Difference between revisions of "Pharaoh"

<p> '''Pha'raoh.''' The common title of the native kings of Egypt in the Bible, corresponding to ''P-Ra'' or ''Ph-Ra'' , ''"The Sun",'' of the hieroglyphics. Brugsch, Ebers and other modern Egyptologists define it to mean, ''"The Great House",'' which would correspond to our, "the Sublime Porte." As several kings are mentioned only by the title "Pharaoh" in the Bible, it is important to endeavor to discriminate them: </p> <p> '''The [[Pharaoh]] of Abraham.''' &nbsp;Genesis 12:15. - At the time at which the patriarch went into Egypt, it is generally held that the country, or at least, lower Egypt, was ruled by the [[Shepherd]] kings, of whom the first, and most powerful line, was the fifteenth dynasty, the undoubted territories of which would be first entered, by one coming from the east. The date at which [[Abraham]] visited Egypt was about B.C. 2081, which would accord, with the time of Salatis, the head of the fifteenth dynasty, according to our reckoning. </p> <p> '''The [[Pharoah]] of Joseph.''' &nbsp;Genesis 41:1. - One of the Shepherd kings, perhaps, Apophis, who belonged to the fifteenth dynasty. He appears to have reigned from Joseph's appointment, (or perhaps, somewhat earlier), until Jacob's death, a period of at least twenty-six years, from about B.C. 1876 to 1850, and to have been the fifth or sixth king, of the fifteenth dynasty. </p> <p> '''The Pharoah of the oppression.''' &nbsp;Exodus 1:8. - The first [[Persecutor]] of the [[Israelites]] may be distinguished as the Pharaoh of the oppression, from the second, the Pharoah of the Exodus, especially, as he commenced , and probably long carried on the persecution. The general view is that he was an Egyptian. One class of Egyptologists think that Amosis, ('''Ahmes''' ), the first sovereign of the eighteenth dynasty, is the Pharaoh of the oppression; but Brugsch and others identify him with [[Rameses]] II, (the [[Sesostris]] of the Greeks), of the nineteenth dynasty. (B.C. 1340). </p> <p> '''The Pharoah of the Exodus.''' &nbsp;Exodus 5:1. - [[Either]] Thothmes III, as Wilkinson, or Menephthah, son of Rameses II, whom Brugsch thinks was, probably, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, who with his army pursued the Israelites, and were overwhelmed in the Red Sea. "The events which form the lamentable close of his rule over Egypt are passed over by the monuments, (very naturally), with perfect silence. </p> <p> The dumb tumults covers the misfortune: which was suffered, for the record of these events was inseparably, connected with the humiliating confession of a divine visitation, to which a patriotic writer at the court of Pharaoh would hardly have brought his mind." The table on page 186 gives some of the latest opinions. </p> <p> '''Pharaoh, father-in-law of Mered.''' - In the genealogies of the tribe of Judah, mention is made of the daughter of a Pharaoh married to an [[Israelite]] - "Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, which [[Mered]] took." &nbsp;1 Chronicles 4:18. </p> <p> '''Pharaoh, brother-in-law of Hadad, the Edomite.''' - This king gave Haadad, as his wife, the sister of his own wife, Tahpenes. &nbsp;1 Kings 11:18-20. </p> <p> '''Pharaoh, father-in-law of Solomon.''' - The mention that the queen was brought into the city of David, while Solomon's house and the [[Temple]] and the city wall were being built, shows that the marriage took place, not later than the eleventh year of the king, when the Temple was finished, having been commenced in the year that the Pharaoh led an expedition into Palestine. &nbsp;1 Kings 9:16. </p> <p> '''Pharaoh, the opponent of Sennacherib.''' - This Pharaoh, &nbsp;Isaiah 36:6, can only be the Sethos, whom [[Herodotus]] mentions as the opponent of Sennacherib, and who may reasonably be supposed to be the Zet of Manetho. </p> <p> '''Pharoah-necho.''' - The first mention in the Bible of a proper name, with the title, Pharaoh, is the case of Pharaoh-necho, who is also called simply, Necho. This king was of the Saite twenty-sixth dynasty, of which [[Manetho]] makes him either the fifth or the sixth ruler. Herodotus calls him Nekos, and assigns to him a reign of sixteen years, which is confirmed by the monuments. He seems to have been an enterprising king, as he is related to have attempted to complete the canal, connecting the Red Sea with the Nile, and to have sent an expedition of Phoenicians to circumnavigate Africa, which was successfully accomplished. </p> <p> At the commencement