Page 273 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW
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252 COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW
Philistines, even unto Gaza” (2 Kings 18:8), and king of Judah, Uzziah , who also
built cities among the Philistines (2 Chron. 26:6).

In Hebrew, the root P.L.S = “invade,” “invasion,”
“entering land which is not yours”

,
19.6 Pharaoh King of Egypt (Biblical Times)
As demonstrated by the story of Laban (chapter 15), names in the Bible nearly

always convey the inner essence of the named. “Pharaoh” is one more example
where a name conveys catastrophe for the children of Israel , yet the name prob-
ably originated elsewhere, because it was found inscribed in various excavations
in Egypt.
The term “pharaoh ” was originally used for the place where the king resided,
and it is to be translated as “great house.” Gradually the term came to be used
for the king himself, which probably happened somewhere between 1400–900
BCE.
During a period historians call the New Kingdom, there was a clear distinc-

tion between divine kingship and the pharaoh himself. Through long periods of
Egyptian history, the pharaoh is described as an institution, not as an individual.
The ideal image of the pharaoh was presented. There are a good number of excep-
tions from this, often connected to pharaohs that were successful in a military
sense.
Of the pharaohs in the Bible, Shishak is Sheshonk I, Neco or Necoh is Necho,
and Hophra is Apries. Many scholars believe that the pharaoh who oppressed the
Jews (Exodus, chapters 1–14) was Seti I, and that his son Ramses II was the pha-
raoh of the Exodus.
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The Hebrew root of the “pharaoh” is P.R.A. This root has multiple meanings
in Hebrew. However, actual linguistic usages of this root in the spoken Hebrew
language, as well as in biblical discourse, often imply acts of violence against Jews.
8
For example, the word praot is routinely used in Hebrew for pogroms—namely,
unrestrained maiming and killings conducted against the Jewish people as indi-
viduals or against Jewish communities, both during the expulsion from the land
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of Israel (the Galut) or earlier or later.
The first usage in this sense appears in the book of Judges: “In time of tumul-

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tuous strife [befroa praot ] in Israel …” (Judges 5:2). The same root is also used
earlier in Deuteronomy 32:42. Other related senses are contained in different
usages of this root, scattered all over the Bible.