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Koranic Moses vs. Biblical Moses: How Many Pharaohs Were Faced by Moses?
By admin | December 31, 2008
Story of Moses in the Koran has similarities with the Bible’s explanation. However, there are also some differences. Let’s observe the Story of Moses and view some differences between the Koranic Moses and Biblical Moses to determine the historical credibility among both sacred Books. These differences should be contrasted to the reliability of historical facts and implications in depth.
1. One Pharaoh or two?
As we know, Bible says that the Pharaoh, who ruled Egypt at the time of Moses birth, died when the Moses was in Midian (Exodus 2:23, 4:10). Soon after returning from Midian, Moses faced different Pharaoh. As has been concluded previously, with paralleled Bible to historical facts, the oppressor Pharaoh was Ramses II (1279 – 1212 BC). Therefore, the Exodus’s Pharaoh is Merneptah (1212 – 1202 BC).
The Koran clearly mention ‘one’ Pharaoh, not two. This Pharaoh oppressed the Children of Israel and then pursued them when they did the Exodus from Egypt. All Koran’s verses that are relevant clearly refer to the only one Pharaoh. In the verses, which tell story of Moses, no one mentions about the rise of new Pharaoh in Egypt.
There is evidence in Al-Qashash [28:2-9]. The Surah tells about Pharaoh’s crime and brutality against the Children of Israel before Moses was born. Furthermore, it gives the details about the birth of Moses and how Pharaoh gave his permission to let Moses alive. The story continues with the departure of Moses to Midian and then his exodus from Egypt before informs that the Pharaoh sank in the sea. In addition, the dialogs between Moses, after he returned from Midian, and Pharaoh mentioned in the Koran describes clearly that he who took care Moses when Moses in infancy, see the verses of Ash-Shu’ara [26:18-22].
Indications about the one Pharaoh are mentioned in Ash-Shu’ara [26:10-16] and Al-Qashash [28:32-35]. It is different to Bible which describes that there are no fears for Moses to return to Egypt because the Pharaoh had dead (Exodus 4:19). The Koran states firmly that when God first ordered to go to Pharaoh, Moses showed his fears about this mission, because he had killed one of the Egyptian and had escaped for several years. Therefore, it is obvious that Koran talks about one Pharaoh who ruled in Egypt since the birth of Moses until he was drowned in the sea after the exodus of the Sons of Israel.
2. A Long Reign Pharaoh
The fact shows that Koran talks about a Pharaoh who ruled Egypt before the birth of Moses to the exodus. If we combine with other details of Koran’s story about Moses, it will encourage a conclusion that is very important about the Pharaoh’s long reign, and also the identity of the Pharaoh. As we know that Moses was born when Pharaoh held his power and the the Pharaoh died when he chased Moses, long Pharaoh’s reign can be calculated up with all this: (1) hs reign before Moses was born; (2) age of Moses when he left Egypt to Midian; (3) the duration of Moses lived in Midian; (4) the duration of Moses lived in Egypt after he returned from Midian.
First, Koran does not declare the years of Pharaoh’s reign when Moses was born, and then we can only make estimation of at least the duration of the power of the king. Second, how long Moses lived in Egypt before he went to Midian can be withdrawn from Al-Qashash [28:14], which contains the words ‘lammaa balagha asyuddahu‘, which literally means ‘when he reached the his full’. Variations of this expression can be found in 9 verses of Koran and there are varied conclusions. Some Mufassir (Scholars of Koran Interpretation) interpret this as ‘until his puberty, while some other states ‘until the older age, 60 years old’. (After discussing long-wide problem with linking this to the 8 verses, [6:152], [17:34], [4:6] and [18:82] about maturity age of orphans, and other verses like [22:5], [46:15], also associated with the adult age of Joseph [12:19-24], then we may conclude that the age of 22 years old is the most reliable age when Moses went to Midian.
Third, during in Midian, Koran explicitly mentions in Al-Qashash [28:27-29] that Moses directly leaved the Midian after he fulfilled his contract with Ayyub (Job). However, it certainly does not mention whether it is eight or ten years. Therefore, we should estimate the time range of these. Calculations produce the conclusion that when the Moses first talked to God and return to Egypt, his age was around 28 – 32 years old.
Fourth, the length of time when Moses lived in Egypt after returned from Midian, Koran indicates it as a long period. The indications are stated in Al-A’raf [7:129] about the complaints from Sons of Israel, which stated that they are crushed after Moses convey God’s messages and then Moses advised them to be patient. Other indications mentions problem of ‘dry’ pointing period of several years, even in the sequences years as in Al-A’raf [7:131]. Therefore, time of Moses in Egypt is estimated to 8 – 10 years.
