Commentary: On Genesis

[Judah said to his brother Joseph:] . . . for you are like Pharaoh himself. (Genesis 44:18)

So you should have kept your word, like a king does, for the meaning of the word Pharaoh and its semantic field is “king.”

Now I will explain a parable that I heard from one of the greatest Ishmaelites, which is written in one of their books—the reason why Pharaoh is used as a first name.

They say that there was once a great man in India, wise in every science, a very reasonable, fine, and handsome individual, a man of valor. He had all the praiseworthy characteristics that are found in man. Despite all this, he was unsuccessful and did not even make enough money to buy bread to eat until he had the idea to move; perhaps it would help him. So, he made a path for his steps (Psalms 85:14). On his journey, he came across a large marble stone inscribed with lead: “In this world, a man must be diligent and with all his strength raise himself up to elevated and excellent stations. He should turn away from his unclean craft and take up a clean one that will honor and not degrade him. For one has the choice of craft, if not of wealth and poverty, and it is better for a person to be a poor merchant than a poor blacksmith, or a rich merchant than a rich blacksmith.” When he saw this written on the stone, he decided to go down to Egypt and establish relations with the king. When the king saw his wisdom, he would make him overseer . . . of all that he had (Genesis 39:5).

He came to Egypt. Now, they had a law that the king would emerge from the fortified palace only once a year, on a designated day. When he arrived in Egypt, the king had already emerged that week and returned to his place. Until the end of the year, nobody could speak with him unless they used some sort of ruse to enter to [see] him, as he would seclude himself with his wives and concubines.

The man was upset and did not know what to do. He went out to the market and saw some cucumber sellers. He asked them how they sold them and how people purchased them, and he observed that they were thereby earning enough for their livelihood. He inquired, “When the fruit season ends, how do you earn a living?” They replied, “When the fruit season ends, the vegetable season will arrive, and thus throughout the whole year we find something to sell and make a profit.” He decided that he would follow their example until the end of the year, when he could speak with the king. On the first day, he went and bought cucumbers together with the other customers. However, those lads who snatch the fruit approached him and snatched them [the cucumbers] away from him. Distraught by this, he remained in a state of bewilderment until nightfall. As he did not have lodgings, he climbed inside an open oven he had found in a deserted spot, and he took a stone to place under his head and lay down in that place to sleep (Genesis 28:11). Throughout the entire night he was pondering what he should do to avoid a state of banishment [see 2 Samuel 14:14] until the end of the year, when he could speak with the king.

Now, he had observed every acquisition, collection, tribute, impost, and toll (Ezra 4:13) that the king received by means of officers. In the morning, he hired two workers and went to the market. He bought two instruments of war, which he gave to them, and instructed them to follow him. He then went out to the cemetery, which was outside the city, and said to them, “Be courageous and valiant (2 Samuel 13:28), for my lord the king charged me yesterday, as issued in the order concerning cemeteries, that five golden coins should be paid for each dead person, small or large, and only then should they bury [the body]. The king further instructed me that nobody must know anything about this until the hour of its implementation.”

Upon their arrival, they found two people coming to the cemetery to bury a baby, whom they immediately scolded and pushed out of the cemetery. They then revealed the secret to [the two people with the dead baby], saying that this is the king’s order. When they [the two] heard this, they handed over five golden coins [to the Indian] and then buried [the baby]. But they subsequently returned and complained in the city, in the presence of the judges and the elders. The residents of the city assembled in a great crowd, but the ministers of the city declared to them, “What good will our complaining do, as the king’s word is law, and who can tell him what to do? (Ecclesiastes 8:4). We must suffer until the year passes and the king emerges, for whoever enters to him now, there is one law for him, that he shall be put to death (Esther 4:11).”

On that day, a great many people were buried, and that man was taking in a lot of money every single day, too much to be counted [see Genesis 32:13]. He was accompanied by people bearing shields and spears to frighten the populace. All the ministers of the city were in fear of him, as they saw that the wisdom of God was in him (1 Kings 3:28). They paid him respect, under the impression that this matter came from their lord the king. However, they found it very difficult to accept that the king had appointed officers to collect a tax from the dead, which no king had done to them before. Accordingly, they agreed that they would submit a request before the king to revoke this law and nullify this decree.

I will now inform you of some of the goods that came into his possession, thanks to the large sums of money he amassed. For people died each and every day, small and large alike—an immense, innumerable number of people. He thus accumulated a fortune, with which he purchased houses, vineyards, gardens, orchards [see Ecclesiastes 2:4–5], horses, and mules. Furthermore, they would bring merchants, sons of minor kings, to trade, as well as captive sons of governors and rulers like those captured from another nation and beautiful virgin maidens of fine appearance. He was thus exceedingly wealthy.

When the day arrived on which the king would leave his palace, as he did per the law every year, all the people of the city—men, women, and children—gathered to come to the king and to make supplication and plead (Esther 4:8) with him to [remove] this law. And when he saw this change, he asked his advisors about it to learn what and why this was (Esther 4:5). They answered, “Why does my lord ask about this? They are correct that you placed an evil law on them.” He was astonished and asked, “What is it?” So they told him everything. The king was furious, and his anger burned within him (Esther 1:12). He commanded that the man be hastened and brought to him (Esther 6:14).

Now the man said, “I will appease him” (Genesis 32:21). What did he do? He sent him five hundred young men, as beautiful as princes, dressed in gold and purple clothing, all riding on choice horses. The gift came before the king and was good in his eyes.

But he commanded that the man come before him.

So he sent him another gift: five young virgin women, as beautiful and lovely as princesses, riding on donkeys and dressed in silk and purple. They were holding silver bowls filled with precious stones. The king’s wrath subsided (Esther 7:10).

The king sent the man a message to reassure him and tell him to come. So after that, he came before the king.

The king asked him: How did this come about? How did he do it? How did he dare to do it?

He told the king everything that had happened to him—up until he came to Egypt—and how he thought of his plan while sleeping in an oven because he could not find a way to make money without a lord or office, except for in this way.

The king replied and said, “He is a Pharaoh [par‘oh],” for in Arabic the meaning of the word fir‘awn is “strong-hearted.”

The king accepted him and set his seat above all his ministers (Esther 3:1). And when the king died, they did not appoint his son as king but appointed him in his stead.

The name that that king called himself was “Pharaoh,” and he instructed all his subjects that every king of Egypt should be called that name.

That is why Judah said, “You are like Pharaoh.”