Pharaoh’s Death

Question

I have heard before that Pharaoh died 50 days after the exodus. This would make the date of his death Shavuot and also the day the Torah was received at Sinai. Is that accurate? And what are the circumstances surrounding his death?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    I have never heard this particular idea before, and neither could I find a classic source that backs it up.

    There are different accounts in the Midrashic texts as to what happened to Pharaoh. According to the Mechilta in Parshas Beshalach, Pharaoh drowned together with his army in the Red Sea. According to the Yalkut Shimoni, Pharaoh was saved from the Red Sea, and he went to rule in the city of Ninveh. He was still alive and ruling at the time of Yonah.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team

  2. colorknit
    March 21, 2023 at 8:18 pm

    How could he have still been alive at the time of Yonah when that story happened 600-1000 years later (there are varying interpretations on the chronology of that), and people did not live anywhere near that long in those days?

  3. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team
    March 22, 2023 at 6:23 pm

    It is definitely a long time to be alive but there were individuals who lived far longer than the norm in Biblical times.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team