Muhammad’s contemporaries accused him of regurgitating the ancient myths, fables, traditions, fairytales, etc., of the pagans, Jews, Christians, various heretical sects, etc., and passing them off as revelations sent down to him from his deity:

Those who disbelieve say: “This (the Qur’an) is nothing but a lie that he (Muhammad) has invented, and others have helped him at it, so that they have produced an unjust wrong (thing) and a lie.” And they say: “Tales of the ancients, which he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon.” Say: “It (this Qur’an) has been sent down by Him (Allah) (the Real Lord of the heavens and earth) Who knows the secret of the heavens and the earth. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” S. 25:4-6 Hilali-Khan

The evidence shows the disbelievers were correct since many of the fairytales found in the Quran has been identified by scholars throughout the centuries. Here are the links to the books and articles documenting this fact:

Sources of the Qur’an

Legends, Myths and Fables incorporated into the Qur’an

The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qur’an

In this post I will furnish an example of certain fables regarding Adam and Solomon that found their way into the Quran and sunnah of Muhammad. All emphasis will be mine.

SOLOMON AND THE DEMONS

Certain traditions taught that Solomon had demons/spirits under his control whom he made work for him.

THE TEXT

The Gospel of Bartholomew

From “The Apocryphal New Testament”

M. R. James-Translation and Notes

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924

IV

21 Jesus saith unto him: Were not all things made by my word, and by the will of my Father the spirits were made subject unto Solomon? thou, therefore, being commanded by my word, go in my name and ask him what thou wilt. (lat. 2 omits 20.)…

QURAN

Muhammad, who was known for being an “ear”,

And among them are men who hurt the Prophet (Muhammad) and say: “He is (lending his) ear (to every news).” Say: “He listens to what is best for you; he believes in Allah; has faith in the believers; and is a mercy to those of you who believe.” But those who hurt Allah’s Messenger (Muhammad) will have a painful torment. S. 9:61 Hilali-Khan

Adapted this story into the Quran. However, he did change a specific detail since in his version Solomon had control over spirit beings called genies, which is another pagan belief that he fully embraced.

Muhammad even believed that Satan himself, whom he erroneously thought was named Iblis, was a genie!

[Remember] when we said unto the angels, worship ye Adam: And they [all] worshipped [him], except Eblis, [who] was [one] of the genii, and departed from the command of his Lord. Will ye therefore take him and his offspring for [your] patrons besides me, notwithstanding they are your enemies? Miserable [shall such] a change [be] to the ungodly! S. 18:50 Sale

Here’s Muhammad’s adaptation of this Solomonic fable:

And Solomon was David’s heir. And he said: O mankind! Lo! we have been taught the language of birds, and have been given (abundance) of all things. This surely is evident favour. And there were gathered together unto Solomon his armies of the jinn and humankind, and of the birds, and they were set in battle order… He said: O chiefs! Which of you will bring me her throne before they come unto me, surrendering? A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work. S. 27:16-17, 38-39 Pickthall

And unto Solomon (We gave) the wind, whereof the morning course was a month’s journey and the evening course a month’s journey, and We caused the fount of copper to gush forth for him, and (We gave him) certain of the jinn who worked before him by permission of his Lord. And such of them as deviated from Our command, them We caused to taste the punishment of flaming Fire. They made for him what he willed: synagogues and statues, basins like wells and boilers built into the ground. Give thanks, O House of David! Few of My bondmen are thankful. And when We decreed death for him, nothing showed his death to them save a creeping creature of the earth which gnawed away his staff. And when he fell the jinn saw clearly how, if they had known the Unseen, they would not have continued in despised toil. S. 34:12-14 Pickthall

Note the explanation given by the Muslim expositors in respect to the Quranic assertion that Solomon’s death was kept hidden from the genies:

And when We decreed for him for Solomon death in other words when he died — he remained supported against his staff an entire year while the jinn continued to toil in hard labour as was customary unaware of his death until finally when a termite ate through his staff he fell to the ground and was seen to be dead — nothing indicated to them that he had died except a termite al-ard is the verbal noun from uridat al-khashaba passive verbal form in other words ‘it the piece of wood was eaten away by a termite al-arada’ that gnawed away at his staff read minsa’atahu or minsātahu replacing the hamza with an alif meaning a ‘staff’ so called because when describing it one would say yunsa’u bihā to mean it is used to repel or drive away creatures’. And when he fell down dead the jinn realised it became apparent to them that an is softened in other words annahum had they known the Unseen — comprising what was hidden from them in the way of Solomon being dead — they would not have continued in the humiliating chastisement in that hard labour of theirs in which they continued as they supposed him to be alive which is in contrast to what they would have supposed had they known the Unseen and the fact that he had been there an entire year judging by how much of the staff the termite had eaten through after his death; in other words they would not have continued in the humiliating chastisement for a single day or even a single night longer. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Q. 34:14 https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=34&tAyahNo=14&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2)

And:

The Death of Sulayman

Allah tells us how Sulayman died and how Allah concealed his death from the Jinn who were subjugated to him to do hard labor. He remained leaning on his stick, which was his staff, as Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and others said. He stayed like that for a long time, nearly a year. When a creature of the earth, which was a kind of worm, ate through the stick, it became weak and fell to the ground. Then it became apparent that he had died a long time before. It also became clear to Jinn and men alike that the Jinn do not know the Unseen as they (the Jinn) used to imagine and tried to deceive people. This is what Allah says…

(nothing informed them (Jinn) of his death except a little worm of the earth which kept (slowly) gnawing away at his stick. So when he fell down, the Jinn saw clearly that if they had known the Unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment.) meaning, it became clear to the people that they (the Jinn) were lying. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 34:14 https://www.wordofallah.com/tafseer)

SATAN’S FALL & CREATION & WORSHIP OF ADAM

Certain Jewish and Christian traditions, whether orthodox or heterodox, taught that the reason why Satan fell from grace is because of his refusal to worship Adam as the Image-bearer of God.

The following is one particular version of this myth.