of his reign B.C. 610, he made war against the king of Assyria, and, being encountered on his way by Josiah, defeated, and slew the king of Judah, at Megiddo. &nbsp;2 Kings 23:29,30; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 35:20-24. [[Necho]] seems to have soon returned to Egypt. Perhaps, he was on his way thither, when he deposed Jehoahaz. The army was probably posted at Carchemish, and was there defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, in the fourth year of Necho, B.C. 607, that king not being, as it seems, then at its head. &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:1-2; &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:6; &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:10. This battle led to the loss of all the Asiatic dominions of Egypt. &nbsp;2 Kings 24:7. </p> <p> '''Pharaoh-hophra.''' - The next king of Egypt mentioned in the Bible is Pharaoh-hophra, the second successor of Necho, from whom he was separated by the six-years reign of Psammetichus II. He came to the throne about B.C. 589, and ruled nineteen years. Herodotus who calls him Apries, makes him son of Psammetichus II, whom he calls Psammis, and great-grandson of Psammetichus I. </p> <p> In the Bible, it is related that Zedekiah, the last king of Judah was aided by a Pharaoh against Nebuchadnezzar, in fulfillment of his treaty, and that an army came out of Egypt, so that the [[Chaldeans]] were obliged to raise the siege of Jerusalem. The city was first besieged in the ninth year of [[Zedekiah]] B.C. 590, and was captured in his eleventh year, B.C. 588. It was evidently continuously invested, for a length of time, before it was taken, so that it is most probable that Pharaoh's expedition took place during 590 or 589. </p> <p> The [[Egyptian]] army returned without effecting its purpose. &nbsp;Jeremiah 27:5-8; &nbsp;Ezekiel 17:11-18. Compare &nbsp;2 Kings 25:1-4. No subsequent Pharaoh is mentioned in Scripture, but there are predictions, doubtless, referring to the misfortunes of later princes, until the second [[Persian]] conquest, when the prophecy, "There shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt," &nbsp;Ezekiel 30:13, was fulfilled. </p> <p> (In the summer of 1881, a large number of the mummies of the Pharaohs were found in a tomb near [[Thebes]] - among them Raskenen, of the seventeenth dynasty, Ahmes I, founder of the eighteenth dynasty, Thothmes I, II, and III, and Rameses I. It was first thought that Rameses II, of the nineteenth dynasty, was there, But this was found to be a mistake. A group of coffins belonging to the twenty-first dynasty has been found, and it is probable that we will learn not a little about the early Pharaohs, especially from the inscriptions on their shrouds. - Editor). </p>

<p> (See [[Egypt]] ; [[Exodus]] for the list of the Pharaohs.) The official title of the Egyptian kings. The vocalization and diacritic points show the [[Hebrew]] read "Par-aoh," not "Pa-raoh". It is not from Ra "the sun," for the king is called Si-ra , "son of Ra," therefore he would not also be called "The Ra," though as an honorary epithet Merneptah Hotephima is so-called, "the good sun of the land." But the regular title Ρharaoh means "the great house" or "the great double house," the title which to [[Egyptians]] and foreigners represented his person. The [[Mosaic]] authorship of the [[Pentateuch]] is strikingly confirmed by the Egyptian words, titles, and names occurring in the Hebrew transcription. No Palestinian Hebrew after the Exodus would have known Egyptian as the writer evidently did. His giving Egyptian words without a Hebrew explanation of the meaning can only be accounted for by his knowing that his readers were as familiar with Egyptian as he was himself; this could only apply to the Israelites of the Exodus. Abraham's Pharaoh was probably of the 12th dynasty, when foreigners from western Asia were received and promoted. </p> <p> [[Joseph]] was under an early Pharaoh of the 13th dynasty, when as yet Pharaoh ruled over all Egypt, or probably under Amenemha III, sixth king of the 12th, who first regulated by dykes, locks, and reservoirs the Nile's inundation, and made the lake Moeris to receive the overflow. The 12th dynasty, moreover, was especially connected with On or Heliopolis. The Ηyksos or "shepherd kings", who ruled only Lower Egypt while native kings ruled Upper Egypt, began with the fourth of the 13th dynasty, and ended with [[Apophis]] or Apopi, the last of the 17th. Aahmes or Amosis, the