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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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→‎Jesus, Mary, and the Palm Tree: Noted other late antique parallel details in the Mary's story in the Qur'an. Quoted Neuwirth who notes the 'Protevangelium of James (Protev 10)'. And moved the Mary parallels next to each other on the page.
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(→‎Moses's speech impediment: Added another small late antique parallel in the Moses / Pharoah story)
(→‎Jesus, Mary, and the Palm Tree: Noted other late antique parallel details in the Mary's story in the Qur'an. Quoted Neuwirth who notes the 'Protevangelium of James (Protev 10)'. And moved the Mary parallels next to each other on the page.)
 
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{{Quote||All the various Hellenistic and Latin variants of the original myth of Leto giving birth to Apollo by a palm tree reflect the borrowing and adaptation by groups who reshaped it for their own objectives and needs. Appropriations of ancient myths were common in the ancient world, and the early Christians were no exception. The palm-tree story that found its way to sura Maryam is a reworking of Leto's labor. It is about a distressed pregnant woman (Leto/Mary) who seeks an isolated place (Delos/a remote spot), sits by the trunk of a palm tree next to a stream (Inopos/a brook), and delivers a holy child (Apollo/Jesus). <br>
{{Quote||All the various Hellenistic and Latin variants of the original myth of Leto giving birth to Apollo by a palm tree reflect the borrowing and adaptation by groups who reshaped it for their own objectives and needs. Appropriations of ancient myths were common in the ancient world, and the early Christians were no exception. The palm-tree story that found its way to sura Maryam is a reworking of Leto's labor. It is about a distressed pregnant woman (Leto/Mary) who seeks an isolated place (Delos/a remote spot), sits by the trunk of a palm tree next to a stream (Inopos/a brook), and delivers a holy child (Apollo/Jesus). <br>
‏It is nevertheless unlikely that the myth of Leto was the direct source for sura Maryam. As was aforementioned, the concise version found in the latter has two parts: Mary's labor and delivery, and the miracle. We might therefore suspect that there was a stage when Leto's myth was borrowed and applied to Mary.<ref>Suleiman Mourad, “Mary in the Qur'an″, in ''The Qur’ān in Its Historical Context'', Ed. Gabriel Said Reynolds, p.169, New York: Routledge, 2007</ref>}}
‏It is nevertheless unlikely that the myth of Leto was the direct source for sura Maryam. As was aforementioned, the concise version found in the latter has two parts: Mary's labor and delivery, and the miracle. We might therefore suspect that there was a stage when Leto's myth was borrowed and applied to Mary.<ref>Suleiman Mourad, “Mary in the Qur'an″, in ''The Qur’ān in Its Historical Context'', Ed. Gabriel Said Reynolds, p.169, New York: Routledge, 2007</ref>}}
=== Other details ===
{{Quote|{{Quran|19|16-17}}|And mention in the Book Maryam, when she withdrew from her family (to) a place eastern. Then she took from them a screen. Then We sent to her Our Spirit then he assumed for her the likeness (of) a man well-proportioned.}}
Neuwirth (2024) notes we also find other details in the birth story, such as Mary withdrawing to 'an Eastern place', which had many allegorical meanings in post-biblical traditions connecting Mary with the church in late antiquity, and the screen itself, not contained in the bible, seemingly 'de-allegorised' in the Qur'an as simple details in the story.<ref name=":6">Neuwirth, Angelika. ''The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 2.1: Early Middle Meccan Suras: The New Elect (Kindle Edition. pp. 385-386).'' Yale University Press. </ref> It is not known if these de-allegorisation readings were meant to superimpose any contemporary allegory or if they were simply circulating in a story or stories already detached from their deeper meanings.<ref name=":6" />
{{Quote|Neuwirth, Angelika. <i>The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 2.1: Early Middle Meccan Suras: The New Elect (Kindle Edition. pp. 386).</i> Yale University Press.|The detail of the curtain is also reminiscent of a symbolic apocryphal story about Mary (see TUK_0035). According to the account of the Protevangelium of James (Protev 10) already used by Bell (1937), but especially by Tannous (2019), Mary is chosen by lot to weave purple and scarlet for the temple curtain (see KKK, 323)—whose color unmistakably anticipates her son’s passion. In view of the passion story not appearing in the Qurʾan, it is not surprising that in the Qur’an the important curtain is downgraded to a rather marginal accessory, a partition protecting Mary’s private space. As in the case of the “eastern place,” so also in the case of the curtain, an image used allegorically in the Christian tradition is ‘deallegorized’; both symbolic details appear again in the qurʾanic version as everyday realities...}}
==Mary and Zechariah==
===Qur'anic Account===
The Bible, unlike the Qur'an,  is silent on Mary’s birth, upbringing and relationship with Zachariah. The following is what one finds in the Qur'an:
{{Quote| {{Quran|3|35-44}}| [Mention, O Muhammad], when the wife of 'Imran said, "My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing."
