Pharaoh of the Exodus

The unnamed Egyptian king who enslaved the Israelites and refused to release them despite God’s demands through Moses and Aaron. His heart was hardened through the ten plagues, each demonstrating divine power over Egypt’s gods. After the death of the firstborn finally compelled him to release Israel, he pursued them to the Red Sea where his army was destroyed in the waters that had parted for Israel. In the Quran, Firaun epitomizes tyrannical arrogance against God; tradition holds he declared “I am your most exalted lord” (Quran 79:24). Whether Ramesses II or an earlier ruler, he stands in Scripture as the archetype of worldly power opposing divine purpose.