PROPHET JOSEPH BETWEEN THE QUR’ANIC AND BIBLICAL NARRATIVES: A COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW

Abstract

Since it was appealing for some Biblical scholars to incorrectly assume that the stories of Prophets of God narrated in the Holy Qur’an were merely copied from the Bible, the objective of the current study was to identify the significant life events of Prophet Joseph, peace be upon him (PBUH) as described in Chapter 12 of the Holy Qur’an, and compare them with those narrated in the Bible New English Translation (NET). Methods: Four significant stages of Prophet Joseph’s life were identified and compared between the two scriptures, and the absolute percentage of similarities and differences was calculated. The first stage (vision of the bowing planets until he reached Egypt as an enslaved person). The 2nd stage (end of the 1st stage until his release from imprisonment). The 3rd stage, (end of the 2nd stage until he reunited with his younger brother). The 4th stage (the end of the 3rd stage until the arrival of the extended family to Egypt). Results: Approximately, 40% of Prophet Joseph’s main life events mentioned in the Old Testament were consistent with that of the Qur’anic version of the story. However, the other 60% (majority) of the critical junctures of Prophet Joseph’s life were found to be different in the Biblical narrative compared to that in the holy Qur’an. Approximately 34% of the crucial life details described in the Bible appeared to be incongruent with the Holy Qur’an. Moreover, another 26% of the critical life happenings narrated in one of the scriptures (Qur’an or bible) were absent from the other. With the 60% difference in the Prophet Joseph story’s details between Biblical and Qur’anic narratives, it can be concluded that the information delivered in the Holy Qur’anic was not based on replicating the Biblical text.