The Exodus in the Qur’an, the Bible, and History (Part 8): The Pharaoh’s Claim to Divinity

One of the major narrative differences between the Qur’anic account of the Exodus and the Biblical one is the Qur’an’s emphasis on the Pharaoh’s claim to divinity.  The Qur’an narrates:

Then he gathered (his people) and proclaimed, “I am your Lord, Most High.”  So Allah seized with the exemplary punishment of the hereafter and the former. (79:23-25) 

 Pharaoh said, “O my chief!  I do not know of any god for you other than me” (28:39)[1]

Today it is common knowledge that the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt claimed divine status, so the statements of Pharaoh that the Qur’an reports here come as no surprise.  However, this element of the narrative is unique to the Qur’an’s account of the Exodus.  The Pharaoh’s claim to divinity does not play an important role in the biblical text, and in fact, lacks any explicit mention of it at all.  This is also the case with the retellings of the Exodus story in the Jewish pseudepigrapha (extrabiblical writings between 300 BCE and 300 CE), such as the Book of Jubilees, and likewise (as far as I am aware) with rabbinic accounts.  The Pharaoh’s claim to divinity is distinctive to the Qur’an’s account; it lacks any biblical, Jewish, or Christian precedents.  Yet, it is also historically accurate:

By the early New Kingdom, deification of the living king had become an established practice, and the living king could himself be worshipped and supplicated for aid as a god.[2]

Two steles, 410 and 1079 of the Hildesheim Museum, each describe Ramesses II as “Ramesses-meryamun, the God,” and the Papyrus Anastasi II praises Ramesses as “god,” “herald,” “vizier,” and “mayor.”  The Great Temple at Abu Simbel (see the picture in the part 7) was built by Ramesses II to honor himself.  The entrance of the temple is flanked by four colossal statues of Ramesses II, which dwarf the statue of the god Re-Horakhty located above it.[3]   The building also contains a relief that depicts Ramesses II making a sacrifice to his divine self:

Relief in the Great Temple at Abu Simbel of Ramesses II making an offering to his divine self.

Courtesy of Islamic-Awareness.org.

It must be kept in mind that Egypt had not been ruled by a pharaoh for more than six centuries before the Qur’an was revealed.  The last independent rulers of Egypt were Cleopatra and her son Caesarion, who reigned until 30 BCE, after which Egypt was taken over by Rome.  While the title of “pharaoh” continued to be appropriated by a number of Roman emperors, the title appears to have died off well before the Christianization of the Roman Empire, and certainly none of the Christian emperors had claimed divinity.

The Qur’an’s reference to the Pharaoh’s claim to divinity is another historically accurate piece of information that is distinctive to its narrative of the Exodus, and is not mentioned in the earlier known biblical or extrabiblical versions of the story.

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[1] This is āya is not a denial of the polytheism of Egyptians during the time of Pharaoh, but simply expresses Pharaoh's arrogance.  7:127 affirms that Pharaoh and his chiefs recognized a multiplicity of gods: “The chiefs among the people of Pharaoh said, ‘Will you leave Moses and his people to cause corruption in the land and abandon you and your gods?’”

[2] D. P. Silverman, “Divinities And Deities In Ancient Egypt.” Religion In Ancient Egypt: Gods Myths, And Personal Practice. Ed. B.E. Shafer: London, Routledge, 1991. 64.  Qtd. in “The Identification Of Pharaoh During The Time Of Moses.” Islamic-Awareness.org, 4 Jan. 2012.

[3] See “The Identification Of Pharaoh During The Time Of Moses.”  Islamic-Awareness.org, 4 Jan. 2012.