BARTHOLOMEW

25 And Beliar answered and said: If thou wilt know my name, at the first I was called Satanael, which is interpreted a messenger of God, but when I rejected the image of God my name was called Satanas, that is, an angel that keepeth hell (Tartarus)…

28 For, indeed, I was formed (al. called) the first angel: for when God made the heavens, he took a handful of fire and formed me first, Michael second [Vienna MS. here has these sentences: for he had his Son before the heavens and the earth and we were formed (for when he took thought to create all things, his Son spake a word), so that we also were created by the will of the Son and the consent of the Father. He formed, I say, first me, next Michael the chief captain of the hosts that are above], Gabriel third, Uriel fourth, Raphael fifth, Nathanael sixth, and other angels of whom I cannot tell the names. [Jerusalem MS., Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Xathanael, and other 6,000 angels. Lat. I, Michael the honour of power, third Raphael, fourth Gabriel, and other seven. Lat. 2, Raphael third, Gabriel fourth, Uriel fifth, Zathael sixth, and other six.] For they are the rod-bearers (lictors) of God, and they smite me with their rods and pursue me seven times in the night and seven times in the day, and leave me not at all and break in pieces all my power. These are the (twelve, lat. 2) angels of vengeance which stand before the throne of God: these are the angels that were first formed…

52 But the devil said: Suffer me, and I will tell thee how I was cast down into this place and how the Lord did make man.

53 I was going to and fro in the world, and God said unto Michael: Bring me a clod from the four corners of the earth, and water out of the four rivers of paradise. And when Michael brought them God formed Adam in the regions of the east, and shaped the clod which was shapeless, and stretched sinews and veins upon it and established it with Joints; and he worshipped him, himself for his own sake first, because he was the image of God, therefore he worshipped him.

54 And when I came from the ends of the earth Michael said: Worship thou the image of God, which he hath made according to his likeness. But I said: I am fire of fire, I was the first angel formed, and shall worship clay and matter?

55 And Michael saith to me: Worship, lest God be wroth with thee. But I said to him: God will not be wroth with me; but I will set my throne over against his throne, and I will be as he is. Then was God wroth with me and cast me down, having commanded the windows of heaven to be opened.

56 And when I was cast down, he asked also the six hundred that were under me, if they would worship: but they said: Like as we have seen the first angel do, neither will we worship him that is less than ourselves. Then were the six hundred also cast down by him with me.

57 And when we were cast down upon the earth we were senseless for forty years, and when the sun shone forth seven times brighter than fire, suddenly I awaked; and I looked about and saw the six hundred that were under me senseless.

58 And I awaked my son Salpsan and took him to counsel how I might deceive the man on whose account I was cast out of the heavens.

59 And thus did I contrive it. I took a vial in mine hand and scraped the sweat from off my breast and the hair of mine armpits, and washed myself (Lat. 2, I took fig leaves in my hands and wiped the sweat from my bosom and below mine arms and cast it down beside the streams of waters. 69 is greatly prolonged in this text) in the springs of the waters whence the four rivers flow out, and Eve drank of it and desire came upon her: for if she had not drunk of that water I should not have been able to deceive her.

THE QURAN AND AHADITH

Not surprisingly, Muhammad included this fable within his Quran!

And (remember) when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, and they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He was of the jinn, so he rebelled against his Lord’s command. Will ye choose him and his seed for your protecting friends instead of Me, when they are an enemy unto you? Calamitous is the exchange for evil-doers. S. 18:50 Pickthall

When thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to create a mortal out of mire, And when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My Spirit, then fall down before him prostrate, The angels fell down prostrate, every one, Saving Iblis; he was scornful and became one of the disbelievers. He said: O Iblis! What hindereth thee from falling prostrate before that which I have created with both My hands? Art thou too proud or art thou of the high exalted? He said: I am better than him. Thou createdst me of fire, whilst him Thou didst create of clay. He said: Go forth from hence, for lo! thou art outcast, And lo! My curse is on thee till the Day of Judgment. S. 38:71-78 Pickthall

Muhammad further taught that Adam was created in the actual shape and height of Allah himself!

I. Initiating the Greeting

5873. Hammam related from Abu Hurayra that the Prophet said, “Allah created Adam on HIS FORM and HIS HEIGHT was sixty cubits. When He created him, He said, ‘Go and greet that group angels and listen to how they greet you. It will be your greeting and the greeting of your descendants.’ He said, ‘Peace be upon you,’ and they said, ‘Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah,’ and they added, ‘and the mercy of Allah.’ Everyone who enters the Garden will be in form of Adam. People have been getting shorter until now.” (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 82. Book of Asking Permission to Enter)

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger as saying: Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, created Adam in HIS OWN image with HIS LENGTH of sixty cubits, and as HE created him HE told him to greet that group, and that was a party of angels sitting there, and listen to the response that they give him, for it would form his greeting and that of his offspring. He then went away and said: Peace be upon you! They (the angels) said: May there be peace upon you and the Mercy of Allah, and they made an addition of “Mercy of Allah.” So he who would get into Paradise would get in the form of Adam, his length being sixty cubits, then the people who followed him continued to diminish in size up to this day. (Sahih Muslim, Book 040, Number 6809 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2841; *)

Here is a somewhat lengthy citation from a prominent Salafi website proving that Allah has an actual image from which Adam was fashioned:

Ibn Abi ‘Asim narrated in al-Sunnah (517) that Ibn ‘Umar said: The Messenger of Allah said: “Do not say ‘May Allah deform your face’ [a form of cursing in Arabic], for the son of Adam was created IN THE IMAGE OF THE MOST MERCIFUL.” Shaykh ‘Abd-Allah ibn al-Ghunayman said: “This Hadith is authentic and was classed as such by the imams and by Imam Ahmad and Ishaq ibn Rahawayh. Those who classed it as inauthentic have no evidence, except for the view of Ibn Khuzaymah, but those who classed it as authentic are more knowledgeable than him.

Ibn Abi ‘Asim also narrated (516) that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah said: “When any one of you fights let him avoid the face, for Allah created Adam in the image of His Face.” Shaykh al-Albani said: “Its chain of narration is authentic.”

These two Hadith indicate that the pronoun in the phrase “in His image” refers to Allah.

