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Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature (Supplement): Difference between revisions
Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature (Supplement) (view source)
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, 7 June→The term khalāq: Added a list of parallels to late antique sources in the story of Joseph in the Qur'an, citing Reynolds 2025 book on Christianity and the Qur'an.
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Some are not exact matches but very similar, showing potential influence if not direct copies of these texts. | Some are not exact matches but very similar, showing potential influence if not direct copies of these texts. | ||
==The story of Joseph== | |||
There are many differences between the story of Joseph (Arabic: ''Yūsuf'') in the Qur'an; told in full in Surah 12 (Surah Yūsuf), and the book of Genesis in the bible. Reynolds (2025), largely citing Witzum's (2011) 'The Syriac Millenia of the Qur'an: The Recasting of Biblical Narratives',<ref>Witztum, Joseph (2011) ''[https://almuslih.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Witztum-J-The-Syriac-milieu-of-the-Quran.pdf The Syriac milieu of the Quran: The recasting of Biblical narratives], pp191-239.'' PhD Thesis, Princeton University</ref> notes how these differences directly match post-biblical writings; with almost all of these distinctive Qur’anic elements showing dependence on or conversation with Syriac Christian traditions (such as Pseudo-Narsai, Ephrem, Pseudo-Basil, Balai, Syriac Bible/Peshitta), which comes as part of his argument that Christian traditions were known by Muhammad's community. A few overlap with the Jewish midrash, but the strongest and most consistent influence comes from Christian sources.<ref name=":4">Reynolds, Gabriel Said. C''hristianity and the Qur'an: The Rise of Islam in Christian Arabia (p. 76-86).'' Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.</ref> | |||
Reynolds provides 11 clear examples of this, with a brief summary of them as follows:<ref name=":4" /> | |||
#Joseph’s singular dream: in the Qur’an he has only one dream (unlike the Book of Genesis which has two) which he tells directly to his father Jacob, who warns him to keep it secret in case it leads his brothers to seek him harm - matching Pseudo-Narsai’s homily (5th-century Syriac Christian).<ref>Ibid. pp76, pp81</ref> | |||
#The brothers' plot to kill Joseph: the Qur’an has the brothers plotting at home, not spontaneously in the fields - also found in Pseudo-Narsai.<ref>Ibid. pp78, pp82</ref> | |||
#The wolf motif: the Qur’an specifies a wolf instead of a vague “wild animal” as in Genesis - which links to Christian tradition (Pseudo-Narsai) who calls the brothers “wolves” and Joseph “a lamb,” echoing Gospel imagery of shepherds/sheep<ref>Ibid. pp78, pp82-83</ref>. | |||
#Joseph in the pit: the Qur’an has Joseph comforted by God in the pit (''jubb''; {{Quran|12|15}}) - which again follows a report in Pseudo-Narsai of revelation to Joseph in the pit (Syriac ''gubbā'').<ref name=":5">Ibid. pp78, pp83</ref> | |||
#Jacob’s (Joseph's father) response to the bloody shirt: the Qur’an has Jacob suspecting deception - reflected in homilies from Ephrem and Balai, who also have Jacob reason that the brothers’ story is false.<ref name=":5" /> | |||
#Potiphar and the garment: the Qur’an shows Potiphar recognizing Joseph’s innocence and his wife's guilt in trying to seduce him - found in some post-biblical Jewish Traditions (including ''Genesis Rabbah 87:9'') where he shows knowledge of Joseph's innocence - however only in Christian traditions (e.g., Pseudo-Narsai) do we find Potiphar, as in {{Quran|12|28-29}}, also arguing for Joseph’s innocence by referring to the torn garment as proof.<ref name=":5" /> | |||
#Potiphar’s wife confesses: the Qur’an has her admit guilt later in the story - found in the Pseudo-Narsai, where she confesses after Joseph’s rise to power.<ref>Ibid. pp78-79, pp83</ref> | |||
#Jacob’s blindness healed by Joseph’s shirt: the Qur’an reports Jacob miraculously regains sight when Joseph’s shirt touches his face - in the bible Jacob is firstly simply 'dim/heavy with age', but nothing is said about blindness, which is found in Christian late antique sources, and secondly using the garment to heal him draws on Syriac Christian idioms; (“lighten the eyes” = to gladden), made literal in the Qur’an (like other symbolic items in Christian stories) to heal Jacob's eyes.<ref>Ibid. pp79, pp83-84</ref> | |||
#Joseph called a thief by his brothers: the Qur’an has Joseph's brothers suggest he committed a past theft - which is rooted in Pseudo-Narsai, which connects Benjamin’s cup incident to Rachel stealing idols and compares Joseph to her.<ref>Ibid. pp79, pp84-85</ref> | |||
#Joseph’s garment sent to Jacob: the Qur’an has Joseph send his shirt to Jacob - which is related to the Syriac Peshitta (and Septuagint and Vulgate) reading of Genesis and Balai’s poetry, where Jacob receives garments from Joseph.<ref name=":62">Ibid. pp79, pp85</ref> | |||
#The brothers ask for Jacob’s forgiveness – the Qur’an has them repent to Jacob, who asks God to forgive them - which echoes Balai, who also has Jacob forgive and pray for them.<ref name=":62" /> | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||