Image Details

Frank Yurco

Resembling an African mask, the mummified head of Pharaoh Seti I has stared impassively since his death in 1279 B.C.E. Seti reigned (1294–1279 B.C.E.) between Ramesses I (1295–1294 B.C.E.) and Ramesses II (1279–1212 B.C.E.). Ramesses I and Seti were the first rulers of the XIXth Dynasty, which spurred one of the greatest building periods in Egyptian history. Because many scholars identify Seti’s son, Ramesses II, as the pharaoh of the Exodus, some have suggested that Seti was the pharaoh “who knew not Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). The Bible seems to say that the pharaoh of the Exodus was the successor to the pharaoh “who knew not Joseph” (Exodus 2:23).