At-Tirmidhi (3234) narrated from Ibn `Abbas that the Prophet said: “My Lord came to me in the most beautiful image and said, `O Muhammad.’ I said, `Here I am at Your service, my Lord.’ He said, `What are the chiefs (angels) on high disputing about…’” (Classed as authentic by Al-Albani in Sahih At-Tirmidhi) 

According to the lengthy Hadith about intercession, it says, “… then the Compeller (Al-Jabbar) will come to them in an image different than the image in which they saw Him the first time…” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 7440 and Muslim, 182)

From these Hadiths we learn that IT IS PROVEN THAT ALLAH HAS AN IMAGE (Surah in Arabic), in a manner that befits Him. His image is one of His attributes which cannot be likened to the attributes of created beings, just as His essence cannot be likened to their essence.

Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: “The word Surah (image) in this Hadith is like all the other names and attributes narrated (in the texts) where the words used may also be applied to created beings, in a limited manner. When these words are applied to Allah, they carry a unique meaning, such as Al-`Alim (All Knowing), Al-Qadir (All-Powerful), Ar-Rahim (Most Merciful), As-Sami` (All Hearing), Al-Basir (All-Seeing), and such as His creating with His hands, rising above the Throne, etc.” (End quote from Naqd At-Ta’sis, 3/396) 

Everything that exists must inevitably have a form or image. Shaykh Al-Islam said: “Just as everything that exists must have attributes, so too everything that exists by itself must have a form or image. It is impossible for something that exists by itself not to have a form or image.” 

And he said: “There was no dispute among the salaf of the first three generations that the pronoun in the Hadith refers to Allah, and it is narrated through many chains of narration from many Companions. The contexts of the Hadiths all indicate that… But when al-Jahamiyyah became widespread in the third century AH, a group began to say that the pronoun refers to something other than Allah, and this was transmitted from a group of scholars who are known to have knowledge and to follow the Sunnah in most of their affairs, such as Abu Thawr, Ibn Khuzaymah, Abu’l-Shaykh al-Asfahani and others. Hence they were denounced by the imams of Islam and other Sunni scholars.” (End quote from Naqd At-Ta’sis, 3/202)… 

The Prophet’s words, “Adam was created in His image” means that Allah created Adam in His image, for He has a face, an eye, a hand, and a foot, and Adam had a face, an eye, a hand, and a foot. but that does not mean that these things are exactly the same. There is some similarity, but it is not exactly the same. Similarly the first group to enter Paradise are likened to the moon, but they are not exactly the same. This confirms the view of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, who say that none of the attributes of Allah can be likened to the attributes of created beings, without distorting or misinterpreting, or discussing how or likening Him to His creation. (End quote from Sharh Al-`Aqidah Al-Wasitah by Shaykh Muhammad ibn `Uthaymin, 1/107, 293) (Islam Question & Answer, How Did Allah Create Adam in His Image? )

Muhammad even accept the belief that Adam was created from soil gathered from all over the world:

47 Chapters on Tafsir

(3) Chapter: Regarding Surat Al-Baqarah

Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari:

that the Messenger of Allah said: “Indeed Allah Most High created Adam from a handful that He took from all of the earth. So the children of Adam come in according with the earth, some of them come red, and white and black, and between that, and the thin, the thick, the filthy, and the clean.”

Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)

Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2955

In-book reference: Book 47, Hadith 7

English translation: Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 2955 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:2955)

And:

42 Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah)

(1693) Chapter: Belief In Divine Decree

Abu Musa al-Ash’ari reported the Messenger of Allah as saying:

Allah created Adam from a handful which he took from the whole of the earth; so the children of Adam are in accordance with the earth: some red, some white, some black, some a mixture, also smooth and rough, bad and good.

Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani)

Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 4693

In-book reference: Book 42, Hadith 98

English translation: Book 41, Hadith 4676 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4693)

Here’s what the enowned Muslim commentator Ibn Kathir wrote:

The Messenger of Allah said: <<Allah, Almighty, created Adam of a handful of the soil of the earth which He, Almighty, collected from all pares of it. The progeny of Adam; therefore, were as diverse as the many pares of the earth: there are the white, the red, the black, and those who are in-between; there are the rough, the even, and those who are in-between; and there are the vicious, the good-natured, and those who in between>>⁽¹⁾.

Some Companions of the Messenger of Allah were reported to have said that Allah, Almighty, sent Gabriel to the earth to get Him some of its mud. The earth said: ‘seek refuge in Allah from you, if you should take anything from me, or that you should distort me’; he went back and did not take anything from it. He said:

‘My Lord! I took refuge in You from me and I have endorsed its taking refuge in You’.

Michael was also sent down and took refuge in Allah from him. Whereupon, he, again, endorsed her taking the refuge of Allah from him; he came back and told the same as did Gabriel before him. Allah, then, sent the Angel of Death from whom it did take refuge in Allah, and he said: ‘I take refuge in Allah from you, too, that I should go back without performing His will.’ He; therefore, took from many places of the surface of the earth: black, white and red soil; the progeny of Adam were as diverse as the heterogeneous alloy of soil taken by him. He went up to Heaven and Allah, Almighty, added water to the soil that it all became a sticky mud, and He told the angels:

“I am about to create man from clay: When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall you down in obeisance unto him.” (Sud: 71-72)

Allah, Almighty, created by His hand for the reason that Iblees should not treat him arrogantly; therefore, He created him a mortal; he was an object of mud which had to stay on this condition for forty years. The angels, when passing by the muddy object, would fear it; Iblees, particularly, feared it most of all, so that whenever he came by it, he would beat it and it would send out a very noisy sound the which empty clay could sound if bickered; this is because it is He created man from sounding clay unto pottery, (Ar-Rahman: 14) and Iblees would say: “You have been created for something;” he used to get in (its mouth) and get out (its rear) of it telling the angels: “never fear it; your Lord is solid and this is quite hollow, and if it is allowed, I can easily destroy!”