first of the 18th, expelled them. He was the "new king who knew not Joseph." [[Finding]] Joseph's people [[Israel]] settled in fertile Goshen, commanding the entrance to Egypt from the N.E., and favored by the Hyksos, he adopted harsh repressive measures to prevent the possibility of their joining invaders like the Hyksos; he imposed bond service on Israel in building forts and stores. Moses as adopted son of the king's sister apparently accompanied Amenhotep I in his expedition against Ethiopia, and showed himself "mighty in words and deeds" (Acts 7). </p> <p> Under Thothmes I, Moses was in Midian. Thothroes II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, drowned in the Red Sea. Thothmes III broke the confederacy of the allied kings of all the regions between [[Euphrates]] and the Mediterranean, just 17 years before Israel's invasion of Canaan, thus providentially preparing the way for an easy conquest of Canaan; this accounts for the terror of [[Midian]] and [[Moab]] at Israel's approach (&nbsp;Numbers 22:3-4), and the "sorrow and trembling which took hold on the inhabitants of [[Palestina]] and Canaan" (&nbsp;Exodus 15:14-16). (See [[Bithiah]] and EGYPT on the influence which the [[Jewess]] wife (Tei) of Amenhotep III exercised in modifying Egyptian idolatry.) (See [[Josiah]] ; NEBUCHADNEZZAR; JERUSALEM; EGYPT, on Pharaoh Necho II and Pharaoh Hophra.) </p> <p> Herodotus (ii. 159) illustrates Necho's conquests in Syria and [[Palestine]] between 610 and 604 B.C.: "Necho made war by land upon the Syrians, and defeated them in a pitched battle at Magdolus" (Megiddo). [[Berosus]] (in Josephus, [[Apion]] 1:19) too says that toward the close of Nabopolassar's reign, i.e. before 605 B.C., Egypt, Syria, and [[Phoenicia]] revolted; so he sent his son [[Nebuchadnezzar]] to recover those countries. The sacred history harmonizes the two accounts. Necho designed to acquire all Syria as far as [[Carchemish]] on the Euphrates (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 35:20-24). Josiah opposed his design and fell at Megiddo. So Necho for a time ruled all Syria, "from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt," deposed [[Jehoahaz]] for [[Eliakim]] = Jehoiakim, and levied tribute (&nbsp;2 Kings 24:7; &nbsp;2 Kings 23:31-35). Nebuchadnezzar defeated Necho at Carchemish, 606 B.C. (&nbsp;Jeremiah 46:2), and recovered all that region, so that Necho "came not again any more out of his land." </p> <p> Necho was sixth king of the 26th (Saitic) dynasty, son of Psammetichus I, and grandson of Necho I. Celebrated for a canal he proposed to cut connecting the Nile and Red Sea. Brugsch (Eg. 1:252) makes his reign from 611 to 595 B.C. PHARAOH [[Hophra]] succeeded Psamme tichus II, Necho's successor. Herodotus writes Apries. Began reigning 589 B.C., and reigned 19 years. Hai-fra-het (Rawlinson Herodot. 2:210, 823). He took [[Gaza]] of the [[Philistines]] (&nbsp;Jeremiah 47:1), and made himself master of [[Philistia]] and most of Phoenicia; attacked Sidon, and fought by sea with Tyre; and "so firmly did he think himself established in his kingdom that he believed not even a god could east hint down" (Herodotus ii. 161-169). So Ezekiel in harmony with the secular historian describes him as a great crocodile in his rivers, saying, "my river is mine own, and I have made it for myself" (&nbsp;Ezekiel 29:3). </p> <p> But his troops sent against [[Cyrene]] having been routed, the Egyptians, according to Herodotus, revolted and set up [[Amasis]] as king; then strangled Hophra, and raised Amasis to the throne. Ezekiel (Ezekiel 29-32) foretold the conquest of Pharaoh and invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar. Hophra in 590 or 589 B.C. bad caused the Chaldaeans to raise the siege of Jerusalem, but it was only for a time (&nbsp;Jeremiah 37:5-7). Jerusalem, under Zedekiah, fell before Nebuchadnezzar, 588 B.C. Jeremiah in Egypt subsequently foretold "Jehovah's giving Hophra into the hand of them that sought his life" (&nbsp;Jeremiah 44:30; &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:25-26). The civil war between Amasis and [[Apries]] would give an opportunity for the invader Nebuchadnezzar (in the 23rd year of his reign: [[Josephus]] Ant. 10:11) to interfere and elevate Amasis on condition of his becoming tributary to Babylon. Or else the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar gave an opportunity for the revolt which ended in Hophra's death and Amasis' elevation. </p> <p> Berosus alone records Nebuchadnezzar's