Page 234 - History of The Quranic Text | Kalamullah.Com

214 THE HISTORY OF THE QUR'ANIC TEXT

27 Then the man asked, "What is your name?" 'jacob," he answered.
28 The man said, "Your name will no longer beJacob. You have wrestled
with God and with men, and you have won. That's why your name will
be Israel." 12

To someone from outside the Judeo-Christian tradition, the notion of
a human physically tackling God into the daylight hours (and winning) is
inconceivable, if not profane.

Jacob:'famil)!
Jacob had two wives,
a. Leah, who gave birth to
L, Reuben, 2. Simeon, 3. Levi, 4.Judah, 5. Issachar, and 6. Zebulun
b. Rachel, who gave birth to
i.Joseph, and 2. Benjamin.
He also had two concubines,
a. Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid, who bore him
t. Dan, and 2. Naphtali
b. Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, who bore him
t. Gad, and 2. Asher
Thus 'jacob had twelve sons."13
The terrible famine which struck duringJacob's twilight years was the
impetus for his migration to Egypt;'! his son Joseph had ascended to the
post of Egypt's governor by then, and invited his parents and brothers to
join him as the land stillheld grain. 15"Sixty-six members ofJacob's family
went to Egypt with him, not counting his daughters-in-law. Jacob's two
grandsons who were born there made it a total of seventymembers ofJacob's
family in Egypt." 16This includes all his children and grand-children from
both wives and both concubines.

Moses
Moses' grandfather Kohath had arrived in Egypt from Canaan with his
grandfatherJacob, 17such that the only person in the lineage to be Egyptian-
born was Moses' father, Amram." Though born there Moses left more

12 HolyBible, Contemporary English Version, American Bible Society,New York, 1995,
Genesis32:24-28.In Hebrew one meaning of 'Israel' is"a man who wrestleswith God"
(see the footnote for Genesis 32:28). Cited thereafter as CE~~
13 Genesis 35:23-26.
14 Genesis 41:53-57.
15 Genesis 45.
16 CEV, Genesis 46:26-27.
17 Genesis 46:8-15.
18 Refer to Exodus 6:16-20.