When it was time that Allah, Almighty, wanted to breathe of His spirit into it, He, Almighty, said: “When I do breathe into him of My spirit, you fall down prostrate for him;” so, when He did breath [sic] in him first of all in his head, Adam sneezed. The Angels told him to say “Praise be to Allah;” Adam said: “Praise be to Allah” and He, Almighty, said: “Your Lord has granted you mercy!“

When the soul entered his eyes, Adam looked into the fruits of Heaven; and when it entered his inside, he, longing for food, hurriedly jumped up to get these fruits, even before the spirit could get into his feet. This is where Allah, Almighty, said: Man is a creature of haste. (Al-Anbiya’: 37) And where He, Almighty, said: So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together:

Not so Iblis: he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves. (Al-Hijr: 30-31)⁽¹⁾.

The context of this story is supported by some traditions, though mostly borrowed from the Israelite accounts, those which derive their sources from the Torah, and, which are not necessarily true, accounts. (Ibn Kathir (701-774 H./ 1302-1373 A.D.), Stories of the Prophets, translated by Dr. Mohammed Hilmi Al Ahmad, Ph.d. English Language, New Edition and Corrected by Sh. Farhat [Dar Al-Kotob Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, 4^th edition 2013], pp. 49-50)

(1) Narrated by Ahmad (in 4-400 and 4-406). Abu Dawud (in The Sunna, “On Predestination”), At-Tirmidhi (2955 in The Interpretation), and Ibn Habban in his Sahih 6127. At-Tirmidhi said it is a sound and correct Hadith. (Ibid., p. 49)

(1) Narrated by Al-Tabarani (in The History, 1-90) and Al-Saddi from Ibn Mas’ood. (Ibid., p. 50)

Ibn Kathir conveniently overlooked the fact that the Quran itself is littered with the myths and fables of Israelite tradition. Therefore, if these stories about Adam narrated in the ahadith are unreliable then how much more is the Quran unreliable for narrating many of these same fairytales as genuine revelations from God!

Al-Tabari was another reputable Muslim commentator as well as a noted historian. Here’s what he narrated in regards to the formation of Adam’s body from elements gathered from around the globe:

When God wanted to create Adam, He commanded that the soil from which Adam was to be made be taken from the earth, as we were told by Abu Kurayb – `Uthman b. Sa’id-Bishr b. ‘Umarah – Abu Rawq-al-Dahhak – Ibn’Abbas: He–meaning the Lord–then commanded to lift up Adam’s soil. God created Adam “from sticky (lazib) clay”⁵⁶³ lazib (“sticky”) meaning viscous and sweet smelling–”from masnun slime”⁵⁶⁴– masnun being “stinking.” He continued. It became stinking slime after (having been compact) soil.⁵⁶⁵ He continued. God created Adam with His own hand.⁵⁶⁶

According to Musa b. Harun-‘Amr b. Hammad – Asbat – al-Suddi – Abu Malik and Abu Salih – Ibn ‘Abbas. Also (al-Suddi) Murrah al-Hamdani – Ibn Masud and some (other) companions of the Prophet, commenting on the angels saying: “Will You place on it one who will cause corruption on it and shed blood, whereas we praise and sanctify You? and (God) replied: I know what you do not know”⁵⁶⁷–that is, of the affair of Iblis. God then sent Gabriel to the earth to bring Him some of its clay. The earth said: I take refuge in God against your taking something away from me and mutilating me. So Gabriel returned without having taken (any clay) and said: My Lord, the earth took refuge in You, and I granted it its wish. God then sent Michael, and exactly the same thing happened. Then He sent the angel of death. When the earth took refuge in God against him, he said: I take refuge in God against returning without having executed His command. So he took (some soil) from the face of the earth and made a mixture. He did not take the soil from a single place but took red, white, and black soil.⁵⁶⁸ Therefore, the children of Adam came out different. He went up with the soil, then moistened it so it would become “sticky clay” lazib (“sticky”) means something that adheres (l-z-q) to something else. Then (the moistened soil) was left to change and become stinking (muntin). That is where God says: “From masnun slime.” He commented: stinking.⁵⁶⁹

According to Ibn Humayd – Ya’qub al-Qummi – Ja’far b. Abi al-Mughirah – Sa’id b. Jubayr – Ibn ‘Abbas: The Lord Almighty sent Iblis⁵⁷⁰ to take some skin (adim) from the earth, both sweet and salty, and God created Adam from it. For this reason he was named Adam–that is, because he was created from the skin (adim) of the earth. For the same reason Iblis asked: “Shall I prostrate myself before one whom You have created from clay?”⁵⁷¹–that is, that clay brought by myself.

According to Ibn al-Muthanna – Abu Dawud⁵⁷² – Shu’bah AbuI-Hasin – Sa’id b. Jubayr: He was named Adam just because he was created from the skin (adim) of the earth.⁵⁷³ (History of Al-Tabari-General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood, translated by Franz Rosenthal [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany, NY 1989], Volume 1, pp. 258-259)

568. Cf. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan ad Genesis 2:7, and, without reference to color, Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, 38a-b. See also Tafsir, I, 169 (ad Qur. 2:31). (Ibid., p. 259)

I quote the rabbinic sources from which these fables about Adam originated:

And the Lord God created man in two formations; and took dust from the place of the house of the sanctuary, and from the four winds of the world, and mixed from all the waters of the world, and created him red, black, and white; and breathed into his nostrils the inspiration of life, and there was in the body of Adam the inspiration of a speaking spirit, unto the illumination of the eyes and the hearing of the ears. [JERUSALEM. And Adam became a soul of life.]

