Pharaoh
the title of the ancient Egyptian kings
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Pharaoh
had dreams of cattle and corn by which Joseph was able to foretell the future. [O.T.: Genesis 41]
Pharaoh
imposed cruel burdens of labor on the Hebrews. [O.T.: Exodus 5]
Pharaoh
refuses to heed Moses’s mandate from God. [O.T.: Exodus 7:13, 22–23, 8:32, 9:7, 12]
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Pharaoh
an ancient Egyptian king; also, beginning with the 22nd Dynasty, the title of the king. The term “pharaoh” came from the ancient Egyptian per-o, meaning “great house,” and was passed down through biblical tradition as “pharaoh” (ancient Hebrew, paroh; Greek, pharao). According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the pharaoh was the sun god as well as the earthly embodiment of Horus and the heir of Osiris.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.