batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l23630-l23708
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l23630-l23708
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XVII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XVIII. /
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 23630-23708
start: '23630'
end: '23708'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an), Sale translation
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Moses and his servant return to a rock after the fish takes its way into
the sea. There they meet a divinely taught servant. Moses asks to follow him for
instruction, but is warned that he will not be patient with things whose knowledge
he does not comprehend. The guide damages a ship, kills a youth, and repairs a
wall in a city that refused them food. Moses questions each act. The guide then
explains that the damaged vessel belonged to poor seafarers and was protected
from a king who seized sound ships; the slain youth would have burdened believing
parents with unbelief and ingratitude and would be replaced; and the repaired
wall protected hidden treasure belonging to orphan youths until they reached maturity.
The guide says he acted by God's direction. The passage then begins an account
of Dhu'lkarnein.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Moses and his servant are fatigued during their journey and discuss their
forgotten fish.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The servant says the fish was forgotten at the rock and took its way into
the sea in a wonderful manner.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Moses identifies the event as what they had sought and returns with his servant
by the way they came.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: At the rock, Moses and his servant find a servant of God who has been granted
mercy and taught wisdom.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Moses asks to follow the divinely taught servant in order to learn some of
what he has been taught.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The divinely taught servant warns Moses that he cannot patiently bear matters
whose knowledge he does not comprehend.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The divinely taught servant makes Moses promise not to ask about anything
until its meaning is declared.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: On the sea-shore journey, they enter a ship and the divinely taught servant
makes a hole in it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Moses objects that making a hole in the ship could drown those on board.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: After leaving the ship, they meet a youth and the divinely taught servant
kills him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: Moses objects that the slain youth was innocent and had not killed another
person.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: They come to a city, ask its inhabitants for food, and are refused hospitality.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: In that city, the divinely taught servant sets upright a wall that was ready
to fall down.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: Moses suggests that the wall repair could have earned a reward.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:15
text: The divinely taught servant announces separation from Moses and explains the
meanings of the actions Moses could not bear patiently.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:16
text: The damaged vessel is explained as belonging to poor men who worked at sea,
while a king behind them seized every sound ship by force.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:17
text: The slain youth is explained as a threat to believing parents through unbelief,
perverseness, and ingratitude; a more righteous and affectionate child is desired
in exchange.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:18
text: The repaired wall is explained as belonging to two orphan youths, with hidden
treasure beneath it and a righteous father connected to them.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:19
text: The divinely taught servant states that he did not act by his own will but
by God's direction.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:20
text: The passage shifts to an account of Dhu'lkarnein, introduced as someone about
whom the Jews will ask.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Moses
description: A traveler who asks to follow a divinely taught servant and repeatedly
questions his actions.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Moses's servant
description: Moses's companion who reports forgetting the fish at the rock and seeing
it take its way into the sea.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: one of our servants
description: A servant granted mercy and taught wisdom, who permits Moses to follow
under a condition and explains three puzzling acts as done by God's direction.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
- ev:13
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: al Khedr
description: Sale's note says the divinely taught servant is generally identified
as the prophet al Khedr, with traditions about immortality after drinking from
the fountain of life.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: people on board the ship
description: Persons on the ship whom Moses fears might be drowned by the hole made
in it.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: poor men who worked at sea
description: Owners of the vessel that was made unserviceable to protect it from
seizure.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: king
description: A king behind the poor seafarers who took every sound ship by force.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: youth
description: A youth met on the journey and killed by the divinely taught servant;
later explained as an unbeliever who would burden believing parents.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: parents of the youth
description: True believers whom the slain youth was feared to burden with perverseness
and ingratitude.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: inhabitants of a city
description: People who refuse food to Moses and the divinely taught servant.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: two orphan youths
description: Owners of the wall and the hidden treasure beneath it, intended to
receive the treasure when grown.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: righteous father of the orphan youths
description: The father whose righteousness is mentioned in connection with the
preserved treasure.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Dhu'lkarnein
description: A figure introduced at the end of the passage as the subject of an
account and as powerful in the earth.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
roles:
- id: role:1
label: seeker of instruction
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Moses asks to follow the divinely taught servant so that he may be taught.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: impatient questioner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Moses questions the ship damage, the killing of the youth, and the unpaid
