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Place Old Testament

Rameses

Rameses was a city in Egypt where the Israelites lived during their enslavement before the Exodus (Gen. 47:11; Exo. 12:37). Mentioned in 4 verses across 3 books, first at Genesis 47:11.

Why it matters. Egyptian city where Israelites lived before the Exodus

Location
30.799, 31.834 (approximate, within about 2 km)

Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.

Last reviewed
2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team

About Rameses

Rameses was a city and region in Egypt where Jacob's family settled when they first arrived in Egypt (Gen. 47:11). It was located in the land of Goshen. The Israelites later departed from Rameses at the beginning of the Exodus (Exo. 12:37; Num. 33:3,5). The name may come from the Egyptian phrase "Ra created it", referring to the sun god Ra. Some scholars believe Rameses was named after the pharaoh Rameses II of the 19th Dynasty, but the biblical chronology would place the Exodus much earlier. The exact location is uncertain, but it was likely in the eastern Nile Delta region.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.

Connections

No reviewed connections yet.

Appears in Scripture

Named in 4 verses across 3 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

Record type: Place. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.