… we are trying to prove the validity of the work without using anything in the work itself.
Well, since you do indeed wish to verify what is written in the Bible and the Qur’an with reliable scholastic sources which are independent and respected, then how about the following:
THE WORD “
PHARAOH” IN THE QUR’AN
In the Old Testament, the Egyptian ruler during the period of Prophet Abraham (pbuh) and Prophet Joseph (pbuh) are named “
Pharaoh”. However, this title was actually employed after the eras in which these two Prophets lived.
While addressing the Egyptian ruler at the time of Prophet Joseph (pbuh), the word “
Al-Malik” in Arabic is used in the Qur’an: It refers to a ruler, king or sultan:
The King said, ‘Bring him to me straight away!’… (Qur’an, 12:50)
The ruler of Egypt in the time of the Prophet Moses (pbuh) is referred to as ‘
Pharaoh’.
This distinction in the Qur’an is not made in the Old and New Testaments nor by Jewish historians. In the Bible, the word “
Pharaoh” is used, in every reference to an Egyptian monarch. On the other hand, the Qur’an is far more concise and accurate in the terminology it employs.
The use of the word ‘
Pharaoh’ in Egyptian history belongs only to the late period. This particular title began to be employed in the 14th century BC, during the reign of Amenhotep IV. The Prophet Joseph (pbuh) lived at least 200 years before that time.
The
Encyclopaedia Britannica says that the word “
Pharaoh” was a title of respect used from the New Kingdom (beginning with the 18th dynasty; BC 1539-1292) until the 22nd dynasty (BC 945-730), after which this term of address became the title of the king. Further information on this subject comes from the
Academic American Encyclopaedia, which states that the title of ‘
Pharaoh’ began to be used in the New Kingdom.
Just to reiterate the point, it is not the case of the Bible mentioning the term ‘king of Egypt’ that is the issue here, but rather, it is the fact that the Bible refers to this king of Egypt as ‘
Pharaoh’ in Genesis when relating the story of Prophet Joseph (pbuh).
This is simply historically inaccurate because the king of Egypt during Joseph’s time was not called ‘
Pharaoh’.
This error is not found in the Qur’an whereas the Old Testament and other Jewish scriptures do indeed make this mistake.
The following are excerpts from various articles in
Wikipedia:
- Pharaoh was a name for the office of kingship in the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt.
- The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt.
- Archaeological excavations of the remains of the Abydos mortuary temple of king Ahmose I in the 1990’s have uncovered thousands of fragmentary reliefs depicting this pharaoh’s battles against the Hyksos as well as the earliest known depiction of chariots in Egyptian warfare. This discovery affirms the general view that it was the Hyksos who first brought the chariot into Egypt and permits Joseph to have enjoyed a high position in office during the 15th Hyksos Dynasty as opposed to the later native Egyptian 18th Dynasty… The price of 20 Derham which was paid for Joseph’s slavery in Mesopotamia also affirms a relative date for Joseph in the 18th or 17th Century BC.
And according to
MSN Encarta:
Pharaoh (Egyptian “great house”), name originally used by the ancient Egyptians for the palace of their king. Beginning in the 18th Dynasty (1550-1307 BC) it was applied by extension to the king himself.
And so then, there you have it – no less than four independent and respected sources i.e. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Academic American Encyclopaedia, Wikipedia and MSN Encarta, have all verified that it is simply not accurate to use the term ‘
Pharaoh’ when referring to the king of Egypt before the 18th Dynasty.
We need to always remember the golden rule i.e. God
NEVER makes mistakes of any kind.
That being the case, is there anyone here who would care to give a simple and unequivocal answer to the following question:
Around 1400 years ago when the Qur’an was revealed, who else apart from God Himself would possibly have known then about this inaccuracy of the Bible in using the word ‘Pharaoh’ when referring to the king of Egypt during the time of Prophet Joseph (pbuh)?
Actually, that is exactly the proof you need.
Well said.
So it can’t be validated by reason - that would destroy it in the act of proving it. If it depends on the insight of a created intellect, it becomes a philosophy for the brilliant, & not a faith for the unlearned also; so it ceases to be the gift of God for the salvation of all.