And a garden from the Eden of the just was planted by the Word of the Lord God before the creation of the world, and He made there to dwell the man when He had created him. And the Lord God made to grow from the ground every tree that was desirable to behold and good to eat, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, whose height was a journey of five hundred years, and the tree of whose fruit they who ate would distinguish between good and evil. (The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, by J. W. Etheridge, M.A., First Published 1862, 1-6)

And:

תניא היה ר’ מאיר אומר אדם הראשון מכל העולם כולו הוצבר עפרו שנאמר (תהלים קלט, טז) גלמי ראו עיניך (וכתיב (דברי הימים ב טז, ט) כי ה’ עיניו משוטטות בכל הארץ) אמר רב אושעיא משמיה דרב אדם הראשון

It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir would say: The dust that served to form Adam the first man was gathered from the entire world, as it is stated: “When I was made in secret and wrought in the lowest places of the earth, Your eyes did see my unshaped flesh” (Psalms 139:15–16), and it is written: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (II Chronicles 16:9), indicating that this figure was formed from the whole earth, the place within the view of the Lord’s eyes. Rav Oshaya says in the name of Rav: With regard to Adam the first man,

גופו מבבל וראשו מארץ ישראל ואבריו משאר ארצות עגבותיו א”ר אחא מאקרא דאגמא

his torso was fashioned from dust taken from Babylonia, and his head was fashioned from dust taken from Eretz Yisrael, the most important land, and his limbs were fashioned from dust taken from the rest of the lands in the world. With regard to his buttocks, Rav Aḥa says: They were fashioned from dust taken from Akra De’agma, on the outskirts of Babylonia.

א”ר יוחנן בר חנינא שתים עשרה שעות הוי היום שעה ראשונה הוצבר עפרו שניה נעשה גולם שלישית נמתחו אבריו רביעית נזרקה בו נשמה חמישית עמד על רגליו ששית קרא שמות שביעית נזדווגה לו חוה שמינית עלו למטה שנים וירדו ארבעה תשיעית נצטווה שלא לאכול מן האילן עשירית סרח אחת עשרה נידון שתים עשרה נטרד והלך לו שנאמר (תהלים מט, יג) אדם ביקר בל ילין

Rabbi Yoḥanan bar Ḥanina says: Daytime is twelve hours long, and the day Adam the first man was created was divided as follows: In the first hour of the day, his dust was gathered. In the second, an undefined figure was fashioned. In the third, his limbs were extended. In the fourth, a soul was cast into him. In the fifth, he stood on his legs. In the sixth, he called the creatures by the names he gave them. In the seventh, Eve was paired with him. In the eighth, they arose to the bed two, and descended four, i.e., Cain and Abel were immediately born. In the ninth, he was commanded not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. In the tenth, he sinned. In the eleventh, he was judged. In the twelfth, he was expelled and left the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “But man abides not in honor; he is like the beasts that perish” (Psalms 49:13). Adam did not abide, i.e., sleep, in a place of honor for even one night. (Babylon Talmud, Sanhedrin 38a-b https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.38b.1?lang=bi)

The aforementioned myths and fairytales show that the unbelievers’ accusations against Muhammad were true. The Quran is nothing more than a hodge-podge of Arabian, Jewish, Christian, Persians, etc., the fables and traditions, which Muhammad tried to pass off as revelations sent down to him from God.

FURTHER READING

The Prostration to Adam — A Quranic Problem ([Part 1], [Part 2]) 

Sujood – The Act of Worship Which Allah Shares With His Creatures

ADAM AS A TYPE OF CHRIST

Is Jesus Really Like Adam After All?

The Scriptures teach that God brought the entire creation into existence from nothing. This is known as the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (“creation from/out of nothing”). The sacred writings also teach that God is fully aware of every created thing that he has made.

2 MACCABEES 7:28

“I implore you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. And in the same way the human race came into being.” (2 Makkabees, translated by Joachim Schaper in  A New English Translation of the Septuagint, including corrections and emendations made in the second printing (2009) and corrections and emendations made in June 2014 [Oxford University Press], p. 512)

“I beseech thee, my son, look upon the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise.” Brenton’s LXX

“I beseech thee, my son, look upon heaven and earth, and all that is in them: and consider that God made them out of nothing, and mankind also:” DRA

“I beg you, child, to look at heaven and earth. See everything that is in them and know that God made these things from nothing, and created humankind in the same way.” CEB

“So I urge you, my child, to look at the sky and the earth. Consider everything you see there, and realize that God made it all from nothing, just as he made the human race.” GNT

“I beg you, child, to look at the heavens and the earth and see all that is in them; then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things.^[b] In the same way humankind came into existence.”

b. 7:28 God did not make them out of existing things: that is, all things were made solely by God’s omnipotent will and creative word; cf. Hb 11:3. This statement has often been taken as a basis for “creation out of nothing” (Latin creatio ex nihilo). NABRE

“I beg you, my child, to look at the heavens and the earth and see everything that is in them. Reflect on the fact that God did not create them from things that already existed^[e] and that the human race came into being in the same way.”

e. 2 Maccabees 7:28 God did not create them from things that already existed: this is the most precise affirmation of the whole Old Testament concerning the doctrine of the creation out of nothing. God made all things by his almighty will and his creative word (see Heb 11:3). NCB

“I beg you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed.^[f] And in the same way the human race came into being.”

f. 7.28 Or God made them out of things that did not exist NRSVUE

“I beseech you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. Thus also mankind comes into being.” RSV

SIRACH 23:20

“Before all things were created (prin he ktisthenai ta panta), they were known to him, so also after they were completed.” (Sirach, translated by Benjamin G. Wright, in  A New English Translation of the Septuagint, including corrections and emendations made in the second printing (2009) and corrections and emendations made in June 2014, p. 738)

“He knew all things ere ever they were created; so also after they were perfected he looked upon them all.” Brenton’s LXX

“Before all things were created, God knew them; so as well after they were finished.” CEB

“The one who knows all things before they exist still knows them all after they are made.” NABRE

“All things were known to him before they were created, and they still are, now that they are finished.” NCB

CHRIST THE CREATOR

The Holy Bible claims that Christ has been existing since before the creation of all things, and that the Father appointed him to personally bring the entire creation into existence and to preserve it. According to the God-breathed Scripture, the Son possesses the very creative power and life-giving energy required to create all things from nothing.