‏But when she delivered her, she said, "My Lord, I have delivered a female." And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, "And the male is not like the female. And I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah]."
So her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zechariah. Every time Zechariah entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, "O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you?" She said, "It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account."
‏At that, Zechariah called upon his Lord, saying, "My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication."
‏So the angels called him while he was standing in prayer in the chamber, "Indeed, Allah gives you good tidings of John, confirming a word from Allah and [who will be] honorable, abstaining [from women], and a prophet from among the righteous."
‏He said, "My Lord, how will I have a boy when I have reached old age and my wife is barren?" The angel said, "Such is Allah; He does what He wills."
‏He said, "My Lord, make for me a sign." He Said, "Your sign is that you will not [be able to] speak to the people for three days except by gesture. And remember your Lord much and exalt [Him with praise] in the evening and the morning."
And [mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.
O Mary, be devoutly obedient to your Lord and prostrate and bow with those who bow [in prayer]."
That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you, [O Muhammad]. And you were not with them when they cast their pens as to which of them should be responsible for Mary. Nor were you with them when they disputed.}}
'''The salient points are:'''
*The child Mary was given into Zachariah’s care by her mother, and kept in a sanctuary (possibly in dedication to God).
*Zachariah was astonished that she did not need human help in feeding herself. Some supernatural occurrence explained her daily sustenance.
*Zachariah speaks to God who told him of John. Zachariah is incredulous due to the physical condition of him and his wife.
*Mary’s husband was decided by the drawing of lots.
===Apocryphal Accounts===
Reynolds observes, "The Qurʾān follows closely here the ''Protoevangelium of James'', a Greek Christian work written in the late second century and translated into Syriac in the fifth century". He further notes, "The manner in which the Qurʾān has Mary's mother commend Mary and her 'descendents' (i.e. Jesus) to God's protection from the devil may allude to the Christian doctrine that Mary and Jesus were free from sin."<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds, ''The Qurʾān and Bible'' p. 115</ref> Regarding verse 37 in which Mary has a miraculous source of food, Reynolds notes that the Qurʾān also here follows a tradition found in the ''Protoevangelium of James'' 7:2 to 8:1.<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds (2018) ''The Qurʾān and Bible: Text and Commentary'' p. 116</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>
===Excerpts from the Protevangelium of James===
{{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.
(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.


==Jesus speaking from the cradle==
==Jesus speaking from the cradle==
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The parallelism between the Qur'an’s ‘Jesus animating clay birds’ verses and the apocryphal story is strong, suggesting a very mundane and earthly source of the Qur'an's revelation here. As to the historical reliability of the document itself, there are various reasons why the apocryphal stories in the ''Childhood of the Saviour'' are not included in the canon; These apocrypha contain verses that contradict the canonical Gospels and their late date reveals itself both in style and substance.  
