reynolds-the-quran-in-its-historical-context-2

446 Joseph Witztumwhich, according to some scholars, is the thematic and structural central point ofthe Siira. 102Classical exegetes and Western scholars have noted the parallels between theProphet's tribulations and those of Joseph. They understood Joseph as an intendedrole model for Mul}ammad and have attempted to flesh out the comparisons inmore detail. 103 What is less often noted is that this kind of use of the story is wellknown from the Christian typological reading, where Joseph stands for Christwhile the brothers stand for the Jews. This was a common theme among Christianauthors, 104 including PsN, Balai and Narsai, where one finds explicit remarks onthe typological character of the story 105 as well as a list of comparisons betweenJoseph and Jesus. 106 More importantly one can see, as Kristian Heal notes, howthis typology affected the reshaping of the Joseph story. 107Thus it seems likely that in applying the Joseph story to Mul}ammad and hisenemies, the Qur' an was following in the path of the Christian tradition whichread it as prefiguring Jesus and the Jews. 108 To be sure, typological readings of theHebrew Bible were not limited to the Syriac tradition or- for that matter - toChristians. 109 Nonetheless, in light of the other. links examined in this chapter, IJoseph among the Ishmaelites 447suggest that the typological reading of the Joseph story is yet another instance inwhich the Qur'iin follows the Syriac tradition. 110ConclusionI have argued that a combined examination of motifs, literary form, lexical issues,and typological function suggests that the Qur'anic Joseph story is closely relatedto the Syriac tradition. Taken alone, some of the parallels may not be fully compelling,but in conjunction they lend each other the power of persuasion. 111 In this myapproach is analogous to that employed by Syriacists in the tracing of other(Greek) offshoots from the Syriac literary tradition. 112Although this chapter has only dealt with a few examples, some tentativeconclusions are in order. First, the evidence suggests that the Qur'an was aware ofChristian Syriac traditions concerning Joseph. This seems a simpler explanationfor the extent of the parallels than to assume, as Naf did, that the Qur' an reflectslost Jewish sources which included similar material. There are of course elementsin Q 12 which are not found in the Syriac sources.l1 3 My argument, therefore, is204, and Hameen-Anttila, " 'We will tell you the best of stories,' " 32. Indeed several elementsof this speech find parallels in other verses addressed to Mul)ammad's contemporaries; comparewith Q 27:59; 53:23; 7:71 (though here Hiid is admonishing 'Ad); 17:23; 9:36; 30:30. See alsoHameen-Anttila," 'We will tell you the best of stories,'" 15-16.102 Neuwirth, "Zur Struktur," 141; Hameen-Anttila," 'We will tell you the best of stories,'" 27-28;Cuypers, "Structures rhetoriques," 181-85.103 See, e.g., al-Taban,Jiimi ', 13:89-90. For Western scholars, see especially, A. H. Jones, "Joseph inthe Qur'iin: Dramatic d.ialogue, human emotion and prophetic wisdom," Islamochristiana 7,1981, (29-51) 41-44 (where both Jacob and Joseph are treated as role models for the Prophet),and Stern, "Muhammad and Joseph." The affinity between Mul)ammad and Joseph is furtheremphasized in the f:zadith and sfra where after the conquest of Mecca, Mul)ammad sets the heartsofQuraysh at ease by citing to them the words of his brother Joseph: "No reproach shall be on youtoday; God will forgive you; He is the most merciful of the merciful" (Q 12.:92); see, e.g., Jones,"Joseph," 42. An extreme and, at times, excessive attempt to link the Joseph story with the sira isA.-L. de Premare, Joseph et Muhammad: le chapitre 12 du Coran (Etude textuel/e), Aix-en­Provence: Publications de L'Universite de Provence, 1989.104 For a survey see M. Dulaey, "Joseph le patriarche, figure du Christ," in Figures de /'AncienTestament chez les Peres, Strasbourg: Centred' Analyse et de Documentation Patristiques, 1989,83-105.105 Thus, for example, the story of Joseph is said to be "full· of symbols and types of the Son of God";PsN, 560. ·106 PsN, 561-62.107 See K.S. Heal, "Joseph as a type of Christ in Syriac literature," BYU Studies 41, 2002, 29-49;idem, Tradition, 81-110.108 In the Qur'iin though, the intended enemies are usually understood as the Meccans, not the Jews.See, however, al-' A! ami, !vfu 'tamar, 1:31-40, where as a result of an anti-Zionist/anti-Jewishagenda, Joseph's brothers are compared in detail to both the Meccans and the Jews of Medina.109 For an unpersuasive attempt to demonstrate that Joseph was envisioned as an archetype. of theQumranic community, see R.A. Kugler, "Joseph at Qumran: the importance of 4Q372 frg. 1in extending a tradition," in P.W. Flint et al. {eds), Studies in the Hebrew Bible, Qumran, and theSeptuagint Presented to Eugene Ulrich, Leiden: Brill, 2006, 261-78. For a rabbinic list of comparisonsbetween the fate~ of Joseph and Zion, see S.A. Berman, Midrash Tanhuma- Yelammedenu: AnEnglish Translation of Genesis and Exodus from the Printed Version ofTanhuma-Yelammedenuwith an Introduction, Notes, and Indexes, Hoboken: KTA V, 1996, 278-80; J.T. Townsend, !vfldrashTanbuma: Translated into English with Introduction, Indices, and Brief Notes (S. Buber Recension),Hoboken: KTA V, 1989, 1:281-83 ("Everything which happened to Joseph happened to Zion ... ").110 An important study of typology in the Qur'iin is found in M. Zwettler, "A mantic manifesto: TheSiira of 'The Poets' and the Qur'iinic foundations of prophetic authority," in J.L. Kugel (ed.),Poetry and Prophecy: The Beginnings of a Literary Tradition, Ithaca: Cornell University Press,1990, (75-119) 95-109. Zwettler emphasizes that the Qur'iinic typology should not be construedsimplistically as Christian, Jewish, or Gnostic influence, but rather as a reflection of a shared modeof discourse among the monotheistic milieu of the sixth- and seventh-century Near East; ibid.,100. Moreover, he notes that it "is not so much like that of the New Testament and early ChristianChurch ... rather, much more like the sort of 'apocalyptic exegesis' that was carried on amongthe Essenes of the Qumriin community ... "; ibid.,I02. At least as far as Q 12 is concerned, I amnot sure that this second point is true.Ill Cf. F. Leemhuis, "A Koranic contest poem in Szirat a:;-$ii.ffiit?" in G.J. Reinink and H.L.J.Vanstiphout (eds), Dispute Poems and Dialogues in the Ancient and Mediaeval Near East, Leuven:Peeters, 1991, 165-77. Leemhuis identifies a fragment of debate literature in Q 37 and suggests thatthis reflects familiarity with Syriac Christianity. His argument is based on form alone. ·112 See, e.g., Brock, "From Ephrem to Romanos," 139-51, where Brock attempts to establishRomanos' dependence on Syriac sources based not only on similarities in metrical and literaryform, but also in literary motifs.113 Noteworthy elements known from rabbinic literature but not found in the Syriac sources includeJoseph's initial desire for his master's wife and his change of heart following his Lord's intervention(Q 12:24), the assembly of ladies struck by Joseph's beauty (Q 12:30-34), and Jacob warning hischildren not to enter the town by one gate (Q 12:!}7-