invasion, but similarly we find [[Assyrian]] monuments recording conquests of Egypt either unnoticed by our historians extant or mentioned only by inferior authorities. National vanity would prevent the Egyptian priests from telling Herodotus of Egypt's loss of territory in Syria (which Josephus records) and of Nebuchadnezzar's share in raising Amasis to the throne instead of Hophra The language of &nbsp;Jeremiah 44:30 is exact to the truth: "I will give Pharaoh Hophra into the hands of his enemies, and of them that seek his life," namely, Amasis and his party; Nebuchadnezzar is not mentioned until the end of the verse. In &nbsp;Ezekiel 30:21, "I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt ... it shall not be bound up"; Ezekiel's prophecy (&nbsp;Ezekiel 30:13), "there shall be no more a prince of ... Egypt," implies there should be no more a prince independent and ruling the whole land. [[Cambyses]] made Egypt a province of the Persian empire; since the second Persian conquest, 2,000 years ago, there has been no native prince. </p>

<p> Is properly an Egyptian word adopted into the Hebrew, and signifies king; so that when we find this name it means everywhere the king. Thus, also, Pharaoh Hophra is simply king Hophra. </p> <p> Of the kings of Egypt, there are not less than twelve or thirteen mentioned in Scripture, all of whom bore the general title of Pharaoh, except four. Along with this title, two of them have also other proper names, Necho and Hophra. The following is their order. Some of them have been identified, by the labors of Champollion and others, with kings whose proper names we know from other sources, while others still remain in obscurity. Indeed, so brief, obscure, and conflicting are the details of Egyptian history and ancient chronology, which no name before that of [[Shishak]] can be regarded as identified beyond dispute. </p> <p> 1. Pharaoh, &nbsp;Genesis 12:15 , in the time of Abraham, B. C. 1920. He was probably a king of the Theban dynasty. </p> <p> 2. Pharaoh, the master of Joseph, &nbsp;Genesis 37:36 &nbsp; 39:1-23 &nbsp; Acts 7:10,13 , B. C. 1728. Some suppose that the Pharaoh to whom Joseph became [[Prime]] [[Minister]] was the son of the one mentioned in &nbsp;Genesis 37:36 . </p> <p> 3. Pharaoh, who knew not Joseph, and under whom Moses was born, B. C. 1571, &nbsp;Exodus 1:8 &nbsp; Acts 7:18 &nbsp; Hebrews 11:23 . </p> <p> Very probably there was another Pharaoh reigning at the time when Moses fled into Midian, and who died before Moses at the age of eighty returned from Midian into Egypt, &nbsp;Exodus 2:11-23 &nbsp; 4:19 &nbsp; Acts 7:23 . </p> <p> 4. Pharaoh, under whom the Israelites left Egypt, and who perished in the Red Sea, &nbsp;Exodus 5:1-14:31 &nbsp; 2 Kings 17:7 &nbsp; Nehemiah 9:10 &nbsp; Psalm 135:9 &nbsp; 136:13 &nbsp; Romans 9:17 &nbsp; Hebrews 11:27 , B. C. 1491. </p> <p> 5. Pharaoh, in the time of David, &nbsp;1 Kings 11:18-22; B. C. 1030. </p> <p> 6. Pharaoh, the father-in-law of Solomon, &nbsp;1 Kings 3:1 &nbsp; 7:8 &nbsp; 9:16,24 , B. C. 1010. </p> <p> 7. Shishak, near the end of Solomon's reign, and under Rehoboam, B. C. 975,&nbsp;1 Kings 11:40 &nbsp; 14:25 &nbsp; 2 Chronicles 12:2 . From this time onward the proper name of the Egyptian kings are mentioned in Scripture. See SHISHAK. </p> <p> 8. Zerah, king of Egypt and [[Ethiopia]] in the time of Asa, B. C. 930; called Osorchon by historians. See ZERAH. </p> <p> 9. So, or Sevechus, contemporary with Ahaz, B. C. 730,&nbsp;2 Kings 17:4 . See SO. </p> <p> 10. Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia and Egypt, in the time of Hezekiah, B. C. 720,&nbsp;2 Kings 19:9 &nbsp; Isaiah 37:9 . The Tearcho of Strabo, and the Taracles of Manetho. See TIRHAKAH. </p> <p> 11. Pharaoh Necho, in the time of Josiah, B. C. 612,&nbsp;2 Kings 23:29-30 &nbsp; 2 Chronicles 35:20-24 , etc. Necho, the son of Psammeticus. See NECHO. </p> <p> 12. Pharaoh Hophra, contemporary with Nebuchadnezzar. He was the grandson of Necho, and is the Apries of Herodotus. Zedekiah formed an alliance with him against Nebuchadnezzar, and he drove the [[Assyrians]] from Palestine, took [[Zidon]] and Tyre, and returned to Egypt with great spoil. He seems to have done nothing to prevent the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem, &nbsp;Jeremiah 37:1-5 &nbsp; 47:1 &nbsp; Ezekiel 29:21 . He reigned twenty-five years, and was dethroned by his army after an unsuccessful expedition against Cyrene, as was foretold, &nbsp;Jeremiah 44:30 . </p>

