IloveImamHussain, on 28 December 2010 - 05:15 PM, said:
How did this concept (of the chosen people) get into the Bible ?
In a possibly conclusive answer to your question...
Below ARE THE ONLY BIBLICAL VERSES WHICH ALLUDE TO THE "JEWS" AS THE CHOSEN PEOPLE:
The Bible - Old Testament
Deutoronomy 14:1
You are the children of the LORD your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead,
Deutoronomy 14:2
for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
As anyone can observe, there is NO ACTUAL MENTION OF "JEWS" in these specific verses ! AND THIS IS IT. THERE IS NOTHING MORE IN THE BIBLE SPECIFICALLY MENTIONING THE "CHOSEN PEOPLE"...
Other Biblical verses related to this subject are:
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people, and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:1-3 NIV).
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God (Genesis 17:7-8 NIV).
If you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all His commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please Him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other (Deuteronomy 28:15, 63-64 NIV).
One can easily make the Quranic and Biblical comparisons of these scriptural verses.
The Bible CLEARLY states that BOTH ISHMAEL & ISAAC HAD A COVENANT WITH ALMIGHTY GOD (YAHWEH/AL-LAH)...Below is a re-pasted post that VERIFIES and RECONFIRMS this:
One of the main reasons why the Tabernacle is considered to be greater than the Holy Kaaba, is because the posterity of Ishmael[Ismail] was never considered to have had Patriarch Abraham's covenant with them. And since in Saracen[Eastern] tradition, the Kaaba was built by Abraham and his eldest son Ishmael, it was thus rejected in Judeo-Christianity. In Judeo-Christianity, Isaac was taken to the altar for sacrifice upon Yahweh/Al-Lah's command. In the Qur'an, it was Ishmael...And because of this, Almighty God blessed the aged Patriarch Abraham with ANOTHER son through his aged spouse Lady Sarah named ISAAC(Is-haq)...
Genesis 17
1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
9And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
15And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
20And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
22And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
24And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. 27And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
---------------------------------------------
Now speak of diametrically opposed messages from the Biblical translators !!
Here we have Almighty God[Allah/Yahweh] clearly stating that ALL of Patriarch Ibrahim's seed who will be circumsized, HAS AN EVERLASTING COVENANT WITH ALMIGHTY GOD.
Both patriarchs Abraham and Ishmael were circumsized on the selfsame day !
What
greater proof from the Bible itself of Almighty God's covenant with Patriarch Abraham through his eldest son Patriarch Ishmael !
The
emboldened and
underlined Biblical verses from Genesis 17 CLEARLY indicate that Patriarch Ishmael had an everlasting covenant with Almighty God. Now, the Biblical translators have just placed this GLARING CONTRADICTION upon [
audhubillah] Almighty God Himself !!
If you would have READ the verses 100-113 of Surah As-Saffat[The Ranks], you would have clearly understood that after Patriarch Ibrahim asked Almighty God for the righteous[in reference to his progeny]...Patriarch Ibrahim was given Patriarch Ishmael.
In verses 100-108, as an answer to his prayer, Patriarch Ibrahim gets Nabih
Ishma-El =
God hears; God has hearkened; God is Hearing.
37:100
Rabbi hab lee mina alssaliheena
My Lord! grant me of the doers of good deeds.
37:101
Fabashsharnahu bighulamin haleemin
So We gave him the good news of a boy, possessing forbearance.
37:102
Falamma balagha maAAahu alssaAAya qala ya bunayya innee ara fee almanami annee athbahuka faonthur matha tara qala ya abati ifAAal ma tumaru satajidunee in shaa Allahu mina alssabireena
And when he attained to working with him, he said: O my son! surely I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice you; consider then what you see. He said: O my father! do what you are commanded; if Allah please, you will find me of the patient ones.
37:103
Falamma aslama watallahu liljabeeni
So when they both submitted and he threw him down upon his forehead,
37:104
Wanadaynahu an ya ibraheemu
And We called out to him saying: O Ibrahim!
37:105
Qad saddaqta alrruya inna kathalika najzee almuhsineena
"Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!" - thus indeed do We reward those who do right.
