Pharaoh
is a title of the most famous kings of ancient Egypt, and it was widely used from the Eighteenth Dynasty until the end of the Egyptian dynastic era. This title was also granted by Egyptian priests to foreign rulers of Egypt, such as the Persians, Ptolemies, and Romans. The last person to hold this title was the Roman Emperor Maximinus Daia. Archaeologist Salim Hassan points out that there are many job titles associated with the Pharaoh, such as the title of Pharaoh’s wet nurse and supervisor of the Pharaoh’s grain stores.
Some refuse to use this term as a title for the kings of ancient Egypt for national and religious considerations, especially influenced by the stories of Pharaoh in the Torah and Pharaoh Moses in the Qur’an. They believe that Pharaoh is a personal name for a ruler from the Hyksos era and not a title. Despite these beliefs, archaeological evidence supports the use of the term as a title. None of the known Hyksos rulers bore the name of Pharaoh.
Origin of the name "Pharaoh"
The title "Pharaoh" is derived from the Egyptian word *per-aa* or *pr-aa*, where "per" represents the house symbol and "aa" represents the column symbol. So the word "peraa" translates to the big house or the high house, referring to the ruler's palace. Over time, it evolved into a senior title equivalent to "Your Majesty" or "His Highness", and from the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty, it became a royal title.
Arabic language dictionaries and dictionaries provide a specific definition of the term “Pharaoh” as a title for the kings of ancient Egypt, stressing that its origin is not Arabic. This is supported by the fact that it is one of the foreign words mentioned in the Qur’an.
The word Pharaoh is mentioned in the Qur’an 74 times in 27 surahs
- 9 times in Surat Al-A’raf and Surat Ghafir.
- 8 times in Surat Al-Qasas.
- 6 times in Surat Yunus and Surat Ash-Shu’ara.
- 5 times in Surat Taha.
- 3 times in Surat Al-Anfal and Surat Hud.
- Twice in Surat Al-Dhariyat, Surat Al-Isra, Surat Al-Tahrim, Surat Al-Muzzammil, Surat Al-Baqarah, and Surat Al-Zukhruf.
- Once in Surat Al-Buruj, Surat Al-Qamar, Surat Al-Mu’minun, Surat Al-Naml, Surat Al-Dhariyat, Surat Ibrahim, Surat Al-Imran, Surat Al-Haqqa, Surat Al-Nazi. Surat Al-Ankabut, Surat Al-Fajr, Surat Saad, and Surat Q.
Origin of the term "Pharaoh"
It may be derived from the Egyptian words “bar-a” which means the great house or royal palace. The explanation states that the term was later changed due to Jewish influence to “Bar-Aw” and then to “Pharaoh,” where the Arabs added the letter “N” to become “Pharaoh.”
In addition, she mentioned the weakening of the Egyptian kings at the end of the Middle Kingdom and the influx of nomads, often referred to as Hyksos, who entered Egypt from Central Asia. The story indicates that these people lacked civilization and stability, and behaved like locusts that ate everything in their path. The reference to the "Hyksos people" probably relates to the Hyksos, a group associated with the Second Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt.