According to modern linguist research the word "Pharaoh" comes from the Egyptian Per-aa, meaning Great House and originally referred to the palace rather than the king himself. The word was used by the writers of the Old Testament and has since become a widely adopted title for all the Kings of Egypt. However, the Egyptians did NOT call their ruler "Pharaoh" until the 18th Dynasty (c.1552 - 1295 BC) :roll: . 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 , as under the rule of the Hyksos there was no "Pharaoh." Similarly, the events related in Genesis 12 concerning Abraham(P) (c. 2300 BC) could not have occurred in a time when the sovereign of Egypt was called Pharaoh, and this exposes yet another anachronism. In several chapters of Genesis we find the same error. The biblical writers composed their texts under the influences of the knowledge of their time, when the king of Egypt was usually designated as "Pharaoh". The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible explains the reasons of such discrepancies with modern knowledge:
The frank attitude toward the stories about Egypt in Genesis and Exodus is that folk memory had retained the essentials of great Hebrew experience but had later clothed that memory with some details imperfectly recollected and some circumstantial details borrowed from later times and conditions.
The situation is entirely different in the Qur'ân. We find mentioned the Egyptian king who was a contemporary of Joseph(P). For him the Qur'ân uses the title "King" (Arabic, Mâlik); he is never once addressed as Pharaoh. As for the king who ruled during the time of Moses(P), the Qur'ân 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'ânic Revelation, the only source of knowledge of the religious past was the Bible. From the time of the Old Testament to the Qur'ân, 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.
These facts must be reflected upon, especially in the face of unfounded allegations that are usually made against the Prophet Muhammad(P),"the author of the Qur'ân, who largely copied the Bible."
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'ân is a Revelation from God, and that Muhammad(P) is his final Prophet.
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/ ... etail.html