37:106
Inna hatha lahuwa albalao almubeenu
Most surely this is a manifest trial.
37:107
Wafadaynahu bithibhin AAatheemin
And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice:
37:108
Watarakna AAalayhi fee al-akhireena
And We left (this blessing) for him among generations (to come) in later times:
37:109
Salamun AAala ibraheema
Peace be unto Abraham!
37:110
Kathalika najzee almuhsineena
Thus do We reward the doers of good.
37:111
Innahu min AAibadina almumineena
Surely he was one of Our believing servants.
37:112
Wabashsharnahu bi-ishaqa nabiyyan mina alssaliheena
And we gave him tidings of the birth of Isaac, a prophet of the righteous.
37:113
Wabarakna AAalayhi waAAala ishaqa wamin thurriyyatihima muhsinun wathalimun linafsihi mubeenun
And We showered Our blessings on him and on Ishaq; and of their offspring are the doers of good, and (also) those who are clearly unjust to their own souls.
------------------------------------------------------
The verses 112 & 113 CLEARLY indicated that Patriarch Isaac[Ishaq] was an additional son to Patriarch Abraham[Ibrahim].
You see COMMON SENSE & LOGIC prevail. When his wife Lady Sarah was barren and aged, Patriarch Abraham took himself a surrogate spouse in Lady Hagar[Hajira]. Prophet Abraham could hardly have been the
father of many nations if he was unable to sire any offspring...
As a result, Patriarch Ishma-El [
God hears] is born.
However, Almighty God decides to test Patriarch Abraham and commands him in a dream to sacrifice his ONLY HEIR...
Patriarch Abraham goes through with it but Almighty God spares him his sacrifice via a miracle : the lamb is sacrificed instead of Ishmael[Ismail].
As a FURTHER token of Almighty God's
magnanimity and
generosity, He gives Patriarch Abraham the glad tidings of another heir in Isaac[Ishaq] from his aged and barren first wife Lady Sarah.
When Lady Sarah was given this news from Almighty God's angelic messengers, she laughed at this incredulous news...Hence, when the second heir was born, he was named Isaac = He will laugh.
This above account is also covered in the Holy Qur'an in Surah Hud :
11:71
Waimraatuhu qa-imatun fadahikat fabashsharnaha bi-ishaqa wamin wara-i ishaqa yaAAqooba
And his wife was standing (there), and she laughed: But we gave her glad tidings of Isaac, and after him, of Jacob.
11:72
Qalat ya waylata aalidu waana AAajoozun wahatha baAAlee shaykhan inna hatha lashay-on AAajeebun
She said: "Alas for me! shall I bear a child, seeing I am an old woman, and my husband here is an old man? That would indeed be a wonderful thing!"
11:73
Qaloo ataAAjabeena min amri Allahi rahmatu Allahi wabarakatuhu AAalaykum ahla albayti innahu hameedun majeedun
They said: "Dost thou wonder at Allah's decree? The grace of Allah and His blessings on you,
o ye
people of the house! for He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of all glory!"
P.S.--Most Muslims rarely discuss the first family that was identified by Allah(swt) as AHLUL BAYT [PEOPLE OF THE HOUSE] in the Holy Qur'an; Prophet Muhammad's family was the second family whom Allah(swt) identifies as the AHLUL BAYT [PEOPLE OF THE HOUSE] in
Ayat Tatheer 33:33.
----------------------------------
In the Bible's Book of Genesis, Chapter 17, verses 2; 4; 7; 9, Almighty God CLEARLY states that He will have a
covenant with Patriarch Abraham and his seed after him. God does NOT EXCLUDE any of Patriarch Abraham's seed. ALL are included :
2And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
4As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
9And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
In Verse 10, Almighty God then
instructs Patriarch Abraham as to what that
covenant will require : Circumcision of all that ARE BORN IN ABRAHAM'S HOUSE and ALL that are bought with his money.
In Verse 11, God explains that the act of circumcision is a TOKEN of His
covenant with Patriarch Abraham.
In Verse 13, God states that His
covenant will be in Patriarch Abraham's FLESH itself :
Genesis 17:13
and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
It will also be an EVERLASTING COVENANT.