<p> <strong> PHARAOH. </strong> The later Egyptian royal title, <em> Per-‘o </em> , Great House,’ adopted into Hebrew. Originally designating the royal establishment in Egypt, it graduailly became the appellative title of the king, and from the 22nd Dyn. ( <em> c </em> <em> [Note: circa, about.] </em> . b.c. 950) onwards was regularly attached to the king’s name in popular speech. The Hebrew Pharaoh-necho and Pharaoh-hophra are thus precise renderings of Egyptian. Shishak also was entitled Per-‘o Sheshonk in Egyptian, but apparently Hebrew had not yet adopted the novel fashion, and so gave his name without Pharaoh (&nbsp; 1 Kings 11:40; &nbsp; 1 Kings 14:24 ). [[Tirhakah]] is not entitled Pharaoh as in Egyptian documents, but is more accurately described as king of [[Cush]] (&nbsp; 2 Kings 19:9 ). </p> <p> The following Pharaohs are referred to without their names being specified: <strong> 1 </strong> . Pharaoh of [[Abram]] (&nbsp; [[Genesis]] 12:10-20 ), impossible to identify. The title Pharaoh and the mention of camels appear to be anachronisms in the story. <strong> 2. </strong> Pharaoh of Joseph (&nbsp; Genesis 39:1-23 etc.). The proper names in the story, viz. Potiphar, Potiphera, Asenath, Zaphenath-paneah are at once recognizable (when the vocalization is discounted) as typical names (Petepre, Esnelt, Zepnetefonkh) of the late period beginning with the 22nd Dyn. ( <em> c </em> <em> [Note: circa, about.] </em> . b.c. 950), and ending in the reign of [[Darius]] ( <em> c </em> <em> [Note: circa, about.] </em> . b.c. 500). It has been conjectured that the Pharaoh of Joseph was one of the [[Hyksos]] kings, but it is not advisable to press for historical identifications in this beautiful legend. <strong> 3. </strong> and <strong> 4. </strong> The Pharaohs of the [[Oppression]] and the Exodus. The name of <strong> [[Raamses]] </strong> , given to a store-city built by the Hebrews (&nbsp; Exodus 1:11 ), points to one of the kings named Ramesses in the 19th 20th Dyn. as the Pharaoh of the Oppression. The chief of these was Ramesses ii. ( <em> c </em> <em> [Note: circa, about.] </em> . b.c. 1350), after whom several towns were named. He was perhaps the greatest builder in Egyptian history. His son Mineptah might be the Pharaoh of the Exodus: but from the fifth year of Mineptah there is an Egyptian record of the destruction of ‘Israel,’ who, it would seem, were already in Palestine. At present it is impossible to ascertain the proportion of historical truth contained in the legends of the &nbsp; Exodus 5:1-23 <strong> . </strong> &nbsp; 1 Chronicles 4:18 , ‘Bithiah, daughter of Pharaoh’: no clue to identity. Bithiah is Heb., and not like an Egyp. name. <strong> 6. </strong> &nbsp; 1 Kings 3:1; 1Ki 9:16; &nbsp; 1 Kings 9:24; &nbsp; 1 Kings 11:1 , Pharaoh, the father-in-law of Solomon, must be one of the feeble kings of the end of the 21st Dynasty. <strong> 7. </strong> &nbsp; 1 Kings 11:18 , the Pharaoh who befriended [[Hadad]] the [[Edomite]] in the last days of Solomon, and gave him the sister of his queen Tahpenes: not identified. (At this point in the narrative Shishak comes in: he is never called Pharaoh, see above.) <strong> 8. </strong> Pharaoh, king of Egypt in &nbsp; 2 Kings 18:21 , &nbsp; Isaiah 36:6 etc., perhaps as a general term for the Egyptian king, not pointing to any individual. In the time of [[Sennacherib]] and Hezekiah, Tirhakah or some earlier king of the [[Ethiopian]] Dynasty would be on the throne. <strong> 9. </strong> For &nbsp; Jeremiah 37:1-21 , &nbsp; Ezekiel 29:1-21 , see Hophra. </p> <p> F. Ll. Griffith. </p>

<p> [[Pharaoh]] (''Fâ'Ro,'' or ''Fâ'Ra-O'' ). &nbsp;Genesis 12:15. The common title of the king of Egypt—also called Pharaoh-necho and Pharaoh-hophra. &nbsp;2 Kings 23:29; &nbsp;Jeremiah 44:30; &nbsp;Jeremiah 46:2. Ten Pharaohs are mentioned in the Old Testament. 1. The Pharaoh of the time of Abraham. &nbsp;Genesis 12:15. The date of Abraham's visit to Egypt is most probably fixed at about b.c. 2080. 2. The Pharaoh of Joseph, &nbsp;Genesis 41:1-57, was the last, or the last but one, of the fifteenth dynasty; probably identical with Apophis, who reigned at least 26 years, b.c. 1876-1850. S. The Pharaoh of the Oppression—" the new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph," &nbsp;Exodus 1:8, and under whose reign Moses was born—probably Rameses II., the Sesostris of the Greeks, the master-builder of Egypt, whose statues and temples in ruins are found all over the Nile valley from [[Zoan]] (Tanis) to Karnak. His mummied body was taken from the tomb in 1881 and unwrapped in the Bulak museum, 4. The Pharaoh of the Exodus, &nbsp;Exodus 5:1, before whom Moses wrought his miracles, was Menephtha, son of Rameses II. On a monument of [[Tanis]] mention is made of the fact that he lost a son, and Dr. Brugsch connects this with the death of the first-born, the last of the plagues. 