||A long time then passed , and the king of Egypt died. The Israelites were still groaning because of their subjugation. When they cried out because of their slavery, their pleas went up before God.
Vayehi vayamim harabim hahem vayamot melech Mitsrayim vaye'anechu veney-Yisra'el min-ha'avodah vayiz'aku vata'al shav'atam el-ha'Elohim min-ha'avodah.
||God heard their cries, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Vayishma Elohim et-na'akatam vayizkor Elohim et-brito et-Avraham et-Yitschak ve'et-Ya'akov.
||God saw the Israelites, and He was about to show concern.
Vayar Elohim et-beney Yisra'el vayeda Elohim.
|king of Egypt died|
According to the usual chronology, this refers to the death of Ay in 2444 (1317 b.c.e.), when Horemheb (1317-1290 b.c.e.) came into power (see The Torah Anthology 4:240). The Pharaoh of the Exodus would then have been Horemheb, and the cataclysm of the Exodus would have brought about the end of the 18th Dynasty.
If we accept the 163 year discrepancy, then this would indicate the death of Thutmose II in 1490 b.c.e. (2434), and the powerful Thutmose III (1490-1436 b.c.e.) would have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus. The Exodus and ensuing events may then have given rise to the apparent monotheism of Ikhnaton, a century later.
Incidentally, the 163 year discrepancy is evident from the fact that Pharaoh Necho who, in usual chronologies reigned from 609 to 495 b.c.e., defeated King Josiah in 3316 or 443 b.c.e. (2 Kings 23:29; Seder HaDoroth).
|with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob|
With Abraham (Genesis 15:14), Isaac (Genesis 17:21, 26:3), and Jacob (Genesis 46:4). See Genesis 50:24.
|about to show concern|
(cf. Targum; Rashi).