The following Biblical verses of Genesis UNMISTAKABLY state that
both Patriarchs, Abraham and his eldest son Ishmael, have CONSECRATED that
everlasting covenant with Almighty God :
23And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
24And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
Consequently, the Judeo-Christian BIBLE has UNMISTAKABLY ESTABLISHED that Prophet Ishmael DID HAVE AN EVERLASTING CONVENANT WITH ALMIGHTY GOD…In God's very own words as translated into Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and English.
Thus, the verses Genesis 17:19-21
19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
Are INCONSISTENT with all the other verses regarding Almighty God's COVENANT with Patriarch Abraham and Abraham's seed after him…
Verses 17:19-21 were possibly either
doctored or were wholly inconsistent
insertions by the Biblical translators…
If Verses 17:19-21 would have stated
I will ALSO establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. and
But my covenant will I ALSO establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year…
Then, that would have made a lot more sense and it would NOT have been inconsistent with the other verses regarding Almighty God's
covenant with Patriarch Abraham and his seed after him.
This ALSO brings into question Genesis chapter & verses 16:11-12, in which an unnamed Angel of the Lord relates to Lady Hagar[Hajira] :
11And the Angel of the Lord continued, See now, you are with child and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishma-El [God hears], because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your affliction.
12And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brothers.
Verse 12 IS IN CLEAR CONTRADICTION with the highly favourable verses of Genesis 17, in which it is unmistakably established that Almighty God DOES INDEED have an
everlasting covenant with Patriarch Ishma-El[God hears].
Genesis 16:12 is TOTALLY INCONGRUOUS in comparison with the following chapter 17 of the Book of Genesis regarding Patriarch Ishmael ben Abraham.
It is clearly out of place and does not belong there at all…
Genesis 16:11-12 :
11And the Angel of the Lord continued, See now, you are with child and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishma-El [God hears], because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your affliction.
12And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brothers.
The above verses offer further examples of CONFLICTING messages from the translators of the Judeo-Christian BIBLE...
If Lady Hagar[Hajira] is afflicted and Almighty God hears her affliction and sends the unnamed Angel of the Lord to appease and console her, what kind of a consolation is Verse 16:12 ???
A grieving surrogate spouse of Patriarch Abraham, who is to ensure him his progeny when his elderly and/or barren first wife cannot, presents Patriarch Abraham with a male heir but in return this heir will be
a wild[donkey] of a man whose hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him ??
This does NOT make any sense...
Furthermore, the grief and affliction of Lady Hagar[Hajira] is answered by Almighty God with the upcoming birth of a son to her whose very name means God Hears[Ishma-El]
but he will be
a wild[donkey] of a man whose hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him...
This makes even LESSER sense...
It is very difficult to even conceive that the compassionate and merciful Lord God would answer someone's affliction with such a virtual
curse (for lack of a better descriptive word)...And then in the following chapter [Genesis 17] declare that He will BLESS this very same
wild[donkey] of a man by multiplying him exceedingly, begetting him twelve princes, and making him a GREAT NATION.
Was it that the Biblical translators were trying to perpetuate the story and metaphor of Cain[Qabeel] and Abel[Habeel]--sons of Patriarch Adam--through Patriarch Abraham and his progeny ??
Genesis 16
Hagar and Ishmael
1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar;
2 so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me."
6 "Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.
8 And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"
"I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.
9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her."
10 The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."
11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:
"You are now with child and you will have a son.
You shall name him Ishma-El[God hears], for the LORD has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers."
13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."
14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
---------------------------------
Speaking of DISAGREEMENT...
Verses 1 & 2 establishes that Lady Sarah[Sarai] is the one who instructed Patriarch Abraham to sleep with her maid Lady Hagar[Hajira]; furthermore, Lady Sarah PERSONALLY took her maid Lady Hagar[Hajira] and presented her to Patriarch Abraham so Lady Hagar[Hajira] could be his surrogate wife.
Then, according to the Biblical translators, Lady Sarah is
despised by her maid Lady Hagar[Hajira] in Verse 4 because of the very purpose she was wedded to Patriarch Abraham in the first place :
that Lady Hagar[Hajira] bear him an heir and build Lady Sarah's very own family through her.