5. The Pharaoh whose daughter, Bithiah, was given in marriage to Mered, a descendant of Judah. &nbsp;1 Chronicles 4:18. 6. The Pharaoh who gave the sister of his queen in marriage to Hadad, an Edomite of royal blood, who escaped the massacre of [[Joab]] and fled to Egypt. &nbsp;1 Kings 11:18 to &nbsp;1 Kings 20:7. The Pharaoh whose daughter [[Solomon]] married and brought "into the city of David until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord," &nbsp;1 Kings 3:1, consequently before the eleventh year of his reign, in which year the temple was finished. &nbsp;1 Kings 6:37-38. This Pharaoh afterward made an expedition into Palestine, took Gezer, and gave it to his daughter, Solomon's wife. &nbsp;1 Kings 9:16. 8. The Pharaoh to whom king [[Hezekiah]] was allied in his war with Sennacherib. &nbsp;2 Kings 18:21. 9. Pharaoh-nechoh, also called amply Necho, reigned from b.c. 610 to 594. He made an expedition against Assyria, but was encountered by Josiah, king of Judah, at Megiddo. &nbsp;2 Chronicles 35:20-24; &nbsp;2 Kings 23:29-30. Necho's army was afterward defeated at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar, and he lost all his Asiatic possessions. &nbsp;2 Kings 24:7. 10. Pharaoh-hophra, the Apries of secular history, was the second successor of Necho, and entered Palestine, probably in b.c. 590, in order to relieve Jerusalem, which was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar. &nbsp;Jeremiah 37:5-8; &nbsp;Ezekiel 17:11-13; comp. &nbsp;2 Kings 25:1-4. The campaign was of no avail. [[Jerusalem]] fell, and Nebuchadnezzar made a successful invasion into Egypt. Pharaoh-hophra was afterward deposed by his own subjects, and finally strangled. In their prophecies Jeremiah and Ezekiel (see above) give a very striking picture of this king, his arrogance and conceit, which corresponds closely with that given by Herodotus. </p>

<p> Egyptian kings were known by the title Pharaoh. To the Egyptian people Pharaoh was a god-king, one who embodied a god during his life and went to the world of the gods at his death (see [[Egypt]] ). The Bible, however, treats the various Pharaohs as it treats the kings of other nations. They were mere human beings under the sovereign control of God (&nbsp;Romans 9:17; cf. &nbsp;Isaiah 44:28). </p> <p> Some Pharaohs are mentioned favourably in the Bible. The Pharaoh whom Abraham visited was more honest in his behaviour than Abraham (&nbsp;Genesis 12:10-20), and the Pharaoh of Joseph’s time was sensible and generous (&nbsp;Genesis 41:37-45; &nbsp;Genesis 41:55; &nbsp;Genesis 45:16-20; &nbsp;Genesis 47:20-22; &nbsp;Genesis 50:4-6). Later, other Pharaohs oppressed the Israelites and made them slaves. One even tried to kill all their babies (&nbsp;Exodus 1:8-16; &nbsp;Exodus 1:22). </p> <p> The most infamous of the Pharaohs was the man who opposed Moses and hardened his heart against God. From Moses’ first meeting with him, he showed that he despised God and had no intention of releasing the captive Israelites (&nbsp;Exodus 5:1-2). He was determined to resist God at all costs, in spite of the repeated opportunities God gave him to repent and in spite of the warnings God gave him through a series of plagues (&nbsp;Exodus 7:11-13; &nbsp;Exodus 8:8; &nbsp;Exodus 8:15; &nbsp;Exodus 8:28-32). By confirming Pharaoh in his hardness of heart, God showed the greatness of Pharaoh’s evil and the justice with which he punished it (&nbsp;Exodus 9:12; &nbsp;Romans 9:14-18; see [[Plague]] ). </p> <p> In the final plague on Egypt, the firstborn in all Egyptian families, including Pharaoh’s, died. This prompted Pharaoh at last to release the Israelites (&nbsp;Exodus 11:1-9; &nbsp;Exodus 12:29-32). When Pharaoh changed his mind and tried to recapture the Israelites, he and his soldiers were killed in a mighty judgment at the Red Sea (&nbsp;Exodus 14:5-9; &nbsp;Exodus 14:28). </p> <p> Most of the remaining Pharaohs of the Bible story are mentioned in relation to Egypt’s political and military involvement with Judah during the time of the Israelite monarchy (e.g. &nbsp;1 Kings 3:1; &nbsp;1 Kings 11:40; &nbsp;2 Kings 18:21; &nbsp;2 Kings 23:29; see JUDAH, [[Tribe]] AND KINGDOM). Some of them feature in prophetic announcements of judgment upon Egypt (e.g. Ezekiel 29; Ezekiel 30; Ezekiel 31; Ezekiel 32; see [[Egypt]] ). </p>

