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Response to Islamic Awareness: Qur'鈔ic Accuracy Vs. Biblical Error:
The Kings & Pharaohs Of Egypt
Responses to Islamic Awareness
Qur'鈔ic Accuracy Vs. Biblical Error: The Kings & Pharaohs Of Egypt
Mr Karim believes that he has found an instance where the Qur'an is historically
accurate and the Bible is in error. He tells us in
this article:
For all kings, the contemporaries of Abraham(P),
Joseph(P) and Moses(P), the Bible uses the term "Pharaoh" to address the
kings of Egypt. The Qur'鈔 however differs from the Bible: the sovereign
of Egypt who was a contemporary of Joseph(P) is named "King" (Arabic, M鈒ik);
whereas the Bible has named him "Pharaoh". As for the king who ruled during
the time of Moses(P) the Qur'鈔 repeatedly calls him "Pharaoh" (Arabic,
Fir'awn).
He continues:
However, the Egyptians did not call their ruler
"Pharaoh" until the 18th Dynasty (c.1552 - 1295 BC). In the language of
the hieroglyphs, "Pharaoh" was first used to refer to the king during the
reign of Amenhophis IV (c.1352-1338 BC). We know that such a designation
was correct in the time of Moses(P) but the use of the word Pharaoh in the
story of Joseph(P) is an anachronism
What is the Significance of the Bible's Use of "Pharaoh"?
The books of the Bible went through a very human process of composition,
transmission, and preservation. Part of that process apparently included
the updating of place names and, in this case, political titles to terms
that were known to later generations. This is not an error at all. For
example, a history book could say: "In the 1300's, a certain Indian tribe
occupied an area near Tucson, Arizona." Of course, Tucson, Arizona wasn't
a city at the time, nor was Arizona a state, but readers would understand
that the author did not say that it was, he or she is merely using it as
a modern reference point.
The Qur'an also imposes its own terminology on Old Testament characters.
For example, the Qur'an gives the Biblical character Potiphar the Arabic
title of al-Aziz, - a term that would have been
unknown in ancient Egypt. The Bible uses the distinctly Egyptian term
Pharaoh to refer to the King of Egypt. The word Pharaoh, or "Great House"
orginally refered to the government, or the royal palace. Since the Pharaoh
was the absolute ruler of Egypt, the government and king were one and
the same.
In the final anylsis, I do not mind if the place/person names were updated
in Scriptures. The Bible is historically reliable because there is so much
historical and archeological confirmation of the teachings of Scripture.
If the Bible is historically reliable, then God really did what He said
He did in history. God's actions throughout history are the entire basis
for both Judaism and Christianity.
What is the Significance of the Qur'an's Use of "Malik"?
The situation is entirely different in the
Qur'鈔. We find mentioned the Egyptian king who was a contemporary of
Joseph(P). For him the Qur'鈔 uses the title "King" (Arabic, M鈒ik);
he is never once addressed as Pharaoh. As for the king who ruled during
the time of Moses(P), the Qur'鈔 repeatedly calls him Pharaoh (Arabic,
Fir'awn).
These facts that we have mentioned were unknown at the time of the
Qur'anic Revelation. At the time of the Qur'鈔ic Revelation, the only
source of knowledge of the religious past was the Bible. From the time
of the Old Testament to the Qur'鈔, the only document mankind possessed
on these ancient stories was the Bible itself. Furthermore, the knowledge
of the Old Egyptian hieroglyphs had been totally forgotten, and no one
could read them until the 19th century AD.
Issue 1: The Biblical use of Melek (King)
These "facts" were known during the time of Muhammad. The Qur'an
did not invent the title of Malik (King). In fact, the Bible uses both
"Pharaoh" and "Melek" (the Hebrew term for King) in the story of Joseph
(See Genesis 39:20 , 40:1, 40:5, 41:6)! It is also interesting to note
that the Bible, unlike the Qur'an, uses both Pharaoh and Melek to refer
to the King of Egypt in the account of Moses and the Exodus (see Exodus
6:11 and 13).
Issue 2: What about the Pharaoh of the Exodus?
Apparently, Mr Karim feels sufficiently confident to date the events of
the Exodus. Since, according to Mr. Karim, Amenhophis IV (c.1352-1338 BC)
was the first King of Egypt to be referred to as Pharaoh, the Exodus must
have occurred during or after the reign of Amenhophis IV for the Qur'an
to be historically correct. Is this the case?
There is debate among Biblical archaeologists concerning the chronology of Moses
and the Exodus, but we can safely say that most scholars place the Exodus
prior to the reign of Amenhophis IV and the use of Pharaoh as a royal title. In Judges 11:26, one of the last Judges, named Jephthah, says that the period of time from the first settlement
in Transjordan, during the Conquest, to his own time, is 300 years.