“At the beginning God expressed himself. That personal expression, that word, was with God, and was God, and he existed with God from the beginning. All creation (panta) took place through him, and none took place without him. In him appeared life and this life was the light of mankind… That was the true light which shines upon every man as he comes into the world. He came into the world—the world he had created—and the world failed to recognise him. He came into his own creation, and his own people would not accept him… So the word of God became a human being and lived among us. We saw his splendour (the splendour as of a father’s only son), full of grace and truth… It is true that no one has ever seen God at any time. Yet the divine and only Son, who lives in the closest intimacy with the Father, has made him known.” John 1:1-4, 9-11, 14, 18 PHILLIPS

“yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things (ta panta) come and for whom we exist; and one Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, through whom were created all things (ta panta) and through whom we have our being.” 1 Corinthians 8:6

“Who is an image of the unseen God, Firstborn of all creation,—Because in him were created all things (ta panta) in the heavens and upon the earth, The things seen and the things unseen, Whether thrones or lordships or principalities or authorities,—They all (ta panta) through him and for him have been created, And he IS before all (pro panton) And they all (ta panta) in him hold together;” Colossians 1:15-17 The Emphasized Bible

“Whereas in many parts and in many ways of old God spake unto the fathers in the prophets At the end of these days He hath spoken unto us in his Son,—Whom he hath appointed heir of all things, Through whom also he hath made the ages; Who being an eradiated brightness of his glory And an exact representation of his very being, Also bearing up all things by the utterance of his power, Purification of sins having achieved Sat down on the right hand of the majesty in high places:” Hebrews 1:1-3 The Emphasized Bible

The most remarkable aspect about this is that God himself quotes the following Psalm, which describes YHWH as the unchangeable Creator and Sustainer of all things,

A Prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before Yahweh. O Yahweh, hear my prayer! And let my cry for help come to You… But You, O Yahweh, abide forever, And the remembrance of Your name from generation to generation… I say, ‘O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days, Your years are from generation to all generations. Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You will remain; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not c2ome to an end.’” Psalm 102:1, 12, 24-27 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

And ascribes this to his beloved Son, thereby identifying Jesus as that very immutable YHWH God who personally created and sustains all creation!

“But to the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God (ho theos), endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice. You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.’ He also says to the Son, ‘In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing. You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same; you will live forever.’” Hebrews 1:8-12 NLT

This makes perfect sense in light of the plain teaching of Scripture that the Person of the Son was already existing before the creation of all things.

Hence, since God created all things from nothing, and since Jesus was there prior to the creation of all things, and is the One whom the Father appointed to bring the entire creation into being from nothing, the Son, therefore, cannot be a creature. Rather, the Son (along with the Father and the Holy Spirit) eternally exists as the one true God YHWH Almighty who at a specific point in time became a flesh and blood human being (Cf. Matt. 1:18-23; John 1:1-4, 14; Rom. 8:3; 9:5; 10:9-13; 1 Cor. 10:1-4; Gal. 4:4; Col. 1:13-20; 2:2-3, 9; Heb. 1:1-4, 10-12; 2:9-18; Jude 1:4-7; Rev. 1:9-18; 2:8; 5:8-14; 22:12-13, 16, 20).

FURTHER READING

JWS ADMIT: JESUS IS THE ETERNAL CREATOR!

THE NEW WORLD TRANSLATION PROVES JESUS IS UNCREATED!

THE NWT TESTIFIES THAT THE TRINITY IS THE ETERNAL CREATOR!

Skeptics claim that Mark contradicts Matthew and Luke in that the former states that Jesus instructed his followers to take a staff with them as they embarked on their missionary journey, where Matthew and Luke record Jesus forbidding them from doing so.

I will let the late Dr. Gleason L. Archer address this supposed discrepancy:

In Jesus’ commissioning of the twelve disciples, were they or were they not to take a “staff” (cf. Matt 10:10; Mark 6:8)?

In Matthew 10:5-6 Jesus commissioned His twelve disciples to go out on an Evangelistic tour of the cities of Israel, preaching the arrival of the kingdom of heaven, and healing the sick and the demon possessed. Then He cautioned them in regards to their equipment for this journey: “Do not acquire [ktesesthe] gold and silver or bronze for your money belts; or a bag [peran, “knapsack”] for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support” (Matt. 10:9-10). The parallel in Luke 10 mentions other articles for the journey in Christ’s commission to seventy, but this must have been a later episode. At any rate the word “staff” is not used at all. But in Mark 6:7-9, where His commission to the Twelve is likewise recorded, we read in vv. 8-9 “And He instructed them that they should take nothing [meden airosin] for their journey, except a mere staff [ei me rabdon monon]; no bread, no bag, no money in their belt; but to wear sandals; and he added, “Do not put on two tunics'” (NASB).

Both Matthew 10 and Mark 6 agree that Christ directed the disciples to take along no extra equipment of any kind for this journey but simply to go on their mission with what they already had. Luke 9:3 agrees in part with the wording of Mark 6:8, using the same verb airo (“take”); but then, like Matthew, adds: “neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; do not even have two tunics apiece.” But Matthew 10:10 includes what was apparently a further clarification: they were not to acquire a staff as a part of their special equipment for the tour. Mark 6:8 seems to indicate that this did not involve their necessarily discarding or leaving behind even the walking stick they normally took with them wherever they went, while they were following Jesus during His teaching ministry. As Lange (Commentary on Mark, p. 56) says, “They were to go forth with their staff, as they had it at the time; but they were not to seek one carefully, or make it a condition of their travelling.” Lange then sums up the paragraph as follows: “The fundamental idea is this, that they were to go forth with the slightest provision, and in dependence upon being provided for by the way….We find in them [i.e., Mark’s expressions] no other than a more express view of their pilgrimage state, burdened with the least possible encumbrance, and as free as might be from all care.” So understood, there is no real discrepancy between the two passages. (Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties [Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI 1982], pp. 329-330)

The following more lengthy exposition is taken from Christian apologist Glenn Miller’s post, Take a staff or not? [nostaff.html].

Good question…

…Well, did Jesus tell them to take a staff or not? Another contradiction?!

[Created 7/25/97]

Someone wrote in:

Hi, glen–

I don’t know how tough a question this is, but would appreciate your input. Regarding the sending out of the 12, could they take a staff (Mark 6:8), or not (Matt. 10:10; Luke 9:1-6)? The (few) commentaries that I have checked have been less than helpful.
……………………………………………………………………………….