<p> This was the regal title of the kings of Egypt, so the mere appellation, 'Pharaoh' in no way intimates which king is alluded to. Some kings of Egypt are mentioned in scripture without this title, as Shishak, Necho, Hophra, So, and Tirhakah, the last two of whom were Ethiopians. Those specially referred to in the O.T. are: </p> <p> 1. The Pharaoh who took Abram's wife, Sarai, into his house (about B.C. 1919). &nbsp; Genesis 12:14-20 . </p> <p> 2. The Pharaoh who promoted Joseph (about B.C. 1715), and received into Egypt Jacob and his sons and their families. &nbsp; Genesis 40 — &nbsp; Genesis 50; &nbsp;Acts 7:10,13 . </p> <p> 3. The Pharaoh who knew not Joseph (about B.C. 1635), he oppressed the Israelites, and ordered the male children to be killed, under whom Moses was born; and whose daughter adopted him as her son. &nbsp; Exodus 1 . </p> <p> 4. The Pharaoh from whom Moses fled when he was grown up (about B.C. 1531). &nbsp; Exodus 2 . </p> <p> 5. The Pharaoh of the Exodus (about B.C. 1491). See EGYPT and PLAGUES. </p> <p> After a period of about 500 years scripture refers to </p> <p> 6. The Pharaoh whose daughter Bithiah was married to Mered, of the tribe of Judah. &nbsp; 1 Chronicles 4:18 . </p> <p> 7. The Pharaoh whose daughter was married to Solomon (about B.C. 1014). &nbsp; 1 Kings 3:1; &nbsp;1 Kings 7:8 , etc. This Pharaoh captured and burntthe city of [[Gezer]] in Canaan, and gave the site to his daughter. &nbsp;1 Kings 9:16 . </p> <p> 8. The Pharaoh who received Hadad when he fled from Solomon, and gave him his sister-in-law to wife (about A.D. 984). &nbsp; 1 Kings 11:14-22 . </p> <p> The title 'Pharaoh' is judged by Professor Sayce to signify 'Great House' [in which all men live], or somewhat similar to the 'Sublime Porte,' or Gate. Each king had a title ofhonour as well as his personal name: the titles were such as 'The Sun, Lord of Glory'; 'The Sun, Lord of Truth,' etc. </p>

<p> Egyptians applied “pharaoh” to the royal palace and grounds in the fourth dynasty (about 2500 B.C.). The title <i> Pharaoh </i> came to be applied to the king from about 1500 B.C. until the Persian domination, about 550 B.C. </p> <p> An ancient pharaoh was an absolute monarch, supreme commander of the armies, chief justice of the royal court, and high priest of all religion. His absolute power may be seen in that justice was defined as “what Pharaoh loves”; wrongdoing as “what Pharaoh hates.” An example of his divine power was that he daily conducted “the [[Rite]] of the House of the Morning,” an early morning ritual in which he broke the seal to the statue of the sun god, waking him up with a prayer. This act brought the sun up and started every day for the people. </p> <p> References to ten pharaohs can be clearly distinguished in the Old Testament: the Pharaoh of Abraham, &nbsp;Genesis 12:10-20; of Joseph, &nbsp;Genesis 39-50; of the Oppression, &nbsp;Exodus 1:1; of the Exodus, &nbsp;Exodus 2:23-15:19; of &nbsp;1 Chronicles 4:18; of Solomon, &nbsp;1 Kings 3-11; of Rehoboam, called Shishak, king of Egypt, &nbsp;1 Kings 14:25; of Hezekiah and Isaiah, &nbsp;2 Kings 18:21; &nbsp;Isaiah 36:1; of Josiah, &nbsp;2 Kings 23:29; of &nbsp;Jeremiah 44:30 and &nbsp; Ezekiel 29:1-16 . See Egypt; Exodus . </p>

<p> &nbsp;Genesis 41:44 (c) In this passage the king may be taken as a type of GOD the Father. He takes the same relationship to Joseph as GOD the Father takes toward CHRIST. All "things" are delivered to the Lord JESUS, and all judgment is in CHRIST's hands. All things were made by CHRIST. No one can come to the Father except through His Son. We may understand that Pharaoh thus represents GOD the Father just in this passage. </p> <p> &nbsp;Exodus 5:2 (c) Here we may see a type of the hardened sinner who rebels against GOD's Word, and refuses to bow to GOD's authority. This is true today. </p> <p> &nbsp;Exodus 7:3 (c) It is still true that those who persist in rebelling against GOD are bound to their choice by GOD. He chooses their delusions ( &nbsp;Isaiah 66:4), and binds their rebellion upon them. [[Clay]] when placed in the sun gets hard, so the sinner's heart becomes hardened when it insists on rebelling against the Lord. </p> <p> &nbsp;Romans 9:17 (c) In this passage GOD presents Pharaoh as an example of one in whom He works and deals as He will with all other obstinate sinners. </p>

