This portion begins as an appeal to the Jews, but becomes a diatribe against them. Some incidents from the history of Israel are mentioned. In this way, this text serves as a summary of part of the Old Testament, sort of like Psalms 105 and 106. The charge is made that the Jews know that the Torah affirms the prophethood of Muhammad but purposefully interpret the Torah otherwise so as to deny this. The Jews, the text continues, should perform the Salat-prayers, and pay the Zakat, and bow with the believers.
Verse 44 says that the Jews command the people to be godly but forget to be godly themselves a statement resembling Jesus statement in Matthew 23:2-4 about the scribes and Pharisees ( they say, and do not).
Verse 48 notes that on the Day of Judgment, one person shall not avail another. This sentiment is similar to Psalm 49:7 ~ "No man can redeem the life of another, or give to God a ransom for him."
The story of Moses is covered: the death of the male Jewish children at the orders of Pharaoh (Firaun in some translations), the deliverance through the sea, and the drowning of the army of Pharaoh in the waters, are all briefly mentioned. Then Moses reception of the commandments and the Jews worship of the calf-idol are mentioned. Much of this echoes passages such as Exodus 14:21-28.
In v. 54, after Moses receives the Scripture from Allah, he tells the people that they have been wrong to worship the calf, but the people reply We shall never believe in you until we see Allah plainly. Allahs response: You (that is, the Jewish people collectively) were seized with a thunder-bolt [or lightning] while you were looking. Then We [this We = Allah] raised you up after your death, so that you might be grateful. (This is repeated with added detail in other chapters; I hope to re-visit this point.)
The text continues: as in the Pentateuch, Allah gives manna and quail, and tells the Jews to Enter this city. Possibly this means Jericho. Then the unfaithfulness of the Ten Spies is mentioned, and so is their punishment (in agreement with Numbers 14:37). Then comes the account of Moses striking a stone with his stick. The Quran says that when Moses did so, Then gushed forth therefrom twelve springs. This is reminiscent of the spring of Elim, mentioned in Exodus 15:27 (but which, in Exodus, had 12 springs when the Hebrews arrived).
In v. 61 the people complain: We cannot endure one kind of food. So invoke your Lord for us to bring forth for us of what the earth grows ~ its herbs, its cucumbers, its garlic, its lentils and its onions. This is remarkably similar to Numbers 11:5-6, where the people complain, We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, and the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna. In the same verse, the Quran says that the Israelites drew on themselves the wrath of Allah so far, so good; God was angry with the Israelites in the wilderness and punished them. But the Quran continues because they used to disbelieve the signs of Allah and killed the prophets wrongfully. This seems anachronistic, as if the later prophets were imagined to have existed before Moses or contemporary with him.
Verse 62 is one of the verses better-known to Westerners: Truly those who believe and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the last day and does righteous good deeds, shall have their reward with the Lord. On them shall be no fear, neither shall they grieve. So Jews and Christians are golden, right? Wrong! The standard interpretation of this verse is that it was abrogated (superceded) by 3:85, which I hope to comment upon later. The idea is that this verse (2:62) was meant to apply to righteous Jews and Christians and Sabians up to the time of Muhammad, but not afterward. This is one reason why it is important to consider not only the Quran but also the Sunnah as authorities for Islamic belief and practice. In Sahih Muslim, Vol. 1, Hadith #240, Muhammad said (according to Abu Hurairah), There is none from amongst the Jews and the Christians who hears about me and then dies without believing in the Message with which I have been sent, but he will be from the dwellers of the Fire. This Hadith is in sync with 3:116.
Who are these Sabians in this verse? There is not a firm consensus on the answer, but Rodwell proposes that they are the Mendaites, a group of Christians of Saint John who lived in the vicinity of what is now Kuwait.
The next few verses are interesting: Allah says that he lifted up the mountain (Sinai) over them. Also, Allah turned some Sabbath-breakers into monkeys.
Then in v. 67 comes the part about the cow. This superficially resembles Numbers 19:1-10, where a healthy heifer is sacrificed, but there the resemblance ends. (The heifer in Numbers is red, by the way.) After a specific description of the cow is provided to the people not too old, not too young, and no other color except bright yellow the people slaughter just such a cow. Why? Apparently the reason why this yellow cow was sacrificed was so that Moses would be able to solve a murder mystery: a man had been killed, and this was how the murderer was identified: the cow was killed, and in verse 73 Allah commands that a piece of the cow be used to hit the corpse. When that was done, the dead man comes back to life (and, presumably, identifies his murderer).
