Jacob and Joseph

In Jacob and Joseph, we first compare the sometimes unsavory Biblical stories about Jacob with the more scrupulous God-fearer of the Quran and Surabadi’s Quranic Commentary. Echoes of the family rivalries also reached the Muslim commentators as we see in the stories about Jacob’s sons. This serves as a prelude to the stories of Joseph in Canaan and Egypt that dominate this volume of The Bible: An Islamic Perspective series, as does his story the last quarter of Genesis. We unravel the narrative threads of the Biblical stories as Joseph is sold by his brothers into slavery. The story of Joseph is the only story told at length and in chronological order in the Quran rather than in scattered references. In the Bible, the saga of Joseph is a rags-to-riches success story and the triumph of Israelite over Egyptian. In the Quran, it is a poignant story of the separation of father and son and ends in their reunion. In the Commentary, the focus shifts to the unrequited love of Zulaykha for Joseph. Some remarks about the lessons of Genesis complete the volume.