<li> Pharaoh-hophra, who in vain sought to relieve Jerusalem when it was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar (q.v.), &nbsp; 2 Kings 25:1-4; Compare &nbsp;Jeremiah 37:5-8; &nbsp;Ezekiel 17:11-13 . (See Zedekiah .) <div> <p> '''Copyright Statement''' These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by [[Thomas]] Nelson, 1897. Public Domain. </p> <p> '''Bibliography Information''' Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Pharaoh'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/p/pharaoh.html. 1897. </p> </div> </li>

<p> '''(1):''' ''' (''' n.) See Faro. </p> <p> '''(2):''' ''' (''' n.) A title by which the sovereigns of ancient Egypt were designated. </p>

<p> ''''' fā´rō ''''' , ''''' fā´rā́ ''''' - ''''' ō ''''' ( פּרעה , <i> ''''' par‛ōh ''''' </i> ; Φαραώ , <i> ''''' Pharaṓ ''''' </i> ); Egyptian <i> ''''' per ''''' </i> <i> ''''' aa ''''' </i> , "great house"): </p> 1. The Use of Name in Egypt: <p> Many and strange differences of opinion have been expressed concerning the use of this name in Egypt and elsewhere, because of its importance in critical discussions (see below). <i> Encyclopaedia Biblica </i> says "a name given to all Egyptian kings in the Bible"; it also claims that the name could not have been received by the Hebrews before 1000 BC. <i> Hdb </i> (III, 819) says that a letter was addressed to Amenhotep as "Pharaoh, lord of," etc. According to Winckler's theory of a North Arabian Musri, it was the Hebrews alone in ancient times who adopted the term Pharaoh from the Egyptians, the name not being found even in the <i> ''''' Tell ''''' </i> <i> ''''' el ''''' </i> -Amarna [[Letters]] or anywhere else in cuneiform literature for the king of Egypt. Such a result is obtained according to Winckler's theory by referring every reference in cuneiform to "Pir'u, king of Musri" to the North Arabian country. </p> <p> In Egyptian inscriptions the term "Pharaoh" occurs from the [[Pyramid]] inscriptions onward. At first it is used with distinct reference to its etymology and not clearly as an independent title. Pharaoh, "great house," like Sublime Porte, was applied first as a metaphor to mean the government. But as in such an absolute monarchy as Egypt the king was the government, Pharaoh was, by a figure of speech, put for the king. Its use in Egypt clearly as a title denoting the ruler, whoever he might be, as Caesar among the Romans, [[Shah]] among Persians, and Czar among Russians, belongs to a few dynasties probably beginning with the Xviii th, and certainly ending not later than the Xxi st, when we read of Pharaoh Sheshonk, but the Bible does not speak so, but calls him "Shishak king of Egypt" (&nbsp;1 Kings 14:25 ). This new custom in the use of the title Pharaoh does not appear in the Bible until we have "Pharaoh-necoh." Pharaoh is certainly used in the time of Rameses II, in the "Tale of Two Brothers" ( <i> [[Records]] of the Past </i> , 1st series, II, 137; <i> Recueil de Travaux </i> , Xxi , 13, l. 1). </p> 2. Significance of Use in the Bible: <p> It appears from the preceding that Biblical writers use this word with historical accuracy for the various periods to which it refers, not only for the time of Necoh and Hophra, but for the time of Rameses II, and use the style of the time of Rameses 2 for the time of Abraham and Joseph, concerning which we have not certain knowledge of its use in Egypt. It is strongly urged that writers of the 7th or 5th century Bc would not have been able to make such historical use of this name, while, to a writer at the time of the exodus, it would have been perfectly natural to use Pharaoh for the king without any further name; and historical writers in the time of the prophets in Palestine would likewise have used Pharaoh-necoh and Pharaoh Hophra. This evidence is not absolutely conclusive for an early authorship of the Pentateuch and historical books, but is very difficult to set aside for a late authorship (compare &nbsp;Genesis 12:14-20; &nbsp;Genesis 41:14; &nbsp;Exodus 1:11; &nbsp;Exodus 3:11; &nbsp;1 Kings 3:1; &nbsp;1 Kings 14:25; &nbsp;2 Kings 23:29; &nbsp;Jeremiah 44:30; also &nbsp;1 Kings 11:19; &nbsp;2 Kings 18:21; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 4:18 ). </p>

<p> A name, now proper, now common, given in the Old [[Testament]] to the kings of Egypt, identified with that of the sun-god Phra, and applied to the king as his representative on earth; some 10 of the name occur in the Bible, and it is matter of difficulty often to distinguish one from another. </p>