Loading...After I posted on the discovery of an ancient manuscript of the Quran (years ago; but I reposted it yesterday) I received a bunch of comments (years ago) that I responded to (years ago). Here’s a repost of the back and forth, with a couple of tough ones here.
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My post on Saturday about the discovery of two pages of the Qur’an in the library of the University of Birmingham that appear to date from the time of Mohammad himself. or a decade or so later, evoked more than the usual response. My Facebook post has received nearly 260,000 hits. I think before that my previous highest hit total was 25,000 or so. Amazing amount of interest in this.
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Further to these discussions of the Birmingham Qur’an; maybe some updates from subsequent research:
– these two leaves have been positively identified as filling a gap in another known fragmentary Qur’an in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris: (BnF Arabe 328(c)) – although none of those leaves have been carbon-dated. Consequently, we should reckon the surviving portion as 18 leaves, not two.
– the text across those 18 leaves differs from the “standard” form (represented by the Cairo edition of 1924/1342) chiefly in placing some verse divisions (surahs). Otherwise, there are differences in “phonetic, orthographic, morphologic and syntactic” forms of writing, but not affecting the recitation of the text.
– more speculatively, comparing key orthographic and morphologic features of BnF Arabe 328(c) with those of other ‘very early’ Qur’ans – substantially as to which Arabic vowel sounds are noted, and which are not – these all appear to represent consistent copying from a standard original. On the one hand, this is consistent with Islamic traditions of a very early standardisation of the text; on the other, this standardisation looks to have happened even *earlier* than the traditional date, that the 3rd Caliph Uthman (644-656CE).
Thanks!
Scribal error alert: “First, this is not time Qur’anic manuscript pages have had such an early date.” (Presumably should be “This is not the first time…”)
Scribal corruption of the text.
Hello, Bart,
1) “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil.” Matthew 4:1 NRSV
Why would the Spirit led Jesus up to be tempted? Is it similar to Job’s story? Does the devil here have full autonomy or is it also God that wants it/makes it happen?
2) Does the expression “kingdom of heaven” have exactly the same meaning as “kingdom of God” ?
I suppose that hearing kingdom of *heaven* people reading the Gospels believe that the kingdom is in the God’s realm and not implied to come to earth.
thanks
1. It appears to be parallel to the nation of Israel going into the wilderness and failing its being tested. Jesus, the other son of God, succeeds.
2. Yes “heaven” is often a respectful circumlocution for “God” (I swear to heaven!)
Jesus was divine
God was bullying Job, a human
Sorry to be off topic here, but I just got through watching the podcast on the book of Job and the issue of suffering. It was an excellent podcast, thank you so much for it Bart. In watching the podcast, it suddenly dawned on me that perhaps the book of Job is a kind of commentary on the Babylonian exile. Job losing everything could be a metaphor for the Babylonian conquest of Judea and Job regaining everything he lost could be a metaphor for the Judeans regaining their homeland when the exile ended. If that’s true, then the entire book of Job is really a Jewish grappling with the issue of why the exile happened. Bart, do you think this might be the case? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Interesting idea. I don’t know!
Yeah, I’m wondering about it myself because I’d like to know. It is interesting that in the book of Job, verse 42, God refers to Job as “My servant” and as you know there are lots of places in the Old Testament books where Israel and Jacob are referred to as “My servant” (singular) of God. Some online sites say the meaning of the word “Job” is “will father or one who returns and reflects” and post exile Israel were surely reflecting on their captivity after their return to Judea. Apparently, the meaning of the word “Israel” is “fought and contended with God” which is what Job is doing in his dialog with his friends and God. It’s even weirder that the meaning of “Uz” is “contemplation or inner strength” and the whole book of Job deals with Job’s use of his inner strength in facing his adversities as well as contemplating the mystery of his suffering. The play on words in the book of Job is certainly consistent with it being a post-exile commentary.
Of course that word generally (Ebed; servant) is very common in the Hebrew Bible; I believe it occurs nearly 800 times. But your point is interesting.
I couldn’t help but do a little more digging. Jeremiah 30 deals with the restoration of Israel and verses 23-24 mention the whirlwind of the Lord going forth in a fury. It’s funny how God speaks to Job from a whirlwind and Jeremiah 30 deals with the restoration of Israel and mentions God’s whirlwind. From my quick inspection of the poetic stuff in Job and Jeremiah, there seem to be lots of correspondences. For example, Job 38:8-11 and Jeremiah 5:22 both mention God establishing boundaries between the land and the sea. The verses immediately preceding them (Job 38:1-7 and Jeremiah 5:21) both contrast human ignorance in comparison to God’s providence. The verses immediately after them (Job 38:12-15 and Jeremiah 5:23) both deal with human wickedness. I’ve spent two hours looking at the speeches of Job, his friends, and God, and then comparing them with the poetic stuff in Jeremiah. I think I am seeing all sorts of parallel stuff. If the author(s) of Job used Jeremiah as a source, then, to me, it seems that a fairly strong case can be made that Job is a commentary on the exile. I’m not sure what to make of it.
Bart,
Who Communicated the Thought First? Cicero or Jesus?
Replace the country of Rome, the Roman Republic, with Jesus.
Cicero:
Love justice and devotion. This is owed to your country, your fellow citizens.
Such is the life that leads to heaven.
Scipio’s Dream, 5 by Cicero translated by Richard Hooker
Jesus:
Be devoted to me and when you are persecuted for my cause
The kingdom of heaven is yours.
Matthew 5:10
= = = = = = =
Cicero:
For all fame or glory you win among mere human beings should simply be ignored.
“Strive on,” he answered, “secure in the knowledge that only your body is mortal and that your true self endures forever. The man you appear to be is not yourself at all, for your real self is not that corporeal, palpable, changing form you see, but the spirit inside.
Scipio’s Dream, 15 by Cicero translated by Richard Hooker
Jesus:
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Matthew 16:26
I believe you will find the thought expressed centuries before either of them. Similar ideas are expressed frequenlty by Greek philosohers centuries before Cicero.disabledupes{aa9102ebabb959336368cd1c432deca9}disabledupes