After this the focus turns from Jews in Moses day to Jews in the time of Muhammad.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
Verse 44 says that the Jews command the people to be godly but forget to be godly themselves a statement resembling Jesus statement in Matthew 23:2-4 about the scribes and Pharisees ( they say, and do not).
Verse 48 notes that on the Day of Judgment, one person shall not avail another. This sentiment is similar to Psalm 49:7 ~ "No man can redeem the life of another, or give to God a ransom for him."
The story of Moses is covered: the death of the male Jewish children at the orders of Pharaoh (Firaun in some translations), the deliverance through the sea, and the drowning of the army of Pharaoh in the waters, are all briefly mentioned. Then Moses reception of the commandments and the Jews worship of the calf-idol are mentioned. Much of this echoes passages such as Exodus 14:21-28.
In v. 54, after Moses receives the Scripture from Allah, he tells the people that they have been wrong to worship the calf, but the people reply We shall never believe in you until we see Allah plainly. Allahs response: You (that is, the Jewish people collectively) were seized with a thunder-bolt [or lightning] while you were looking. Then We [this We = Allah] raised you up after your death, so that you might be grateful. (This is repeated with added detail in other chapters; I hope to re-visit this point.)
The text continues: as in the Pentateuch, Allah gives manna and quail, and tells the Jews to Enter this city. Possibly this means Jericho. Then the unfaithfulness of the Ten Spies is mentioned, and so is their punishment (in agreement with Numbers 14:37). Then comes the account of Moses striking a stone with his stick. The Quran says that when Moses did so, Then gushed forth therefrom twelve springs. This is reminiscent of the spring of Elim, mentioned in Exodus 15:27 (but which, in Exodus, had 12 springs when the Hebrews arrived).
In v. 61 the people complain: We cannot endure one kind of food. So invoke your Lord for us to bring forth for us of what the earth grows ~ its herbs, its cucumbers, its garlic, its lentils and its onions. This is remarkably similar to Numbers 11:5-6, where the people complain, We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, and the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna. In the same verse, the Quran says that the Israelites drew on themselves the wrath of Allah so far, so good; God was angry with the Israelites in the wilderness and punished them. But the Quran continues because they used to disbelieve the signs of Allah and killed the prophets wrongfully. This seems anachronistic, as if the later prophets were imagined to have existed before Moses or contemporary with him.
Verse 62 is one of the verses better-known to Westerners: Truly those who believe and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the last day and does righteous good deeds, shall have their reward with the Lord. On them shall be no fear, neither shall they grieve. So Jews and Christians are golden, right? Wrong! The standard interpretation of this verse is that it was abrogated (superceded) by 3:85, which I hope to comment upon later. The idea is that this verse (2:62) was meant to apply to righteous Jews and Christians and Sabians up to the time of Muhammad, but not afterward. This is one reason why it is important to consider not only the Quran but also the Sunnah as authorities for Islamic belief and practice. In Sahih Muslim, Vol. 1, Hadith #240, Muhammad said (according to Abu Hurairah), There is none from amongst the Jews and the Christians who hears about me and then dies without believing in the Message with which I have been sent, but he will be from the dwellers of the Fire. This Hadith is in sync with 3:116.
Who are these Sabians in this verse? There is not a firm consensus on the answer, but Rodwell proposes that they are the Mendaites, a group of Christians of Saint John who lived in the vicinity of what is now Kuwait.
The next few verses are interesting: Allah says that he lifted up the mountain (Sinai) over them. Also, Allah turned some Sabbath-breakers into monkeys.
Then in v. 67 comes the part about the cow. This superficially resembles Numbers 19:1-10, where a healthy heifer is sacrificed, but there the resemblance ends. (The heifer in Numbers is red, by the way.) After a specific description of the cow is provided to the people not too old, not too young, and no other color except bright yellow the people slaughter just such a cow. Why? Apparently the reason why this yellow cow was sacrificed was so that Moses would be able to solve a murder mystery: a man had been killed, and this was how the murderer was identified: the cow was killed, and in verse 73 Allah commands that a piece of the cow be used to hit the corpse. When that was done, the dead man comes back to life (and, presumably, identifies his murderer).
After this the focus turns from Jews in Moses day to Jews in the time of Muhammad.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