This was a GREAT question because it highlights one of the MAIN sources of ‘mistaken contradictions’–morphological similarity.

What this means is that when two authors use the SAME word-form, somebody decides that the two different authors meant the SAME word-meaning. Let’s look at the passages in question:

• Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take (“ktaomai”) no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep. (Matthew 10.9-10)
• These were his instructions: “Take (“airo”) nothing for the journey except a staff — no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. (Mark 6.8)
• He told them: “Take (“airo”) nothing for the journey — no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. (Luke 9.3)

At the surface, the ‘contradiction’ seems obvious: Matthew and Luke SEEM to agree that Jesus prohibits the disciples from taking a staff, while Mark SEEMS to allow them to take one…At first blush–assuming all the ‘takes’ mean the same thing(!)–SOMEBODY must be wrong!

So, we have two sets of contradictions here: Matthew vs. Mark (different word forms for ‘take’), and Luke vs. Mark (same word forms for ‘take’).

So, let’s try to determine what those word-forms mean for the authors:

• Matthew uses the word ‘ktaomai’, meaning ‘acquire’ (a logistics function).

This is NOT Matthew’s word for ‘financial purchase’. He uses the term ‘agorazo’ for that (a term also sometimes used by Luke, by the way). For example,

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy (“agorazo”) themselves some food.” (14.15)

“`No,’ they replied, `there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy (“agorazo”) some for yourselves.’ 10 “But while they were on their way to buy (“agorazo”) the oil, the bridegroom arrived. (25.9-10)

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they decided to use the money to buy (“agorazo”) the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. (27.6-7)

Matthew does not use this “purchase/procure” word, but the more general one for ‘locate and obtain’. Accordingly, the prohibition in Matthew is against HUNTING FOR and securing/obtaining a staff (presumably because of the urgency and haste of the trip–as indicated in all versions; much of this saying probably would have been standard prophetic hyperbole–perhaps indicated by the strong ‘take nothing’ in some of the passages–since most of them would have already had walking sticks).

• Mark uses the word ‘airo’ which is a MUCH broader word, generally indicating ‘pick up and carry’ (physically, as in luggage/baggage), as in other passages in Mark:

Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, `Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, `Get up, take (“airo”) your mat and walk’? (2.9) [the notion is ‘pick it up off the ground and carry it away’]

On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took (‘airo’) his body and laid it in a tomb. (6.29) [the notion is ‘lifted the dead body and carried it out’]

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself (‘airo’) into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. (11.23) [the notion is ‘pick yourself up and carry yourself away’!]

Let no one in the field go back to get (‘airo’) his cloak. (13.16) [the notion is ‘retrieve it’]

So, Mark is specifically ALLOWING them to ‘pick up and physically carry’ their walking staff (presumably the one they would each probably have already)

• Luke seems to be dependent on Matthew here–as evidenced by the grammatical construction, and seems to have used a broader word (‘airo’) for Matthew’s tighter ‘acquire’ (‘ktaomai’). Luke is very similar to Matthew–the verbs in both passages are imperatives (vs. Mark’s use of a subordinate construction and subjunctive mood). But Luke CANNOT use Matthew’s verb (ktaomai) in this passage, because ‘ktaomai’ means something DIFFERENT for Luke (and presumably his readers). Ktaomai in Luke is focused more on “PURCHASED/Financially OWNED things”. For example,

I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get (ktaomai).’ (18.12) [the notion is of financial income.]

(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought (ktaomai) a field; (Acts 1.18) [the notion is specifically that of ‘purchase’. Notice too that Luke uses ktaomai, but Matthew uses ‘agorazo’ for the same act in his account of the purchase!]

Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy (ktaomai) the gift of God with money! (Acts 8.20) [the notion is clearly that of purchase.]

Then the commander said, “I had to pay (ktaomai) a big price for my citizenship.” (Acts 22.28) [the notion is clearly a financial transaction.]

[The only possible exception is Luke 21.19 where the sense is ‘win’, which has some transactional notion in it, of course].

So, for Luke, it would make ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE for his readers to ‘see’ Jesus forbid the disciples to “buy money” (!)…a very misleading and only marginally coherent notion.

What this means is that Luke HAD TO find ANOTHER, DIFFERENT word that could convey ‘locate and acquire’ OTHER THAN Matthew’s word ktaomai.

Luke selects ‘airo’, a more general term.

• And just as ‘ktaomai’ did not mean the same for Luke and Matthew; so also the word ‘airo’ DID NOT (often) MEAN the same for Luke and Mark! (which dissipates the contradiction).

That Luke probably did NOT mean the same sense of ‘airo’ as Mark did (removing the problem) is suggested by a similar issue in Luke 10.4. In that passage–the sending of the 70–Luke uses the verb “bastazo” (which has a narrower range than airo) which for Luke means ‘bear, carry’ [== the same sense as Mark’s ‘airo’].

Mark uses airo 21 times for physical ‘picking something up to move’, and uses bastazo only once–referring to a man already in the PROCESS OF CARRYING a pitcher.

One interesting piece of comparative data is that in ONE description of the ‘taking up and carrying the cross’, Mark uses airo (8.34; 10.21), but Luke uses bastazo (14.27). What this strongly argues for is that Luke’s bastazo = Mark’s airo (at least sometimes). These words still overlap some, but it is sufficient for our purpose to show that they generally diverge.

In other cases Mark’s airo is the SAME as Luke’s airo. But this identical-usage ONLY OCCURS in the Triple Tradition–passages which are shared by ALL three of the synoptic writers:

• the Healing of the Paralytic [Mt 9.1-8; Mr 2.1-12; Lk 5.17-26]
• The Parable of the Sower and The Seed, (and the explanation, except Matthew uses the word for ‘seize’) [Matt 13.12,18-23; Mr 4.15-25; Lk 8.12-18]
• the Taking up of the Fragments [Mt 14.20; Mr 6.43; Lk 9.17]
• Take up the Cross [Mt 16.24; Mr 8.34; 10.21; Lk 9.23]

Although the word airo is used by both Luke and Mark in these passages, in the Triple Tradition it is often understood that the gospel writers did not have as much flexibility in redactional word-choice-changes as they might have had in other sections. So, similarities in word choices in the TT would not indicate shared semantic ‘preferences’ but in shared source-stock of the accounts.

