6
edits
Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature: Difference between revisions
Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature (view source)
Revision as of 22:13, 30 November 2024
, 30 November 2024Added a better source to "Excerpts from the Protevangelium of James".
| [checked revision] | [checked revision] |
(→Late antique Christian Martyrdom: Added the seven heavens parallel not found in the bible but in late antique Judeo-Christian literature, citing Reynolds and a biblical scholar Stephen Wunrow. Also removed duplicate text in Christian Martyrdom section.) |
m (Added a better source to "Excerpts from the Protevangelium of James".) |
||
| Line 638: | Line 638: | ||
Regarding verse 44 in which things were cast to determine who would look after Mary, Reynolds notes that Islamic tradition related this as casting pens (Quills). However, citing the Protoevangelium 9:1, Reynolds remarks, "In fact the Qurʾān is following the chronology of Mary's life as found in the ''Protoevangelium''. The contest is over who will marry Mary, and it involves not pens but rods, or reeds. The Arabic ''aqlām'' comes from the Greek ''kalamos'' (and it is a ''kalamos'', "reed," that soldiers put in the right hand of Christ in Mat 27:29"<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds (2018) ''The Qurʾān and Bible: Text and Commentary'' p. 119</ref> | Regarding verse 44 in which things were cast to determine who would look after Mary, Reynolds notes that Islamic tradition related this as casting pens (Quills). However, citing the Protoevangelium 9:1, Reynolds remarks, "In fact the Qurʾān is following the chronology of Mary's life as found in the ''Protoevangelium''. The contest is over who will marry Mary, and it involves not pens but rods, or reeds. The Arabic ''aqlām'' comes from the Greek ''kalamos'' (and it is a ''kalamos'', "reed," that soldiers put in the right hand of Christ in Mat 27:29"<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds (2018) ''The Qurʾān and Bible: Text and Commentary'' p. 119</ref> | ||
Various later apocrypha partly based on the ''Protoevangelium'' also contain the relevant story elements.<ref>These include ''The History of Joseph the Carpenter'' (probably composed in Byzantine Egypt in Greek in the late sixth or early seventh centuries), and ''The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew'' (its date is uncertain, as discussed elsewhere in this article).</ref> | Various later apocrypha partly based on the ''Protoevangelium'' also contain the relevant story elements.<ref>These include ''The History of Joseph the Carpenter'' (probably composed in Byzantine Egypt in Greek in the late sixth or early seventh centuries), and ''The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew'' (its date is uncertain, as discussed elsewhere in this article).</ref> | ||
===Excerpts from the Protevangelium of James=== | ===Excerpts from the Protevangelium of James=== | ||
{{Quote| | {{Quote|Hock, R. F. (1995). "The Infancy Gospels of James and Thomas: With Introduction, Notes, and Original Text Featuring the New Scholars Version Translation." Polebridge Press. pp. 44-49.|(1) Many months passed, but when the child reached two years of age, Joachim said, “Let's take her up to the temple of the Lord, so that we can keep the promise we made, or else the Lord will be angry with us and our gift will be unacceptable”. (2) Anna said, “Let's wait until she is three, so she won't miss her father or mother”. (3) And Joachim agreed: “Let us wait.” | ||
(1) Her parents left for home marveling and praising and glorifying the Lord God because the child did not look back at them. (2) And Mary lived in the temple of the Lord. She was fed there like a dove, receiving her food from the hand of heavenly messenger. (3) When she turned twelve, however, there was a meeting of priests. “Look,” they said, “Mary has turned twelve in the temple of the Lord. (4) What should we do with her so she won't pollute the sanctuary of the Lord our God?” (5) And they said to the high priest, “You stand at the altar of the Lord. Enter and pray about her, and we'll do whatever the Lord God discloses to you. (6) And so the high priest took the vestment with the twelve bells, entered the Holy of Holies, and began to pray about her. (7) And suddenly a messenger of the Lord appeared: “Zechariah, Zechariah, go out and assemble the widowers of the people and have each them bring a staff. (8) She will become the wife of the one to whom the Lord shows a sign. (9) And so heralds covered the surrounding territory of Judea. The trumpet of the Lord sounded and all the widowers came running. | |||
and | |||
(1) And Joseph, too, threw down his carpenter's axe and left for the meeting. (2) When they had all gathered, they went to the highpriest with their staff. (3) After the highpriest had collected everyone's staff, he entered the temple and began to pray. (4) When he had finished his prayer, he took the staffs and went out and began to give them back to each man. (5) But there was no sign on any of them. Joseph got the last staff. (6) Suddenly a dove came out of this staff and perched on Joseph's head. (7) “Joseph, Joseph,” the highpriest said, “you've been chosen by lot to take the virgin of the Lord into your care and protection. | |||
}} | |||
The story of Mary’s upbringing in the Temple under the supervision of the High Priest Zachariah, and the choice of Joseph as Mary’s husband by the drawing of lots, is not told in the Bible but in various apocrypha. The Qur'an’s parallelism of this story casts suspicion as to its provenance. These apocrypha are clearly later Christian writings pre-dating Islam, and the oldest, the pseudepigraphal Protevangelium, dates to the second century CE. On stylistic and theological grounds, the Protevangelium has long been considered apocrypha. Thus, these details of the Qur'anic story should not be taken as historical detail but rather as Christian legend which, by merit of its wide circulation, entered into the Qur'an. | The story of Mary’s upbringing in the Temple under the supervision of the High Priest Zachariah, and the choice of Joseph as Mary’s husband by the drawing of lots, is not told in the Bible but in various apocrypha. The Qur'an’s parallelism of this story casts suspicion as to its provenance. These apocrypha are clearly later Christian writings pre-dating Islam, and the oldest, the pseudepigraphal Protevangelium, dates to the second century CE. On stylistic and theological grounds, the Protevangelium has long been considered apocrypha. Thus, these details of the Qur'anic story should not be taken as historical detail but rather as Christian legend which, by merit of its wide circulation, entered into the Qur'an. | ||