repair of the wall despite the warning not to ask.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:3
label: journey companion
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He travels with Moses and reports the forgotten fish at the rock.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: divinely taught guide
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The servant is described as granted mercy and taught wisdom, and Sale's note
identifies him according to general opinion as al Khedr.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:15
- id: role:5
label: explainer of hidden meanings
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He explains the meaning of each action after announcing separation from Moses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: role:6
label: endangered passengers
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Moses says the hole in the ship might drown those aboard.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: poor vessel owners
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The vessel is said to belong to poor men doing business in the sea.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:8
label: seizing ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The king is described as taking every sound ship by force.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:9
label: slain youth
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The youth is killed during the journey and later explained as a danger to
believing parents.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: role:10
label: believing parents
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The parents are called true believers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:11
label: inhospitable townspeople
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: They refuse food to the travelers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:12
label: orphan heirs
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The wall and hidden treasure belong to two orphan youths who are to receive
it at maturity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: role:13
label: righteous ancestor
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The father of the orphan youths is called a righteous man.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: role:14
label: powerful ruler or traveler
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: Dhu'lkarnein is introduced as made powerful in the earth and given means
to accomplish what he pleased.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: rock
literal_form: the rock where the fish was forgotten and where the divinely taught
servant is found
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: fish entering the sea
literal_form: the forgotten fish taking its way into the sea in a wonderful manner
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: sea-shore and sea
literal_form: the sea-shore journey and the sea where the poor men work
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:11
- id: sym:4
label: ship with a hole
literal_form: a ship intentionally damaged by making a hole in it
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:11
- id: sym:5
label: falling wall
literal_form: a wall ready to fall down, set upright by the divinely taught servant
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:13
- id: sym:6
label: hidden treasure
literal_form: treasure hidden under the wall belonging to two orphan youths
associated_figures:
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: sym:7
label: fountain of life
literal_form: Sale's note reports a tradition that al Khedr found and drank from
the fountain of life
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Return to the rock after the fish sign
summary: Moses and his servant notice the wondrous departure of the forgotten fish
into the sea and return to the rock where it happened.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Meeting the divinely taught servant
summary: At the rock, Moses meets a servant granted mercy and wisdom and asks to
follow him for instruction; the servant warns Moses about impatience and incomprehension.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:3
label: The damaged ship
summary: Moses and the guide board a ship by the sea-shore; the guide makes a hole
in it, and Moses objects that this may drown those aboard.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: The slain youth
summary: After leaving the ship, the guide kills a youth, and Moses objects that
an innocent person has been slain.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: The repaired wall in the inhospitable city
summary: The travelers ask a city for food and are refused; the guide repairs a
wall ready to collapse, and Moses says he could have asked payment.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: scene:6
label: Explanation and separation
summary: The guide explains the damaged ship, slain youth, and repaired wall as
purposeful acts carried out by God's direction, then marks separation from Moses.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: scene:7
label: Opening of the Dhu'lkarnein account
summary: The passage begins a new account of Dhu'lkarnein, saying the Jews will
ask about him and that God made him powerful in the earth.
figure_refs:
- fig:13
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: quest for hidden wisdom through a guide
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- mystical_quest
basis: Moses seeks instruction from a servant taught wisdom by God and must follow
without questioning until meanings are revealed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames the instruction as divine wisdom but does not present
a full allegorical system beyond the three explained actions.
- id: motif:2
label: trial of patience before concealed meanings
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
- wisdom
basis: Moses is warned that he cannot bear what he does not comprehend, promises
patience, and repeatedly fails by questioning the guide's acts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The word initiation is a comparative taxonomy label; the passage itself
uses patience, following, and explanation rather than initiation terminology.
- id: motif:3
label: apparently harmful act revealed as protective mercy
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
- wisdom
basis: The ship is damaged but later explained as protection from a king who seizes
sound ships.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: Only the first of the three acts is directly protective of property; the
broader judgment motif should not be generalized beyond the stated explanations.
- id: motif:4
label: divinely directed death and replacement child
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
- death_rebirth
basis: The youth is killed and later explained as a danger to believing parents,
with a more righteous and affectionate child desired in exchange.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
confidence: medium
cautions: The replacement child is desired in the explanation but not narrated as
already born in this passage; death_rebirth is a loose taxonomy fit.