I Kings 6:1, tells us that the time from the Exodus to the building
the temple by Solomon in 966 BC is recorded as 480 years, which complements
the date in Judges. These two passages place the Exodus around 1450 BC, long before
Amenhophis IV (c.1352-1338 BC)!
Who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus and when did these events occur?
According to one biblical chronology, Moses was born around 1527 B.C..
In the new chronology of Egypt (A Test of Time: The Bible:- From Myth
to History by David M. Rohl), the Pharaoh on the throne of Egypt was
Neferhotep I of the 13th Dynasty.
What proof exists to support this claim?
John Fulton, in his A New
Chronology says:
The early Christian historian Eusebius in his work 'Evangelicae Preparationis'
quotes from a book 'Peri Ioudaion' (Concerning the Jews) by the Jewish
historian Artapanus. This work of Artapanus has not survived down to the
present but is also quoted in Clement's 'Stromata'. Artapanus, writing
in the 3rd century BC, had access to ancient records in Egyptian temples and
perhaps even the famous Alexandrian library of Ptolemy I.
Artapanus writes that a pharaoh named Palmanothes was persecuting the Israelites.
His daughter Merris adopted a Hebrew child who grew up to be called prince
Mousos. Merris married a pharaoh Khenephres. Prince Mousos grew up to administer
the land on behalf of this pharaoh. He led a military campaign against the
Ethiopians who were invading Egypt; however, upon his return, Khenephres grew
jealous of his popularity. Mousos then fled to Arabia to return when Khenephres
died and lead the Israelites to freedom. It may be only a Mosaic story with
similarities to the biblical account, yet the only pharaoh with the name
Khenephres was Sobekhotep IV, who took the name Khaneferre at his coronation.
He reigned soon after Neferhotep I of the 13th Dynasty, as mentioned above,
the pharaoh in power at Moses' birth!
Josephus in his 'Antiquities of the Jews', with access to very old
manuscripts and writing in AD 93, also mentioned Moses' Ethiopian or Kushite war.
Here, Moses led an Egyptian army down the Nile valley, past the Third Cataract,
deep into Kush (modern Ethiopia). In the British Museum is a stela (page 261,
fig. 289) which tells of a 13th Dynasty pharaoh undertaking a campaign south
into the region of Kush. That pharaoh is none other than Khaneferre, the
step-father of Moses according to Artapanus. He is the only 13th Dynasty
pharaoh who is recorded as having campaigned into Upper Nubia or Ethiopia.
At Kerma on the Nile an official Egyptian building was found, outside of
which was discovered a statue of Khaneferre, so dating this building to
the 13th Dynasty. This is many hundreds of kilometres south of the known
boundaries of 13th Dynasty Egypt and may have been a governor's residence'.
It would have been built to secure Egyptian interests in the area after
the military victory of the Egyptians led by Moses, as this was the only
Kushite war at that time with Egypt. As Moses was a prince of Egypt and
was 40 years old according to the Bible when he fled to Arabia, he could
certainly have led this military operation - an Israelite leading an
Egyptian army to war! If this part of Josephus' account is true then it
adds weight to the rest of his account of the life of Moses and also
gives us some firmer evidence of the existence of this charismatic leader!
Clearly the King of Egypt during the time of Moses and the Exodus
lived much earlier than the reign of Amenhophis IV (c.1352-1338 BC), which Mr.
Karim implies to be the time of Moses.
With this chronology, the King of Egypt, during the life of Moses, did
not "officially" hold the title of Pharaoh! Therefore, the Qur'an,
according to Mr. Karim's argument, is in error.
If there was no human knowledge in existence at the time, then from where
did the Prophet Muhammad(P) obtain this information? If human factors
are unable to account for the changes in the narrations which affected
their meaning with regard to modern knowledge, another explanation has
be accepted: the Qur'鈔 is a Revelation from God, and that Muhammad(P)
is his final Prophet.
This is a very hasty conclusion. The Bible clearly shows us how God
has acted throughout history and outlines God's plan for humanity.
Christians can trust the Bible because the Scriptures are historically
reliable. There is an abundance of historical and archeological
evidence which confirm for the teachings of the Bible. There are
numerous organizations devoted to the study of Biblical archeology including:
The Foundation for Biblical Archaeology,
BIBARCH,
Associates
for Biblical Research, Near East
Archaeological Society (NEAS), Biblical Chronologist, and
Archaeology Society;
as well as publications such as Biblical
Archaeologist, Biblical Archaeology
and American Archaeologist, and
Biblical
Archaeology. Where are the Muslim counterparts of these organizations
and publications?
Andrew Vargo
Responses to Islamic Awareness
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