Based on the above analysis, it can be concluded that Pharaoh who lived in Moses era has a long reign, around 36-40 years. This is the very lowest interpretation, because it does not calculate how many years the Pharaoh had been ruled until Moses was born. This Conclusion has an important potential in identifying this Pharaoh because there are only a few Pharaoh who could have long reign in the history of Egypt. Even in the second half of the second millennium of BC –all researchers have agreed that it is the time when the exodus was happened– there were only 2 Pharaohs who ruled for more than 40 years. They are Tuthmosis III (1504 – 1450 BC) and Ramses II (1279-1212 BC). From both of them, it was only Ramses II who has similarities to the Koran’s indications, because Tuthmosis III factually began his reign after his mother died on 1483 BC. So, this Pharaoh had absolute power for only 33 years and therefore he is not the one discussed in the Koran.
3. A Pharaoh who owned ‘autad’
The Holy Koran provides other unique descriptions on the Pharaoh that have relevance to Ramses II, with the call as ‘dzii al-autad‘ in the Surah Sad [38:10-13] and Surah Al-Fajr [89:6:13]. The mufassirs have differences in opinion about the word ‘autad’ –a plural form of the word ‘watad’. Some interpret it as ‘powers and extraordinary cruelties’ because Pharaoh was a tyrant. Some others interpret it as ’soldiers’ because he had a lot of soldiers. However, the most common opinion is that it means a ‘turning point’ or big ‘Nails’ which he used to punish people when they converted to the religion brought by Moses, as contained in the Surah Thaaha [20: 70-71], Ash-Shu’ara [26:46-49], and Al-A’raaf [7:120-124]. The word ‘autad’ in Arabic language has several meanings, such as violence, power, poles, and buildings, or high building. The authors of this book propose their interesting opinions by comparing with the word ‘autad’ which is associated with the mountains (in the Koran, it is called ‘rawaasii’ and ‘jibaal’), when it discusses the mountain’s role to stabilize the earth. The Koran mentions the word ‘rawaasii’, while the word ‘Autad’ is used in the context of the word ‘jibaal’. Differences between the use of the first and the second word in their respective context lead to conclude that the meaning of ‘autad’ is ‘buildings’.
Actually, the interpretation of the word ‘autad’ as ‘buildings’ has an accordance with the context of the verse, in the Surah Al-Fajr [89:6-13] that align the ‘Pharaoh who owned autad’ with the people of Aad who had ‘high buildings ‘ and the people of Thamud who ‘cut stones in the valley’ to build their houses.
The Koran statement that describes the Pharaoh as ‘the building owner’ is very appropriate. This is what distinguishes the Pharaoh Ramses II with other Pharaohs. He ran project developments much more than the other Pharaohs throughout the history of Egypt. He built statues and temples in all Egypt. “As a developer of monuments”, Clayton says, “Ramses II, is the most popular among all Egyptian Pharaohs.”
Although Pharaoh Khufu had created a giant pyramid, Ramses II was more able to reache all country’s region. About this Ramses II, Clayton further states: “His achievements is like Hercules. He built temples of Karnak and Luxor, refining his father’s funeral temples, Seti, in Gourna (Thebes) and also temple of Abydos, and built his own temple near Abydos, near the western Thebes bank. He built giant tombs, Ramesseum. Inscription on the stone cut in el-Gebel Silsila records at least 3,000 workers were employed there, to split the stone needed for Ramesseum. Other important funerals Temples stand in Nubia, in the Beit el -Guardian, Gerf Hussein, Wadi es-Sebua, Derr and he even reached south area, Napata.” (Clayton, PA, 1994, Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rules and Dysnaties of Ancient Egypt)
Commenting on this Pharaoh’s extraordinary obsession with buildings, Kitchen (in the book “Pharaoh Triumphant; The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt”) says: “he wants to work not only on the scale of grandeur –witness my Ramesseum, Luxor, Abu Simbel and the majesty of the Pi-Raamses which now has gone- but also on a wide range of various sectors he could.” Kitchen also states, “for his work which in form of buildings for the deities throughout Egypt and Nubia, Ramses II had not only exceeded 18th Dynasty, but also all period in the history of Egypt.” Thus it can be seen clearly why the Koran mentions Ramses II with ‘a Pharaoh who owned autad’.
4. A Pharaoh who was turned into a mummy
Both of the Koran and Bible state firmly that the Pharaoh, who lived at the time of Moses, died-drowned when he was chasing Moses and the sons of Israel (Exodus 14). However, the Bible does not explicitly states that the Pharaoh’s body was found by his people. This can be seen on the reaction of Bible’s scholars when the mummy of Merneptah (which is claimed as the Exodus’s Pharaoh, who is different with Ramses II, when Moses was born) is not found in his Tomb in the Valley of the Kings and also in other place of the kingdom’s mummy storage which was found in 1881 near Deir el-Bahari in Thebes.