• So, can Luke’s airo be used in the sense of Matthew’s ktaomai (=’acquire’)? If it can, then the issue is resolved, since we know that Mark’s airo is NOT the same as Matthew’s ktaomai, and that Mark’s airo is closer to Luke’s bastazo that to Luke’s airo. So, the last piece of the puzzle is why Luke used airo in 9.3. We know why he didn’t use ktaomai (it would have misled his readers) and we know why he didn’t use bastzao (because Matt and hence Luke, was not talking about Picking up and CARRYING luggage–an immediate act, but about LOCATING/ACQUIRING/SECURING something–taking a longer period of time to do, delaying the mission).

Well, airo is CERTAINLY used that way in Luke 17.31 (“On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. “). Notice that the SAME MOTIF of HIGH-URGENCY is present; under the extreme urgency, no one should ‘take the time to collect materials for a journey–leave with WHAT YOU HAVE!’.

[There are other places in Luke where airo is used of acquire-without-procure…It is also used in Luke 6.29 of those that ‘seize’ one’s cloak (definitely acquire, without purchase or luggage-carrying). Other ‘seize’ passages are 11.22, 52; 19.24, 26; 23.18. Passages in which acquire-without-purchase is present is 19.21,22.]

So, where this seems to net out:

1. In Matthew, Jesus tells them to not ‘make preparations’–the trip is too urgent to ‘acquire belongings for the trip’ (cf. Luke 17.31). No hesitation–start NOW with what you already have at your disposal!
2. In Mark, Jesus tells them to ‘pick up the walking stick that is sitting beside them, start CARRYING it, and then to get moving!’…no hesitation–start walking NOW!
3. In Luke, Jesus tells them the same thing as in Matthew–do not ‘make preparations’, but Luke has to use a different word that Matthew. Although he uses the same word form as Mark does, the meanings are different–as can be seen from their independent uses of the same word-form. So Matthew’s ktaomai equals Luke’s airo (in this and in other passages), and Mark’s airo equals Luke’s bastazo (in this and other passages).

Notice also the general principle that we must ALWAYS ask what an author meant by a word, and not simply what OTHER authors’ meant by it. Audiences and Authors differ, and with the significant semantic ranges of common-use words, we must always do this level of consideration to be as honest as possible with text.

[I might also point out that the resolution of this issue provides some support for the neo-Griesbachian hypothesis–that Luke uses Matthew, but did NOT use Mark. It is easy to see from the above argumentation how the phenomena in Luke is derived from Matthew–the grammatical construction is identical, only the verb is changed due to different usages. But IF Luke had had MARK in front of him as well, then Luke would probably have found another way to say it–simply to avoid the appearance of such an obvious conflict in the verb forms. The fact that the problem even surfaces–coupled with the substantial similarity between Luke and Matthew–is evidence that Luke did NOT have a finished text of Mark in front of him.]

So, the morphological similarity of the words, in this case, would have misled interpreters if they did not pay attention to the usage patterns of the authors. As it stands, there is no disagreement between the accounts–in fact, they strangely appear to be saying the say exact thing–“Hurry up and get moving!”.

Hope this helps,
glenn miller

[nostaff.html]

FURTHER READING

JEREMIAH OR ZECHARIAH: AN ERROR IN MATTHEW?

MATTHEW 27:9-10: A MISTAKEN ATTRIBUTION?

HOW DID JUDAS DIE?

TWO CREATION ACCOUNTS IN GENESIS 1 & 2?

RAMESES II WAS NOT THE PHARAOH OF THE EXODUS!

The following excerpt is taken from the late Dr. Gleason L. Archer’s book, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, published by Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI 1982, p. 350.

Why does Matthew 27:9 attribute to Jeremiah a prophecy from Zechariah?

Matthew 27:9-10 describes the purchase of Potter’s Field with Judas Iscariot’s money as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy: “Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, `And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me” (NASB). The remarkable thing about this quotation is that the greater portion of it is actually from Zechariah 11:12-13, which reads as follows: “And I said to them, `If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!’ So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. Then Yahweh said to me, `Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them’. So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of Yahweh.” There are significant differences between the Zechariah passage and the quotation in Matthew, which has the prophet paying out–or least giving–the purchase money, and has him turning over the money for a field rather than giving it to the potter personally. Yet the whole point of the quotation in Matthew is directed toward the purchase of the field. The Zechariah passage says nothing at all about purchasing a field; indeed, it does not even mention a field at all.

But as we turn to Jeremiah 32:6-9, we find the prophet purchasing a field in Anathoth for a certain number of shekels. Jeremiah 18:2 describes the prophet as watching a potter fashioning earthenware vessels in his house. Jeremiah 19:2 indicates that there was a potter near the temple, having his workshop in the Valley of Hinnom. Jeremiah 19:11 reads: “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: `Even so I will break this people and this city as one breaks a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet.'” It would seem, therefore, that Zechariah’s casting of his purchase money to the potter dated back to the symbolic actions of Jeremiah. Yet it is only Jeremiah that mentions the “field” of the potter–which is the principal point of Matthew’s quotation. Matthew is therefore combining and summarizing elements of prophetic symbolism both from Zechariah and from Jeremiah. But since Jeremiah is the more prominent of the two prophets, he mentions Jeremiah’s name by preference to that of the minor prophet.

A similar procedure is followed by Mark 1:2-3, which attributes only to Isaiah a combined quotation from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. In that case also, only the more famous of the two prophets is mentioned by name. Since that was the normal literary practice of the first century A.D., when the Gospels were written, the authors can scarcely be faulted for not following the modern practice of precise identification and footnoting (which could never have become feasible until after the transition had been made from the scroll to the codex and the invention of the printing press).

FURTHER READING

MATTHEW 27:9-10: A MISTAKEN ATTRIBUTION?

HOW DID JUDAS DIE?

TWO CREATION ACCOUNTS IN GENESIS 1 & 2?

RAMESES II WAS NOT THE PHARAOH OF THE EXODUS!