Kings and Pharaohs

Was Joseph's ruler a king or a Pharaoh?

Advances in our understanding of the ancient Egyptian language called 'hieroglyphics' have shown that the Quran's use of the terms 'Pharaoh' and 'King' in relation to Egypt is historically accurate and miraculous.

The Bible calls the rulers of Egypt during the time of Abraham, Joseph and of course Moses "Pharaoh".¹Genesis 12:18, Genesis 41:46, Exodus 2:15 The Bible misuses the term Pharaoh and erroneously refers to all the rulers of Egypt in all ages as "Pharaoh", even though the term originated long after Abraham and Joseph.

Abu Simbel - Egypt

The word "Pharaoh" is a title that originated from the Egyptian term "per-aa", which literally translated means "great house", describing the royal palace. Historically, however, "Pharaoh" began to be used as a title for the king much later in Egyptian history, during the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC).²"Pharaoh" in I. Shaw & P. Nicholson, British Museum Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt, 1995, British Museum Press: London, p. 222.

The Interpreter's Bible Dictionary has this to say about some inconsistencies in the Egyptological data concerning Joseph: The sincere attitude toward the Egyptian stories is that popular memory preserved the foundations of the great Hebrew experience, but then endowed that memory with some imperfectly remembered details and some secondary details borrowed from later times and circumstances.³The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 3, 1962 (1996 Print), Abingdon Press, Nashville, pp. 774 (Under Pharaoh).

The Qur'an mentions Egypt in the stories of the two prophets Joseph and Moses. The story of Joseph does not only narrate the events and draw the characters. It goes beyond that, it identifies the period in history in which these events took place and describes their general characteristics.

Let us now look at what the Qur'an has to say about the stories of these two great prophets and the period in which they lived (especially the rulers). For the ruler of Egypt at the time of Joseph, the Qur'an uses the adjective "King" (ملك); he was never called "Pharaoh" (فرعون). Some verses are quoted below:

The king said, "Bring him to me." When the messenger came to Joseph, (Joseph) said: "Go back to your master and ask him what was the matter with those women who cut off their hands. Surely, my Lord is well aware of their deception."

(Joseph, Verse 50)

The king said, "Bring him to me, and I will take him to me in private." When he spoke to him, he said: "Surely today you are a person of high authority and trustworthiness with us."

(Joseph, Verse 54)

As for the ruler of Egypt during the time of Moses, the Qur'an repeatedly calls him "Pharaoh" and never "King". Here are some verses:

And certainly We sent Moses with Our miracles to Pharaoh and his leading men, and he said, "Verily, I am the messenger of the Lord of the worlds."

(Zuhruf, Verse 46)

Then, after these, We sent Moses and Aaron with our miracles to Pharaoh and his notables. But they were arrogant and became a criminal society.

(Jonah Verse 75)

Jean François Champollion

The names found in the Qur'an are in complete harmony with the historical evidence discovered in the last few centuries after the Hieroglyphic language, dead for 2000 years, was deciphered and translated by the French Orientalist Jean François in 1822. The only source of information about these ancient stories available at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was the biblical narratives. The Bible, however, both calls the ruler of Joseph and Moses "Pharaoh" and never specifically mentions the word king, even referring to the ruler of Abraham's time as "Pharaoh" and using the word "Pharaoh" more than 96 times in the Book of Genesis.

The knowledge of ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs was completely lost until the 19th century AD when they were successfully deciphered. The Holy Prophet could not have copied from the Bible because the Bible is wrong in this regard. So where did he get this information? The Qur'an answers this doubt as follows:

The revelation of this Book is from Allah, the All-powerful and All-knowing.

(Al-Mu'min Verse 2)

Allah knows best in everything.

• 1
  Genesis 12:18, Genesis 41:46, Exodus 2:15
• 2
  "Pharaoh" in I. Shaw & P. Nicholson, British Museum Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt, 1995, British Museum Press: London, p. 222.
• 3
  The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 3, 1962 (1996 Print), Abingdon Press, Nashville, pp. 774 (Under Pharaoh).