Adam is considered to be the first prophet: he is the man of creation. In Genesis, he was the first human created on earth in God’s image from dust and was asked to name all things (Genesis 1:26-27). According to the Qur’an God informed the angels of his plan and created a man to dwell on earth as his deputy. God taught the deputy, Adam and the angels the names of all animals and asked them to repeat them. Adam completed this task but the angels could not. Therefore, the angels were asked to prostrate themselves as a sign of respect in front of Adam. One angel refused to do this and was referred to as Satan (Koran 2:29-33). Satan is not in Genesis because this account with the angels never seemed to occur.
In Genesis, from Adam’s rib, God created woman, who was named Eve (Genesis 1:27). In the Qur’an, Adam had a wife but her name was never mentioned (Koran 7:19). In both stories God places the two of them in a garden. In Genesis, the two are placed in a garden referred to as Eden. God told them they could eat any food from the garden except from a certain tree, known as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:17).
According to Genesis, a serpent tempted the two of them to eat fruit from the tree by telling them they would become like God himself (Genesis 3:1-6). Shortly after eating from the tree, the two became ashamed of their nakedness and were questioned by God (Genesis 3:8). A curse was then put to humankind to suffer in childbirth and sweat in labor (Genesis 3:4-22). In the Qur’an, Satan tempted them to eat from the tree. Just as in Genesis, the two were ashamed of their nakedness. However, no curse was issued. They were just sent down from paradise onto the earth (Koran 7:24). This move was to show the difference in a life of luxury versus a life of labor.
Noah was another prophet both in Genesis and the Qur’an who tried to change the wicked people. In Genesis, it is God’s idea to destroy the people and save those who are good. He commands Noah to build an Ark and board those who are not wicked until the waters retreat (Genesis 6:13-22). The only people who board are Noah’s wife, his three sons, and their wives (Genesis 7:7). In the Qur’an it is Noah’s idea to destroy the wicked people. Most of the text is about Noah and his journeys in which people reject him. He goes to God angry because of this and asks to destroy the people (Koran 71:28).
Joseph, the son of Jacob is also portrayed in Genesis and the Qur’an. The beginnings are very similar because they are both about Joseph and how he is betrayed by his family. Joseph’s brothers are jealous of him because he has a vision of the eleven stars, the sun, and the moon bowing to him. The brothers take Joseph off and want to kill him but two brothers convince them not to. Instead they throw him in a well until a caravan comes by and they sell him (Genesis 37:5-29; Koran 12:3-10).
In Genesis, Joseph is sold to the Ishmaelites. In the Qur’an he is not sold to slave traders. In Genesis, Joseph’s brothers take his coat given to him by his father and dip it in blood. When they return home they tell Jacob that Joseph was devoured by an animal. Jacob becomes depressed about the loss of his son (Genesis 37:34). In the Qur’an the shirt is considered a colorful root and restores his sight when it is placed over his head. However, in Genesis there is no proof that Jacob’s sight is ever recovered by the coat.
In both texts, Joseph is sold to an Egyptian and serves as a servant. When he is a grown man, the wife of his master tries to seduce him. However Joseph resists the temptation and runs away. The wife lies to her husband and tells him that Joseph tried to rape her (Genesis 39:1-18; Koran 12:22-23). In Genesis, he is immediately sent to prison. But in the Qur’an there is an investigation. After the investigation, the wife is found lying, so nothing happens to Joseph. Unfortunately, the town women begin talking about the Prince’s wife. They believe she has gone astray for trying to seduce Joseph. Once the Prince’s wife heard of this she invited the woman over for a banquet. The Prince’s wife gave each of them a knife and presented Joseph to them. They then understood why the Prince’s wife had wanted this seduction. So the woman began cutting themselves because they wanted God to preserve them. But Joseph chooses to go to jail instead of falling into their temptation (Koran 12:30-33).
Although, Joseph went to prison two different ways, once he got there the stories are the same. After the interpretation of some dreams, the Pharaoh assigns him to be the overseer of the land of Egypt. When the seven years of famine comes he has already prepared. So, everyone comes to him for grain. When his brothers come they do not recognize him so he asks them to bring the rest of the family too. After the brothers do this, Joseph shares his secrete and reunites with his entire family (Genesis 42-50: 18; Koran 12:46-101).
The Qur’an and Genesis report similar events in history. However, through the difference in teaching of interpretation, historical events, and cultural context the overall ideas are slightly altered. Through the stories of Adam, Noah, and Joseph it is shown the difference in cultural context. Each story differs because of the audience being used. While the Qur’an is speaking to Muslims, the Christians and Jews are being taught the historical events of the Israelites through Genesis. It is important in knowing the purpose of the two texts. The Qur’an is the teaching of interpretation where as; Genesis is for the learning of philosophy and forgiveness of sin.
Works Cited
Genesis. Course Documents.
The Koran. Trans. N.J. Daewood. New York: Penguin Books, 2003
