The Sphinx Dream Stele was found set between the paws of the Great Sphinx at Giza when the drifting sands were cleared away and the whole monument was revealed. When the Egyptian hieroglyphs were translated, scholars discovered a personal yet official text of Pharaoh Thutmose IV, who was the second son of Pharaoh Amenhotep II and reigned in the 15th century BC.
An illustrated scene appears at the top of the stele, showing Thutmose IV making an offering to the Great Sphinx. Below that scene, the stone inscription tells the tale of his fateful but fortuitous hunting trip. On that day, Thutmose IV fell asleep while he rested near the Great Sphinx, and had a dream in which the god of the Sphinx made a divine promise that if he cleared the sand from around the Sphinx, the kingship would be given to him.
Line of succession for the Egyptian pharaohs, like most royal families, favored the eldest son. Thus, Amenhotep, eldest son of Amenhotep II, would have been the rightful heir. However, Amenhotep was slain in the final Exodus plague the first Passover as were all the Egyptian firstborn. Thutmose IV, as next in birth order after Amenhotep, would probably have inherited the throne anyway, but many scholars are convinced that since he did not have a natural claim to the throne, he felt compelled to fabricate a divine promise to solidify his legitimacy as the next pharaoh. Because he was not the original heir, this divine invocation would make his kingship appear more legitimate in the eyes of the Egyptians.
