Introduction
Did the New Testament stick to literal quotation from the Old Testament?
Quotations are commonplace in the sacred scriptures in all heavenly messages, especially Judaism, Christianity and Islam. When the true word of God involves a quotation, it should be completely identical with its original source. Otherwise, unidenticalness, partial identicalness and even approximate identicalness may serve as evidence of the distortion or even the alteration of the word of God. A quotation is nothing but the literal citation of the words of others, letter by letter, and word by word, verbatim, without increase or decrease in meanings or different orders of words.
As for Islam, Muslims do not claim that the Qur’an’s quotations from the previous scriptures, especially the Torah, the Injeel, and the Zabur, are necessarily included in the Bible simply because they do not believe that the Bible necessarily includes the original Torah, Injeel and Zabur. They rather believe that the Bible is a mixture between the remaining word of God and the word of man. Therefore, we may/may not find the Qur’an’s quotations from the previous scriptures in the Bible.
Unlike the Bible, the Qur’an has no inter-part or inter-chapter quotations for it is such a single unit which was revealed within the same span of time. Therefore, we do not find any chapter of the Qur’an quoting verses from another chapter. In general, there are a few quotations in the Qur’an for we notice that God directly talks to us without an agent.
As for the prophetic Sunnah (Tradition), including the prophetic statements, in addition to the statements of Prophet Muhammad’s Companions, as well as their successors and the successors of their successors, including the righteous predecessors and the grand scholars, they stick to the literalism of quotation from the Qur’an. That is to say Prophet Muhammad in his Sunnah, his Companions in their tradition as well as the Successors, the Successors of the Successors, the righteous predecessors and the grand scholars in their statements used to quote literal verses or parts of verses from the Qur’an letter by letter, word by word verbatim without increase or decrease in meanings, different orders of words, or adapted narrations.
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For example, Abu Sa`id bin Al-Mu`alla reported: “While I was praying in the Mosque, the Messenger of God called me but I did not respond to him. Later I said, ‘O Messenger of God! I was praying.’ He said, ‘Didn’t Allah say: ‘استجيبوا لله وللرسول إذا دعاكم لما يحييكم’ ‘Respond to God and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life.’ (Al-Anfal 8:24) He then said to me, ‘I will teach you a Sura (chapter) which is the greatest Sura in the Qur’an, before you leave the Mosque.’ Then he got hold of my hand, and when he intended to leave (the Mosque), I said to him, ‘Didn’t you say to me, ‘I will teach you a Sura which is the greatest Sura in the Qur’an?’ He said, ‘الحمد لله رب العالمين’ ‘Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds’ (Al-Fatihah 1:2) which is Al-Sab’a Al-Mathani (i.e. the seven repeatedly recited verses) and the Grand Qur’an which has been given to me.’” (Al-Bukhari)
In the above hadith (prophetic statement), there are two quotations from two different Qur’anic chapters. The first quotation is taken from the chapter of Al-Anfal. It is completely identical to the source verse in the chapter of Al-Anfal as follows:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ الأنفال 24:8
O you who have believed, respond to God and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that God intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered. (Al-Anfal 8:24)
The second quotation is also completely identical to the source verse in the chapter of Al-Fatihah as follows:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ الفاتحة 2:1
Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds (Al-Fatihah 1:2)
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Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of God said, “When the Imam says: ‘غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالين’ ‘not the path of those who earn Your Anger, nor the path of those who went astray (Al-Fatihah 1:7)’, then you must say, ‘Ameen’, for if one’s utterance of ‘Ameen’ coincides with that of the angels, then his past sins will be forgiven.” (Al-Bukhari)
In the above hadith, there is one quotation from the chapter of Al-Fatihah. It is completely identical to the source verse as follows:
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ الفاتحة 7:1
Not the path of those who earn Your Anger, nor the path of those who went astray (Al-Fatihah 1:7)
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Abu Huraira reported that Prophet Muhammad said, “It was said to the children of Israel, ‘ادخلوا الباب سجدا وقولوا حطة’ ‘Enter the gate bowing humbly and say, ‘Relieve us of our burdens’, but they changed the word and entered the town crawling on their buttocks and saying: ‘A wheat grain in the hair.’” (Al-Bukhari)
In the above hadith, there is one quotation from the chapter of Al-Baqarah. It is completely identical to the source verse as follows:
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُوا هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَدًا وَادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَقُولُوا حِطَّةٌ نَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطَايَاكُمْ وَسَنَزِيدُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ البقرة 58:2
And [recall] when We said, “Enter this city and eat from it wherever you will in [ease and] abundance, and enter the gate bowing humbly and say, ‘Relieve us of our burdens.’ We will [then] forgive your sins for you, and We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward].” (Al-Baqarah 2:58)
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`Umar ibn Al Khattab reported: “My Lord agreed with me in three things: 1. I said, ‘O Messenger of God, I wish we took the station of Abraham as our praying place (for some of our prayers).’ So came the Divine Inspiration: ‘And take you (people) the station of Abraham as a place of prayer (for some of your prayers e.g. two Rak`at of Tawaf of Ka`ba)’. 2. And as regards the (verse of) the veiling of women, I said, ‘O Messenger of God! I wish you ordered your wives to cover themselves from men because good and bad ones talk to them.’ So the verse of the veiling of women was revealed. 3. Once the wives of the Prophet made a united front against him and I said to them, ‘عسى ربه إن طلقكن أن يبدله أزواجا خيرا منكن مسلمات’ ‘It may be, if he divorced you (all), that his Lord will give him in exchange consorts better than you.’ So this verse (the same as I had said) was revealed.’” (Al-Bukhari)