They claim that Merneptah must be the Exodus’s Pharaoh that had been drowned in the sea, so his body cannot be found. However, this claim was forced to be corrected in 1898, when the mummy was found hidden in the tomb of Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings with other 15 mummies (Clayton 1994: p. 158). It is interesting to show that a confidence based on Bible is that Merneptah is the Exodus’s Pharaoh, combined with the fact that the investigation on his mummy shows a thick layer of salt on the skin. So the Bible scholars express it as evidence that he was the Exodus’s Pharaoh who was gone in the sea. However, this is actually a result of embalming in mummy processing (Harris and Weeks: X-raying the Pharaohs).
The Koran, on the other side, does not only emphasize that this Pharaoh and many of his soldiers are drowned in a number of revelations, it also explains that the Pharaoh’s body was saved as a sign for human beings, in Surah Yunuus [10:90-92]. Statement of the Koran is in line with the fact found that Ramses II still exist in a form of a mummy. Ramses II’s mummy was found in 1881 among maintained 40 mummies in storage near Deir el-Bahari in Thebes. Buccaile (The Bible, the Quran and Science: The Holy scripture Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge) correctly shows, that when the revelation came, the mummy’s existence had not already known.
God, through the Koran, often mentions some people that He had punished as lessons for mankind. Only in this case of Pharaoh, God says that He will save him and make him found as a warning for humans. Another interesting fact is God states that he will rescue the Pharaoh’s body to be found as signs for they who come ‘after’. He does not restrict His statement only for the people of Egypt and or those who lived at that time only. Up to now, the Mummy of Ramses II can still be seen by people who come from anywhere. Now the mummy is maintained in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.
From the book: “History of the Israeli in the Bible and Koran, an Islamic Research on Archeology.” (Author: Dr. Louay Fatoohi and Prof. Shetha al-Dargazelli)
Topics: Social & History >< Sosial & Sejarah | 1 Comment »
May 26th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Thanks for your historical insight. I have been searching for the main idea ALLAH story. My question is ” isn’t YAHWEH ALLAH (YAHWEH THE CREATOR)? Exodus 23:13 ” IN ALL THINGS HAVE I SIAD UNTO YOU BE ON GUARD AND MAKE THE MENTION OF THE NAMES OF OTHER GODS AND NEITHER LET THEM BE HEARD OUT OF YOUR MOUTH”. It is written that the world should be filled with the knowledge of the glory of YAHWEH as the sand in the sea”. YAHWEH made the SUN (RA) as a emblem to remember to glorify his name daily not a title. ALLAH(THE CREATOR) , GOD and LORD are titles. Why do people who claim to be the people of the Most High do not reverence the name of our Most Merciful ALLAH. Once the teachers start teaching the truth then YAHWEH will make a decision to have mercy on all the nations as it is written. YAHWEH is at war in the earth just as the war that was in heavens. All religions have doctrines that pay more attention to traditions of forefathers than the LAW of YAHWEH. YAHWEH is anti-oppression. We can not continue to hold on to traditions that walk in the paths of vain acts that cause YAHWEH to be angry with the whole earth. Eliyah(YAHWEH IS GOD), Michael (WHO is LIKE YAHWEH), Emmanuel (YAHWEH IS WITH US). YAHWEHS’ name unlock every mystery but men continue to try and unlock the mysteries of men(gods with small G) As it is written in the Books of Plsam of David, Plsm 82 ” ALL OF YOU ARE GODS AND ALL OF YOU ARE CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH”. What part of YAHWEHS” word is confusion? YAHWEH IS NOT HE GOD OF CONFUSION. Can a tree that is in the forrest go to the forrest? Why should the tree go to the forrest when is what makes up the forrest. So how can a temple or church go to temple or church? Buildings made out of stone and wood are unable to teach(The Book of Zephaniah). YAHWEH ALLAH(THE CREATOR) of Haven and Earth and all things therein has search for this generation and will guide us through the fire and protect us but we have all gone our own way and YAHWEH ask us to gather yourselves together oh nation not desired. So why cant we follow his instruction than that of our fathers which break YAHWEH LAW and forget wisdom and not HONOR YAHWEH as he pleased. If you are Muslim or Christian or Jewish or what ever Please teach us the truth about our Creator and Confess the name of YAHWEH as Lord, God, Redeemer, and Savior as written in the LAW. YAHWEH is ALLAH and Most Merciful and his name Most worthy to be praised. YAHWEH has given us MAZZAROTH to know our time and season. YAHWEH require us to know his name as it is written in the Book of Davids’ Plsam 124:8 “OUR HELP IS IN THE NAME OF YAHWEH WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH”. Regardless of what our parents and teachers taught us knowing the LAW of YAHWEH causes us to know more than our teachers and parents as it is written in Plsam 119. It has been six thousand years since the new world was created by YAHWEH and this my brother is the 7th day which is shabbat or sabbath because one thousand years to us is but one day unto YAHWEH. Who changed the truth of YAHWEH into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the Creator(YAHWEH)?