The parallelism between the Qur'an’s ‘Jesus animating clay birds’ verses and the apocryphal story is strong, suggesting a very mundane and earthly source of the Qur'an's revelation here. As to the historical reliability of the document itself, there are various reasons why the apocryphal stories in the ''Childhood of the Saviour'' are not included in the canon; These apocrypha contain verses that contradict the canonical Gospels and their late date reveals itself both in style and substance.  
==The Qur'anic Trinity==
==The Qur'anic Trinity==


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However, this last proposal seems somewhat insufficient since the verses (especially 5:72-75) very much read as though the author believed Mary was being worshipped as part of the Christian trinity, not a godess alongside it. It could be that the imperial news and propaganda had become corrupted by the time it penetrated Arabia, giving the impression that Mary was now being worshipped as part of the trinity by the Byzantine Christians.
However, this last proposal seems somewhat insufficient since the verses (especially 5:72-75) very much read as though the author believed Mary was being worshipped as part of the Christian trinity, not a godess alongside it. It could be that the imperial news and propaganda had become corrupted by the time it penetrated Arabia, giving the impression that Mary was now being worshipped as part of the trinity by the Byzantine Christians.
==Mary and Zechariah==
===Qur'anic Account===
The Bible, unlike the Qur'an,  is silent on Mary’s birth, upbringing and relationship with Zachariah. The following is what one finds in the Qur'an:
{{Quote| {{Quran|3|35-44}}| [Mention, O Muhammad], when the wife of 'Imran said, "My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing."
‏But when she delivered her, she said, "My Lord, I have delivered a female." And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, "And the male is not like the female. And I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah]."
So her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zechariah. Every time Zechariah entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, "O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you?" She said, "It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account."
‏At that, Zechariah called upon his Lord, saying, "My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication."
‏So the angels called him while he was standing in prayer in the chamber, "Indeed, Allah gives you good tidings of John, confirming a word from Allah and [who will be] honorable, abstaining [from women], and a prophet from among the righteous."
‏He said, "My Lord, how will I have a boy when I have reached old age and my wife is barren?" The angel said, "Such is Allah; He does what He wills."
‏He said, "My Lord, make for me a sign." He Said, "Your sign is that you will not [be able to] speak to the people for three days except by gesture. And remember your Lord much and exalt [Him with praise] in the evening and the morning."
And [mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.
O Mary, be devoutly obedient to your Lord and prostrate and bow with those who bow [in prayer]."
That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you, [O Muhammad]. And you were not with them when they cast their pens as to which of them should be responsible for Mary. Nor were you with them when they disputed.}}
'''The salient points are:'''
*The child Mary was given into Zachariah’s care by her mother, and kept in a sanctuary (possibly in dedication to God).
*Zachariah was astonished that she did not need human help in feeding herself. Some supernatural occurrence explained her daily sustenance.
*Zachariah speaks to God who told him of John. Zachariah is incredulous due to the physical condition of him and his wife.
*Mary’s husband was decided by the drawing of lots.
===Apocryphal Accounts===
Reynolds observes, "The Qurʾān follows closely here the ''Protoevangelium of James'', a Greek Christian work written in the late second century and translated into Syriac in the fifth century". He further notes, "The manner in which the Qurʾān has Mary's mother commend Mary and her 'descendents' (i.e. Jesus) to God's protection from the devil may allude to the Christian doctrine that Mary and Jesus were free from sin."<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds, ''The Qurʾān and Bible'' p. 115</ref> Regarding verse 37 in which Mary has a miraculous source of food, Reynolds notes that the Qurʾān also here follows a tradition found in the ''Protoevangelium of James'' 7:2 to 8:1.<ref>Gabriel Said Reynolds (2018) ''The Qurʾān and Bible: Text and Commentary'' p. 116</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>
===Excerpts from the Protevangelium of James===
{{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.
(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 Wealth of Korah==
==The Wealth of Korah==
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