In the above hadith, there is one quotation from the chapter of At-Tahrim. It is completely identical to the source verse as follows:
عَسَى رَبُّهُ إِنْ طَلَّقَكُنَّ أَنْ يُبْدِلَهُ أَزْوَاجًا خَيْرًا مِنْكُنَّ مُسْلِمَاتٍ مُؤْمِنَاتٍ قَانِتَاتٍ تَائِبَاتٍ عَابِدَاتٍ سَائِحَاتٍ ثَيِّبَاتٍ وَأَبْكَارًا التحريم 5:66
It may be, if he divorced you (all), that his Lord will give him in exchange consorts better than you,- who submit (their wills), who believe, who are devout, who turn to Allah in repentance, who worship (in humility), who travel (for Faith) and fast,- previously married or virgins. (At-Tahrim 66:5)
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Abu Huraira reported: “The people of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and then explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. The Messenger of God said (to Muslims). ‘Do not believe the people of the Book, nor disbelieve them, but say, ‘قولوا آمنا بالله وما أنزل إلينا’ ‘We believed in God and what has been revealed to us.’” (Al-Bukhari)
In the above hadith, there is one quotation from the chapter of Al-Baqarah. It is completely identical to the source verse as follows:
قُولُوا آَمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى وَعِيسَى وَمَا أُوتِيَ النَّبِيُّونَ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ البقرة 136:2
Say, [O believers], “We believed in God and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.” (Al-Baqarah 2:136)
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Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of God said, “Noah will be called on the Day of Resurrection and he will say, ‘Labbaik and Sa`daik, O my Lord!’ God will say, ‘Did you convey the Message?’ Noah will say, ‘Yes.’ His nation will then be asked, ‘Did he convey the Message to you?’ They will say, ‘No Warner came to us.’ Then God will say (to Noah), ‘Who will bear witness in your favor?’ He will say, ‘Muhammad and his followers.’ So they (i.e. Muslims) will testify that he conveyed the Message. And the Messenger (Muhammad) will be a witness over yourselves, and that is what is meant by the Statement of God ‘وكذلك جعلناكم أمة وسطا لتكونوا شهداء على الناس ويكون الرسول عليكم شهيدا’ ‘And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you.’ (Al-Baqarah 2:143)” (Al-Bukhari)
In the above hadith, there is one quotation from the chapter of Al-Baqarah. It is completely identical to the source verse as follows:
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنْتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّنْ يَنْقَلِبُ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ البقرة 134:2
And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you. And We did not make the qiblah which you used to face except that We might make evident who would follow the Messenger from who would turn back on his heels. And indeed, it is difficult except for those whom Allah has guided. And never would Allah have caused you to lose your faith. Indeed Allah is, to the people, Kind and Merciful. (Al-Baqarah 2:143)
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As for the Bible, we do not find between the Old Testament and the New Testament such complete identicalness which is between the Sunnah and the Qur’an. What is more, we, sometimes, do not find the New Testament quotations attributed to the Old Testament (Matthew 2:23), (John 1:45-46).
We, sometimes, do not find such quotations in some manuscripts of the New Testament itself (1 Corinthians 2:16). The New Testament, sometimes, attribute to the Old Testament such quotations which are rather taken from somewhere or someone else, like Epimenides (Titus 1:12) or the non-canonical Book of Enoch (Jude 1:14-15). The New Testament, sometimes, gives short successive quotations as one quotation from the Old Testament, though they are multiple scattered quotations from the Old Testament without any indications in the Greek manuscripts that they are separate quotations (Mark 1:2-3), (Romans 3:10-18).
The New Testament, sometimes, gives such quotations which are only partially identical to the Old Testament. That is to say, some of the quotation words and/or meanings are found in the Old Testament, while other words and/or meanings are not found (Matthew 4:10), (Matthew 5:31), (Luke 10:25-27).
Sometimes, there is identicalness between the quotation given in the New Testament and its source in the Old Testament but with slight differences in words and/or meanings (Matthew 2:18), (Matthew 4:6). However, we still do not deny that the New Testament quotations are sometimes completely identical to their sources in the Old Testament.
Now, we may ask: if the Bible is the pure word of God, can its New Testament quotations not be completely identical to their sources in the Old Testament or be only partially or almost identical, though a quotation is nothing but the literal citation of the words of others, letter by letter, and word by word, verbatim.
The New Testament quotations’ unidenticalness or partial or approximate identicalness may serve as evidence of the distortion or even the alteration of the word of God supposed to be contained in the Bible. As the Bible we have nowadays involves such inconsistencies between its two testaments after the exclusion of the non-canonical books, what if the non-canonical books have not been excluded?
But, why is unidenticalness there? Did the New Testament authors not have copies of the Old Testament?
Either they had copies of the Old Testament, but they ignored them and added, omitted, or brought forward or back according to their own fancy, or they did not have copies of the Old Testament for there was no old testament in the form taken in the wake of the Council of Nicaea and even later on, and so they had to depend on their fallible memory and adapted narrations.
Anyway, the result is the same, that is, the Bible scribes did not stick to literal transcription when writing down the Bible contents. They would add, omit, and bring forward and back as they liked, without adherence to literal transcription, either deliberately, indeliberately, or for bad memory and the lack of complete, reliable compilations of the Bible books at the dawn of Christianity.
Finally, the collection and classification of the Bible books in the form we have today is something which retarded for centuries after Jesus’ Ascension which gave way to the distortion and corruption of the word of God supposed to be contained in the Bible.
Download the Dictionary of the Most Important New Testament Quotations from the Old Testament
To download the Dictionary of the Most Important New Testament Quotations from the Old Testament, click Dictionary of the Most Important New Testament Quotations from the Old Testament