In Verse 5, Lady Sarah then blames Lady Hagar[Hajira] for
despising her !?
Do any of these verses make any sense whatsoever ???
There is no reason provided for Lady Hagar[Hajira] to begin to
despise Lady Sarah[Sarai]...
The question of Patriarch Isaac's covenant being accepted over Patriarch Ishmael hadn't even arisen and was still in the distant future...
There wasn't even the remotest concept that Lady Sarah[Sarai] was going to miraculously bear an offspring to Patriarch Abraham in the distant future, consequently, there was no
reason or
rationale for Lady Hagar[Hajira] to begin despising Lady Sarah[Sarai]...
Thus, the Biblical translators COULD NOT provide a reason or rationale in Verses 4 & 5 of Genesis 16 !
Even then, the verses in chapter 17, CLEARLY indicate that ALL of Patriarch Abraham's seed after him had an established covenant with Almighty God. NONE were excluded except those who
rejected the covenantal rite of circumcision, and thus broke their covenant with Almighty God.
There is NOT A SINGLE verse in chapter 17 which explicitly states that Almighty God WILL NOT have a covenant with Patriarch Ishmael. ALL verses regarding the subject of God's covenant with Patriarch Abraham and his seed
unmistakably indicate that Almighty God's everlasting covenant with patriarchs Abraham and Ishmael had been
consecrated.
As for Verse 13, Lady Hagar[Hajira] is in conversation with the unnamed Angel of the Lord, and then SUDDENLY we are informed that Almighty Lord God Himself spoke to her !?
And in turn, Lady Hagar[Hajira] acknowledges this by declaring that God has seen her and that she has now seen the One who has seen her...???
So, which is it ??
Has God HEARD Lady Hagar[Hajira] or has God SEEN Lady Hagar[Hajira], and she in turn has SEEN God ???
And what happened to the unnamed Angel of the Lord ??
Where did he suddenly disappear to ??
Or was it figurative ?? She actually conversed with the unnamed Angel of the Lord but figuratively, it was a meeting with Almighty God Himself ??
I wonder what those Biblical translators were thinking when they transcribed all this...??
Quranic-Biblical comparisons :
Surah Hud; Ayats 69-73
11:69
Walaqad jaat rusuluna ibraheema bialbushra qaloo salaman qala salamun fama labitha an jaa biAAijlin haneethin
There came Our messengers to Abraham with glad tidings. They said, "Peace!" He answered, "Peace!" and hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf.
11:70
Falamma raa aydiyahum la tasilu ilayhi nakirahum waawjasa minhum kheefatan qaloo la takhaf inna orsilna ila qawmi lootin
But when he saw that their hands were not extended towards it, he deemed them strange and conceived fear of them. . They said: Fear not, surely we are sent to Lut's people.
11:71
Waimraatuhu qa-imatun fadahikat fabashsharnaha bi-ishaqa wamin wara-i ishaqa yaAAqooba
And his wife was standing (there), and she laughed: But we gave her glad tidings of Isaac, and after him, of Jacob.
11:72
Qalat ya waylata aalidu waana AAajoozun wahatha baAAlee shaykhan inna hatha lashay-on AAajeebun
She said: "Alas for me! shall I bear a child, seeing I am an old woman, and my husband here is an old man? That would indeed be a wonderful thing!"
11:73
Qaloo ataAAjabeena min amri Allahi rahmatu Allahi wabarakatuhu AAalaykum ahla albayti innahu hameedun majeedun
They said: "Dost thou wonder at Allah's decree? The grace of Allah and His blessings on you,
o ye
people of the house! for He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of all glory!"
Genesis Chapter 18:1-15
The Three Visitors
1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.
2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.
4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.
5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say."
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.
8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said.
10 Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.
11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'
14 Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."
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From Verse 9 to Verse 10 in Genesis 18, again there is an inconsistency in that the Three Visitors [i.e. angelic messengers] are SUDDENLY inexplicably replaced with the very person of Almighty God...
No such confusion exists in the Quranic verses[ayats]...
Edited by Al-Afza, 29 December 2010 - 04:11 PM.