The Qur’an An Abiding Wonder
The Qur’an: The Book of God
~ 36 ~
Egypt in their respective times. For both kings, the
contemporaries of Joseph and Moses, he used the
term ‘Pharaoh.’
As everyone acquainted with the period knows, this
nomenclature is historically incorrect. The reign of
the kings known as Pharaohs did not begin until the
time of Moses: in Joseph’s day, a different line of
monarchs ruled in Egypt.
When Joseph entered Egypt, the kings of a dynasty
known as the Hyksos were in power. They were
ethnically Arabs, and had usurped the Egyptian
throne, reigning from 2000 B.C. until the end of the
15th century B.C. at which time the indigenous
population rebelled against foreign rule, thus
bringing the Hyksos dynasty to an end.
Home rule was then established in Egypt. The clan
that took over sovereignty chose for itself the name
of Pharaoh, which literally means son of the sun-
god, for in those days Egyptians worshipped the
sun, and in order to vindicate their right to rule
over the Egyptians, they made themselves out to be
incarnations of the sun-god.
