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Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature: Difference between revisions
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Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature (view source)
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===Moses, his servant and the fish=== | ===Moses, his servant and the fish=== | ||
{{main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance}} | {{main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance}} | ||
The story of Moses and his journey to the end of the world, with his servant and a miraculously escaped fish in {{Quran-range|18|60|64}} is almost unanimously considered by academic scholars to be derived from a legend about Alexander the Great in the Alexander Romance tradition (Pseudo-Callisthenes), an episode known as the search for the water of life. This tale is also found in the Jewish Talmud and the | The story of Moses and his journey to the end of the world, with his servant and a miraculously escaped fish in {{Quran-range|18|60|64}} is almost unanimously considered by academic scholars to be derived from a legend about Alexander the Great in the Alexander Romance tradition (Pseudo-Callisthenes), an episode known as the search for the water of life. This tale is also found in the Jewish Talmud and the Syriac metrical homily (memre) about Alexander (also known as the Song of Alexander, or Alexander Poem, which used to be dated to 629-636 CE, but is now considered likely to be 6th century). | ||
The Syriac metrical homily also features the episode of Alexander enclosing Gog and Magog behind a wall, derived from the slightly earlier Syriac Alexander Legend, and which occurs in the Dhu'l Qarnayn pericope, discussed below. It cannot be a coincidence that, like surah al-Kahf, the Syriac homily has both stories, perhaps providing a clue to the content of their ultimate common source. See the Water of Life section in the main article for a more detailed discussion, including relevant quotes from the Syriac homily. | The Syriac metrical homily also features the episode of Alexander enclosing Gog and Magog behind a wall, derived from the slightly earlier Syriac Alexander Legend, and which occurs in the Dhu'l Qarnayn pericope, discussed below. It cannot be a coincidence that, like surah al-Kahf, the Syriac homily has both stories, perhaps providing a clue to the content of their ultimate common source. See the Water of Life section in the main article for a more detailed discussion, including relevant quotes from the Syriac homily. | ||
===Moses and al Khidr=== | ===Moses and al Khidr=== | ||
The story of Moses and al-Khidr occurs in {{Quran-range|18|65|82}}. A J Weinsink (d. 1939) proposed that it was derived from the story of Elijah and Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, though more recent scholarship has shown that the latter is late and heavily influenced by the Islamic tradition. More successfully, Roger Paret identified a significant Christian parallel that may predate the Quran.<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds,"The Quran and Bible:Text and Commentary", New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018 p. 465</ref> It is an example of a genre of literature known as "theodicy" (dealing with the theological problem of evil). | The story of Moses and al-Khidr occurs in {{Quran-range|18|65|82}}. A J Weinsink (d. 1939) proposed that it was derived from the story of Elijah and Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, though more recent scholarship has shown that the latter is late and heavily influenced by the Islamic tradition. More successfully, Roger Paret identified a significant Christian parallel that may predate the Quran.<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds,"The Quran and Bible:Text and Commentary", New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018 p. 465</ref> It is an example of a genre of literature known as "theodicy" (dealing with the theological problem of evil). | ||