Page 63 - The Prophet Moses (pbuh)

Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar)

TITLES OF EGYPTIAN RULERS
IN

THE QUR'AN

he Prophet Moses (pbuh) was not the only prophet to have lived
in ancient Egypt. The Prophet Joseph (pbuh) had also lived in
T Egypt long before the time of the Prophet Moses (pbuh).
In the stories of the Prophet Moses (pbuh) and the Prophet Joseph
(pbuh) in the Qur'an, there is another important piece of information. To
refer to the Egyptian ruler at the time of the Prophet Joseph (pbuh), the
word "malik" (the King) is used in the Qur'an:
The King (Malik) said, "Bring him (Joseph) to me straight away! So
I may draw him very close to me." When he had spoken with him,
he declared, "Today you are trusted, established in our sight."
(Surah Yusuf: 54)
In the time of the Prophet Moses (pbuh), however, the Egyptian ruler
is referred to as the "Pharaoh":
We gave Moses nine Clear Signs. Ask the tribe of Israel about when
he came to them and Pharaoh said to him, "Moses, I think you are
bewitched." (Surat al-Isra': 101)
Historical records now available provide the reasons for the different
names used to refer to these two rulers of Egypt. In ancient Egypt, the term
"pharaoh" originally referred to the royal palace. During the reign of the an-
cient kingdoms, the rulers did not hold such a title. The word "pharaoh"
came to be used as a synonym for the Egyptian king under the New
Kingdom (starting in the 18th dynasty, 1539-1292 B.C.), and by the 22nd dy-
nasty (c. 945-c. 730 B.C.) it had been adopted as an epithet of respect. 1

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