Location
Overview
Rameses (Raamses) was one of the store cities the enslaved Israelites were forced to build, and the very place from which the Exodus set out.
Built with bondage
The Egyptians "set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses" (Exodus 1:11) — labour in brick and mortar that embittered Israel's life.
The starting point of the Exodus
It was from here that the nation departed: "the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children" (Exodus 12:37). The land of Rameses had been the best of Egypt, where Joseph first settled the family (Genesis 47:11).
Out of Egypt
"They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover" (Numbers 33:3) — the first step of the journey to the Promised Land.
Events Here
Israelites build the store city of Raamses in bondage
Israel sets out from Rameses — the Exodus begins
Scripture References
5 versesGenesis1 verse
Genesis 47:11
And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
Exodus2 verses
Exodus 1:11
Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
Exodus 12:37
And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
Numbers2 verses
Numbers 33:3
And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.
Numbers 33:5
And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth.
Archaeology & History
Rameses is widely identified with Pi-Ramesses, the great delta capital of Ramesses II, near modern Qantir in the eastern Nile delta. Excavations there have revealed a vast Egyptian city of the New Kingdom, the era most often connected with the Hebrew bondage and Exodus.
People who appear here
Frequently asked about Rameses
Where is Rameses today?
Today, Rameses corresponds to Qantir / Pi-Ramesses, Egypt (probable).
What does the name Rameses mean?
The name Rameses means “Son of Ra (Egyptian)”.
What happened at Rameses in the Bible?
Key biblical events at Rameses include israelites build the store city of raamses in bondage; israel sets out from rameses — the exodus begins.
Where is Rameses first mentioned in the Bible?
Rameses is first mentioned in Genesis 47:11.
How often is Rameses mentioned in the Bible?
Rameses is mentioned in 5 verses across 3 books: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers.
What was Rameses in the Bible?
An Egyptian "treasure" (store) city built by the enslaved Israelites, and the place from which the Exodus began as Israel journeyed to Succoth.
Where was Rameses?
In the eastern Nile delta, generally identified with Pi-Ramesses near modern Qantir — the same fertile "land of Rameses" where Joseph had settled Jacob’s family.