- id: motif:5
label: hidden treasure preserved for orphan heirs
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The repaired wall preserves hidden treasure for two orphan youths until they
reach full age, because of divine mercy and their father's righteousness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference directly names hidden treasure or orphan
inheritance, so the wisdom reference is functional rather than exact.
- id: motif:6
label: immortal wisdom figure in commentary tradition
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
- death_rebirth
basis: Sale's note reports traditions identifying the servant as al Khedr and saying
he drank from the fountain of life and became immortal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
confidence: medium
cautions: This motif is from the translator's note and reported tradition, not from
the translated Qur'anic narrative itself in this passage.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Sale's note reports that the divinely taught servant is generally identified
with al Khedr and that Muslim tradition confounds him with Phineas, Elias, and
St. George, while also noting a Jewish parallel connecting Phineas and Elias.
claim_level: same_function
target: al Khedr, Phineas, Elias, and St. George identification traditions
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- ev:16
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is a report in the translator's note, not a claim made in the
main translated narrative; it should not be treated as direct evidence that the
figures are historically identical.
- id: claim:2
claim: Sale's note explicitly says part of the al Khedr traditions were taken from
Jewish traditions, giving a cautious basis for comparison with nearby Jewish lore.
claim_level: historical_contact
target: Jewish traditions about Phineas and Elias
evidence_refs:
- ev:16
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The note gives an assertion rather than primary evidence; the passage
excerpt does not provide the Jewish source text itself.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 23630-23636
quote_or_summary: Moses asks for food because of fatigue; his servant says he forgot
the fish at the rock and that the fish took its way into the sea in a wonderful
manner.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 23637-23639
quote_or_summary: Moses says this is what they sought and the two return by the
way they came.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 23640-23642
quote_or_summary: '"they found one of our servants ... unto whom we had granted
mercy ... and whom we had taught wisdom"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 23643-23645
quote_or_summary: Moses asks to follow the servant so that he may teach him part
of what he has been taught for direction.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 23646-23649
quote_or_summary: The servant says Moses cannot bear with him because Moses does
not comprehend the knowledge of the things he will see.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 23650-23653
quote_or_summary: Moses promises patience if God pleases; the servant instructs
him not to ask about anything until he declares its meaning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 23654-23660
quote_or_summary: They go by the sea-shore, enter a ship, and the servant makes
a hole in it; Moses asks whether he means to drown those aboard.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 23661-23668
quote_or_summary: After leaving the ship, they meet a youth and the servant kills
him; Moses objects that an innocent person has been slain without having killed
another.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 23687-23693
quote_or_summary: They come to a city whose inhabitants refuse them food; they find
a wall ready to fall down, the servant sets it upright, and Moses says he could
have received a reward.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 23694-23696
quote_or_summary: The servant says this is the separation between him and Moses,
but first he will explain what Moses could not bear patiently.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 23697-23700
quote_or_summary: The vessel belonged to poor men working at sea; the servant made
it unserviceable because a king behind them seized every sound ship by force.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 23701-23704
quote_or_summary: The youth's parents were true believers; the servant feared the
youth's unbelief and ingratitude would burden them, and desired a more righteous
and affectionate child in exchange.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 23705-23708
quote_or_summary: The wall belonged to two orphan youths; hidden treasure lay beneath
it, their father was righteous, and the servant acted by God's direction so they
could later take their treasure.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 23708 and following excerpt
quote_or_summary: The passage introduces Dhu'lkarnein as a figure about whom the
Jews will ask; God made him powerful in the earth and gave him means to accomplish
what he pleased.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: translator note i, lines 23669-23680
quote_or_summary: Sale's note says the servant is generally identified as the prophet
al Khedr; it reports traditions that he found the fountain of life, drank from
it, became immortal, and remained in continual youth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:16
type: summary
locator: translator note i, lines 23669-23683
quote_or_summary: Sale's note says Muslims often confound al Khedr with Phineas,
Elias, and St. George, and says part of these traditions came from Jews, some
of whom also identify Phineas with Elias.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: low
notes: Main narrative extraction is strong because events and explanations are explicit.
Motif labels are comparative and should be reviewed. Comparison claims rely on
Sale's notes rather than the main Qur'anic narrative.
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: |-
Only supplied passage text and metadata were used. Translator notes were treated separately from the main translated narrative where relevant.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l23630-l23708
passage_sha256=405b9ce67638079c5e288d48fb64acaaf50656bb2bee9f553b475011b1d7b46b