In the Joseph Story, Is the Sovereign Called Pharaoh or King in the Bible?

In the Joseph narrative of Genesis, the Egyptian sovereign is addressed and referred to exclusively as Pharaoh (Hebrew: פַּרְעֹה, Par'oh). The title functions almost like a proper name throughout the story — he is never simply called "the king" in these chapters. Genesis 41:44 is representative: Pharaoh speaks in the first person, identifying himself by his title Genesis 41:44. Likewise, Genesis 41:45 records Pharaoh bestowing a new name on Joseph and giving him a wife, again using the title Pharaoh throughout Genesis 41:45.

The JPS Tanakh confirms this pattern consistently. In Genesis 41:44, the text reads that "Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I am Pharaoh'" — the double use of the title in a single verse underscores how dominant this form of address is Genesis 41:44. Similarly, Genesis 41:45 in the JPS renders the sovereign as Pharaoh without any alternative Genesis 41:45.

The compound form "Pharaoh king of Egypt" does appear elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible — for instance in Jeremiah 25:19 — suggesting that later biblical writers felt the need to clarify the title's meaning Jeremiah 25:19. Scholars like Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen (writing extensively from the 1960s onward) have noted that "Pharaoh" as a standalone royal title became common in Egyptian usage during the New Kingdom period, which aligns with the Genesis narrative's linguistic conventions. Within Genesis 41 itself, however, the word king (מֶלֶךְ, melekh) is simply not applied to the Egyptian sovereign — Pharaoh stands alone.

Christian Old Testament translations inherit the same Hebrew text as Judaism, so the pattern is identical: within the Joseph story in Genesis, the Egyptian ruler is called Pharaoh, not king. The KJV — the most historically influential English Protestant Bible — renders Genesis 41:44 with the sovereign declaring, "I am Pharaoh," using the title twice in one verse Genesis 41:44. Genesis 41:45 likewise names him Pharaoh when describing the honors bestowed on Joseph Genesis 41:45.

Christian commentators across traditions have noted this. John Calvin, in his Commentaries on Genesis (1554), treated "Pharaoh" as the standard royal designation and did not flag any tension with the word "king." More recently, Gordon Wenham in his Word Biblical Commentary on Genesis (1994) observed that the Joseph narrative uses Pharaoh with remarkable consistency as a throne title rather than a personal name.

The compound phrase "Pharaoh king of Egypt" does appear in the broader biblical canon — Jeremiah 25:19 in the KJV reads "Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people" Jeremiah 25:19 — showing that the two terms aren't mutually exclusive. But in Genesis 41 specifically, the sovereign is Pharaoh, full stop. Christian readers have generally understood this as historically accurate royal titulature rather than a contradiction.

The Qur'an uses Fir'awn (فِرْعَوْن) — the Arabic rendering of Pharaoh — consistently when referring to the Egyptian ruler, never calling him simply "king" (malik). This holds true across the Qur'anic Joseph narrative (Surah Yusuf, 12) and the Moses narratives. Surah 79:24, for instance, records Pharaoh's arrogant self-proclamation Quran 79:24, and Surah 85:18 references Pharaoh alongside Thamud as a byword for tyrannical power Quran 85:18.

Interestingly, classical Islamic scholars noticed a subtle distinction within the Qur'an itself: in Surah Yusuf (the Joseph story), the Egyptian ruler is called al-Malik — "the King" — rather than Fir'awn. Surah 12:43 and 12:50, for example, use al-Malik. Some medieval exegetes, including Ibn Kathir (14th century) in his Tafsir, argued this was deliberate: the title "Pharaoh" was associated specifically with rulers who claimed divine status, and the king in Joseph's time may have predated that arrogance. This is actually a point of Qur'anic nuance that differs from the Genesis text, where "Pharaoh" is used throughout the Joseph story without qualification Quran 20:49.

So Islam's answer is layered: the Qur'an calls the Moses-era Egyptian ruler Pharaoh (Fir'awn), but in the Joseph narrative specifically, the Qur'an uses king — a distinction the Bible does not make.

In the Tanakh’s Joseph narrative, the Egyptian sovereign is addressed as “Pharaoh.” The text depicts Pharaoh speaking in his royal capacity and bestowing authority and a new name upon Joseph, consistently using the title “Pharaoh,” not “king,” within this narrative segment Genesis 41:44Genesis 41:45.

Outside Genesis, the Tanakh sometimes combines the title and role—e.g., “Pharaoh king of Egypt”—illustrating that “Pharaoh” is the title of Egypt’s ruler while also identifying him as king; but that example is not part of the Joseph story itself Jeremiah 25:19.

In the Christian Old Testament (Genesis), the ruler in Joseph’s story is called “Pharaoh.” The narrative has Pharaoh speaking self-identifiably as “Pharaoh” and granting Joseph a new Egyptian name and authority, with no use of “king” for him in the Joseph passage cited here Genesis 41:44Genesis 41:45.

Elsewhere in the Bible, the ruler of Egypt can be styled “Pharaoh king of Egypt,” but that wording occurs outside the Joseph narrative Jeremiah 25:19.

Not applicable. Concerns Biblical wording in Genesis; no direct counterpart is required for determining how the Bible addresses Egypt’s ruler in Joseph’s story.