was.
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