batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l6279-l6438
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg-l6279-l6438
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
passage_locator:
label: PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. /
PREFACE; lines 6279-6438
start: '6279'
end: '6438'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an), Rodwell translation
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: 'The passage contains translator notes on Moses traditions and related
Jewish parallels, followed by the opening of Sura XXVI: divine signs and warnings
are rejected; God calls Moses to go to Pharaoh; Moses fears rejection, cites slow
speech, requests Aaron as helper, and fears death; God sends Moses and Aaron with
signs to demand the release of the children of Israel; Pharaoh challenges Moses
by recalling his upbringing and past deed; Moses replies that he erred, fled in
fear, received wisdom from his Lord, and was made an apostle, while Pharaoh enslaved
the children of Israel.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A translator note reports a commentator tradition that Moses, as a child,
burned his tongue with a live coal.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A translator note says the same child-Moses live-coal story is found in specified
Jewish Midrashic and later Jewish sources.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A translator note says the Midrasch Tanchumah on Exodus gives a very similar
dialogue between Pharaoh and Moses.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The opening of Sura XXVI refers to signs of the lucid Book, possible heavenly
signs, repeated warnings from the God of Mercy, and the earth bringing forth noble
plants as a sign.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: God calls Moses and commands him to go to the wicked people, the people of
Pharaoh.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Moses says he fears being treated as a liar, is slow of speech, asks that
Aaron be sent as his helpmate, and fears being put to death because of a charge
against him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: God tells Moses and Aaron to go with divine signs and says that God will be
with them and will hearken.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Moses and Aaron are instructed to tell Pharaoh that they are messengers of
the Lord of the worlds and to demand that the children of Israel be sent forth
with them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Pharaoh replies by recalling that Moses was reared among them as a child and
by reproaching him for a deed he had done.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Moses says that he did the deed while among those who erred, fled because
he feared Pharaoh's people, and that his Lord gave him wisdom and made him one
of his apostles.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Moses asks whether Pharaoh's favor to him consists in having enslaved the
children of Israel.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: A translator note reports a tradition in which a calf came forth lowing and
Samuel entered it and lowed to mislead Israel.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: A translator note explains a detail as coming from the track of Gabriel's
horse or of Gabriel himself.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: A translator note compares a Qur'anic tree passage with the distinction between
the tree of knowledge and the tree of life in Genesis.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: God / the Lord / the God of Mercy / Lord of the worlds
description: The divine speaker and sender who gives signs, calls Moses, promises
presence, and is described as Mighty and Merciful.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Moses
description: Called by God to go to Pharaoh; fears rejection and death; requests
Aaron as helpmate; later says his Lord gave him wisdom and made him an apostle.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Aaron
description: Requested by Moses as a helpmate and included in the divine mission
to Pharaoh.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Pharaoh
description: Ruler addressed by Moses and Aaron; recalls Moses' upbringing and deed;
is accused of enslaving the children of Israel.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: children of Israel
description: The people whom Moses and Aaron are to ask Pharaoh to send forth; described
by Moses as enslaved by Pharaoh.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: the people of Pharaoh
description: Called wicked people in the divine command to Moses.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Samuel
description: Named in a cited tradition as entering the calf and lowing to mislead
Israel.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Israel
description: The group misled in the cited lowing-calf tradition.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Gabriel
description: Named in a translator note as the possible source of a track or of
a horse's track.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: divine sender and revealer of signs
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: God sends warnings and signs, calls Moses, and sends Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: messenger of the Lord of the worlds
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: Moses and Aaron are instructed to say that they are messengers of the Lord
of the worlds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: apostle given wisdom
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Moses says his Lord gave him wisdom and made him one of his apostles.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: helpmate requested by Moses
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Moses asks that Aaron be sent as his helpmate.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: enslaving ruler and opponent
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Pharaoh is the ruler addressed by the messengers and is accused of enslaving
the children of Israel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: enslaved people to be released
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The messengers demand that Pharaoh send forth the children of Israel; Moses
says Pharaoh enslaved them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: wicked people addressed by the divine mission
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: God commands Moses to go to the wicked people, identified as the people of
Pharaoh.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: deceiver within calf tradition
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The cited tradition says Samuel entered the calf and lowed to mislead Israel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: misled group in calf tradition
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The cited tradition says Israel was misled by the lowing calf.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: source of supernatural track detail
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: A translator note says the detail was from the track of Gabriel's horse or
Gabriel himself.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: divine signs
literal_form: signs of the lucid Book, a sign from Heaven, warnings, and the earth's
noble plants as signs
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: noble plants springing from earth
literal_form: every kind of noble plant caused to spring up from the earth
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: live coal
literal_form: a live coal that burns child Moses' tongue in commentator tradition
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: lowing calf
literal_form: the calf that came forth lowing in the cited tradition
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: track of Gabriel or Gabriel's horse
literal_form: a track attributed to Gabriel's horse or to Gabriel himself
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: tree of knowledge and tree of life
literal_form: the tree of knowledge and the tree of life named in an editorial comparison
with Genesis
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Rejected signs and warnings
summary: The passage opens with divine signs, possible heavenly proof, repeated
warnings from the God of Mercy, rejection by unbelievers, and the earth's noble
plants as a sign.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Moses commissioned to Pharaoh
summary: God calls Moses and commands him to go to the people of Pharaoh; Moses
expresses fear, mentions slow speech, asks for Aaron, and fears death.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Moses and Aaron sent with signs
summary: God assures Moses and Aaron of divine presence, sends them with signs,
and instructs them to ask Pharaoh to release the children of Israel.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Pharaoh and Moses exchange accusations
summary: Pharaoh recalls Moses' upbringing and past deed; Moses admits error and
flight, states that God gave him wisdom and made him an apostle, and accuses Pharaoh
of enslaving the children of Israel.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Translator notes on Moses, calf, and tree traditions
summary: The notes report traditions about Moses' burned tongue, a parallel Pharaoh-Moses
dialogue, a lowing calf that misleads Israel, a detail from Gabriel's track, and
a comparison of Qur'anic and Genesis tree traditions.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Divine commissioning of a reluctant messenger before a ruler
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: God commands Moses to go to Pharaoh; Moses objects from fear and speech difficulty;
God sends him with signs and divine support.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives only the opening of the Moses-Pharaoh mission, not the
full confrontation.
