Footnote 2 – Moses’ Egyptian Name

It might seem that the name of Ramesses II (Ramesses the Great, the pharaoh most often associated with the Exodus)—would also mean “Ra is born,” but his name is normally written R‘-ms-sw (roughly, Ramessu) and means “Ra-fashioned him,” using another meaning of the verb msi, that is, “to fashion, form.” The two senses of the verb are related, however, in that Egyptians thought of the fashioning of a divine statue as equivalent to the god being born.