Early Egypt did not have a supreme king, but rather an alliance of kings. In 2020 B.C. Mena created the House of Pharaoh as an alliance between the Shemite and Hamite kings of Egypt. As a result, all the Egyptian kings of the 1st through 4th dynasty and 6th through 8th dynasty became Pharaoh's in 2020 B.C. (Following the world flood in 2370 B.C. life expectancy had dropped so that Unas and the other 5th dynasty kings died before their fathers. By 2030 B.C. all of the 5th dynasty kings had died).

During the next thirty-three years the 9th, 10th, and 11th dynasty's joined the alliance and by 1986 B.C. the 11th dynasty had gained control of the House of Pharaoh. The kings of the 1st through 4th dynasty died by the 12th dynasty and by 1943 B.C. the kings of the 6th through 8th dynasty had died.

It was during the 12th dynasty that Joseph was made a governor in Egypt. While we don't know who this pharaoh was, we do know that he put Joseph in charge of stockpiling grain during the seven years of plenty, and distributing it during the seven years of famine. As the famine began Joseph sold gain to the people for money (Gen. 41:56). When the people ran out of money Joseph accepted cattle and land in exchange for grain. Some people even sold themselves into slavery to survive (Gen. 47:19). By the end of the famine Joseph had acquired all the land in Egypt for his pharaoh (Gen. 47:20).

These events promoted the 12th dynasty to control of the House of Pharaoh. And the wealth and land Joseph brought to his pharaoh may have consolidated the power of pharaoh to a single king.

King Thutmose I was a Pharaoh during the 18th dynasty. At his death he was succeeded by Thutmose II, a son by a minor wife. To strengthen his claim to the throne Thutmose II married his half sister, princess Hathsepsut.

Thutmose III, was still a child when his father Thutmose II died. This allowed his mother, Hatshepsut to govern as regent. Within a year she managed to have herself crowned pharaoh and ruled jointly with her son (about twenty-one years) until her death.

Following his mothers death Thutmose III ruled for about 33 years. During this time he conquered Syria and Palestine, which had broken away under the joint rule with his mother, and launched no less than seventeen campaigns in nineteen years as well as embarked on numerous building projects. Twenty years after Hatshepsut's death Thutmose III ordered that his mother's name and image be obliterated throughout Egypt.

Amenhotep II no doubt wished to equal his fathers military glory, but did not carry out any invasion or extensive military operation from his fifth year until a modest campaign in his ninth year (according to a Memphis stela). His relative feeble war record (in comparison with that of his father) indicates a catastrophic loss of military in the waters of the Red Sea.

Thutmose IV, a son of Amenhotep II and heir to the throne, was not the first born son. The "Dream Stela" of Thutmose IV confirms this by telling how in a dream the young prince was promised the throne of Egypt in return for uncovering the Sphinx from the sand it was buried in. If Thutmose IV had been the first born son of Amenhotep II the throne would have been his birthright and there would be no reason for such a divine promise.

Under the rule of Tuthmosis IV Egypt lost ground in Palestine and Syria to Mitanni (Israel?)

The Book of Exodus indicates that only Hebrews lived in the land of Goshen, and this area was spared from the plagues that fell on Egypt (Ex. 9:25). Should the pharaoh had been building in Goshen at this time there would also have been Egyptians living in the area. Archaeological evidence indicates that there were no Egyptians in Goshen during the reign of Thutmose, and it was not until the reign of Rameses II that there was building activity in the region of Wadi Tumilat (the land of Goshen).