- id: motif:2
label: Helper requested for impaired or fearful prophet
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Moses says his breast is straitened, he is slow of speech, and asks that
Aaron be sent as his helpmate.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage calls Aaron a helpmate but does not explicitly identify him
as Moses' brother in this excerpt.
- id: motif:3
label: Rejected divine warnings and signs
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The opening says warnings from the God of Mercy are turned aside and treated
as lies, and that tidings shall reach those who laugh them to scorn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: Judgment is implied by warning and coming tidings, but a specific punishment
scene is not narrated in this excerpt.
- id: motif:4
label: Wisdom as a divine gift to an apostle
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Moses says his Lord gave him wisdom and made him one of his apostles.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The content of the wisdom is not specified in the passage.
- id: motif:5
label: Animated or sounding calf that misleads Israel
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A cited tradition says the calf came forth lowing and that Samuel entered
it and lowed to mislead Israel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: This is in a translator note citing another tradition, not in the main
Sura XXVI excerpt.
- id: motif:6
label: Child Moses and the live coal
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A translator note reports a commentator tradition that child Moses burned
his tongue with a live coal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: This motif appears in editorial commentary rather than in the quoted Qur'anic
verses of this passage.
- id: motif:7
label: Tree of knowledge and tree of life comparison
taxonomy_refs:
- forbidden_knowledge
basis: A translator note explicitly compares a Qur'anic tree passage with Genesis's
distinction between the tree of knowledge and the tree of life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: low
cautions: The relevant Qur'anic tree verse is not quoted in this excerpt; the evidence
is an editorial comparison only.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage's translator note states that the commentator story of child
Moses burning his tongue with a live coal is also found in named Jewish sources.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Midrashic and later Jewish traditions on Moses as a child
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim depends on Rodwell's note and does not quote the parallel
Jewish passages in full.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage's translator note states that Midrasch Tanchumah on Exodus gives
a very similar dialogue between Pharaoh and Moses.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Midrasch Tanchumah on Exodus, Pharaoh-Moses dialogue
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The note asserts similarity but does not provide the full parallel
dialogue for direct comparison.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage's cited note links the lowing calf tradition with Exodus 32:24
and Pirke R. Eliezer, presenting a parallel animated-calf motif.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Exodus 32:24 and Pirke R. Eliezer tradition of the calf
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage quotes a short tradition but does not include the surrounding
source contexts.
- id: claim:4
claim: The passage's translator note compares a Qur'anic tree motif with the Genesis
distinction between the tree of knowledge and the tree of life, while emphasizing
a difference or conflation.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Genesis 2-3 tree of knowledge and tree of life traditions
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The Qur'anic verse under discussion is outside the quoted Sura XXVI
excerpt; the claim is editorial and evaluative.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: within lines 6279-6438, note 5
quote_or_summary: Note reports that Muhammadan commentators tell how Moses as a
child burned his tongue with a live coal, and that the same story is found in
Midrashic and later Jewish sources.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: within lines 6279-6438, note 12
quote_or_summary: Note states that Midrasch Tanchumah on Exodus gives a very similar
dialogue between Pharaoh and Moses.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: within lines 6279-6438, opening of Sura XXVI
quote_or_summary: The opening names signs of the lucid Book, possible heavenly signs,
warnings from the God of Mercy that are rejected, and the earth bringing forth
noble plants as a sign.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: within lines 6279-6438, Sura XXVI opening Moses commission
quote_or_summary: God calls Moses to go to the wicked people of Pharaoh; Moses fears
being called a liar, says he is slow of speech, asks for Aaron as helpmate, and
fears death because of a charge against him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: within lines 6279-6438, Sura XXVI divine reassurance and mission
quote_or_summary: God says, in effect, not so; Moses and Aaron are to go with signs,
God will be with them and hearken, and they are to tell Pharaoh they are messengers
of the Lord of the worlds and ask him to send forth the children of Israel.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: within lines 6279-6438, Sura XXVI Pharaoh-Moses exchange
quote_or_summary: Pharaoh recalls rearing Moses and reproaches him for a deed; Moses
says he erred, fled in fear, received wisdom from his Lord, became an apostle,
and questions Pharaoh's enslavement of the children of Israel.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: within lines 6279-6438, note 20
quote_or_summary: Note cites a tradition that the calf came forth lowing and that
Samuel entered it and lowed in order to mislead Israel.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: within lines 6279-6438, note 21
quote_or_summary: Note explains a detail as from the track of Gabriel's horse, or
of Gabriel himself.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: within lines 6279-6438, note 27
quote_or_summary: Note observes that Muhammad seems unaware of the Genesis distinction
between the tree of knowledge and the tree of life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-rodwell.md
rights_note: Public domain source text.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The main Qur'anic excerpt is clear, but the passage also contains translator
notes referring to material outside the immediate Sura XXVI verses. Motifs based
only on editorial notes are marked with cautions.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Used only supplied passage text and metadata. Taxonomy references were limited to supplied motif families and symbols where directly supported.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-rodwell-gutenberg__l6279-l6438
passage_sha256=9ba402407f964c73efcd371aed81a133de13144ae87f12302e72313eeb215521