We did, before them, try the people of Pharaoh:(4700) there came to them a messenger most honourable,(4701)
4700 This reference is to the pride of Pharaoh and his Egyptians, and their fall, rather than to the story of Moses himself; just as in 44:30-33 the reference is to the blessings bestowed on Israel , contrasted with their pride, unbelief, and fall; and in 44:37, to the ancient Himyar kingdom in Yemen , which similarly fell for its sins. 4701 Most honourable: this epithet is specially applied to Moses here, as expressing the truth, in contrast to the Pharaoh's false characterisation of him as "a contemptible wretch"(43:52).