batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l23869-l23958
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l23869-l23958
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XVIII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XIX. / IN
THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 23869-23958
start: '23869'
end: '23958'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an)
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage opens Sura Mary with Zacharias praying privately for an heir
despite his old age and his wife's barrenness. An angel announces John, gives
Zacharias a sign of three nights without speech, and John is described as receiving
the book, wisdom in childhood, mercy, purity, and peace at birth, death, and resurrection.
The passage then recounts Mary withdrawing eastward, veiling herself, receiving
Gabriel in human form, being told she will have a holy son though untouched by
a man, conceiving, retreating to a distant place, experiencing childbirth by a
palm-tree, and being comforted with a rivulet beneath her.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Zacharias invokes his Lord secretly, describing his weakened bones, white
hair, aged state, and his wife's barrenness while asking for a bodily successor
and heir.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: An angel announces to Zacharias a son named John and says this is easy for
the Lord because Zacharias was created when he was nothing.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Zacharias asks for a sign, and the sign given is that he will not speak to
men for three nights while remaining healthy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Zacharias comes out to his people from the chamber and communicates to them
by signs to praise God morning and evening.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: John is told to receive the book of the law and is described as receiving
wisdom while still a child.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: John is described as devout, dutiful to his parents, not proud or rebellious,
and associated with peace on the day of birth, death, and being raised to life.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Mary retires from her family to an eastern place and takes a veil to conceal
herself.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Gabriel is sent to Mary and appears to her in the shape of a perfect man.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Mary seeks refuge in the merciful God and warns the appearing figure not to
approach if he fears God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Gabriel identifies himself as the messenger of Mary's Lord and says he is
sent to give her a holy son.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Mary asks how she can have a son when no man has touched her and she is not
a harlot.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Gabriel replies that the event is easy for the Lord and is decreed as a sign
to men and a mercy from God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: Mary conceives, withdraws to a distant place, experiences childbirth pains
near the trunk of a palm-tree, and laments that she wishes she had died and been
forgotten.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: A voice from beneath Mary tells her not to grieve and says God has provided
a rivulet beneath her.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Zacharias
description: Servant of the Lord who prays secretly for an heir despite old age
and a barren wife.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Lord / God
description: The divine addressee of Zacharias's prayer and the one whose will is
described as making the births easy and decreed.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Zacharias's wife
description: Described by Zacharias as barren and as the prospective mother in the
announced birth of John.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Angel to Zacharias
description: The figure who answers Zacharias, announces John, and gives the sign
of speechlessness.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: John
description: The announced son of Zacharias, named John, later addressed to receive
the book and described as wise while a child.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Zacharias's people
description: The people to whom Zacharias comes out from the chamber and communicates
by signs.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Mary
description: The woman who withdraws from her family, veils herself, encounters
Gabriel, is told of a holy son, conceives, and gives birth near a palm-tree.
role_refs:
- role:9
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Gabriel
description: The spirit sent to Mary, appearing as a perfect man and identifying
himself as the Lord's messenger.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Holy son
description: The son promised to Mary, described as holy, a sign to men, and a mercy
from God.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Petitioner for heir
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Zacharias secretly asks his Lord to give him a successor of his own body.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: Recipient of sign
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Zacharias receives the sign that he will not speak to men for three nights
while healthy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: Divine giver and decreer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Lord is invoked for an heir; the births are described as easy for God
and decreed as a sign and mercy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: Barren wife
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Zacharias explicitly states that his wife is barren.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: Divine messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:8
basis: The angel announces John to Zacharias; Gabriel tells Mary he is the messenger
of her Lord.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: Announced son
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:9
basis: John is announced to Zacharias; a holy son is announced to Mary.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: Wise child
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: John receives the book of the law and wisdom while yet a child.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: Witnessing community
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Zacharias exits to his people and signals them to praise God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:9
label: Withdrawn woman
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Mary retires from her family to an eastern place and veils herself.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:10
label: Miraculous mother
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Mary is told she will have a son despite no man having touched her, then
conceives and undergoes childbirth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:11
label: Sign and mercy
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Gabriel says the child will be ordained as a sign to men and a mercy from
God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Chamber
literal_form: chamber from which Zacharias comes out to his people
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: Speechlessness as sign
literal_form: three nights without speaking to men while in perfect health
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: Book of the law
literal_form: book of the law received by John
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: Eastern place
literal_form: place towards the east where Mary retires
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: Veil
literal_form: veil taken by Mary to conceal herself from her family
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: Palm-tree
literal_form: trunk of a palm-tree near which Mary experiences childbirth pains
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: Rivulet
literal_form: rivulet provided beneath Mary
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Zacharias prays for an heir
summary: Zacharias privately invokes his Lord, describing his age, weakness, and
barren wife, and asks for a bodily successor acceptable to God.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Announcement of John and sign to Zacharias
summary: An angel announces the birth of John, explains that the Lord can easily
bring it about, and gives Zacharias the sign of three nights without speech.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: John's childhood wisdom and blessing
summary: John receives the book of the law, is given wisdom as a child, and is described
as merciful, pure, devout, dutiful, and blessed with peace at birth, death, and
resurrection.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Mary's withdrawal and Gabriel's appearance
summary: Mary withdraws eastward from her family, veils herself, and encounters
Gabriel, who appears in human form while she seeks divine refuge.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Announcement and conception of Mary's holy son
summary: Gabriel tells Mary she will receive a holy son; Mary objects that no man
has touched her, and Gabriel says the event is decreed as a sign and mercy before
Mary conceives.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Mary's childbirth by the palm-tree
summary: Mary retreats to a distant place, experiences labor near a palm-tree, laments
her distress, and is told not to grieve because a rivulet has been provided beneath
her.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:9
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Child promised to aged or barren parents
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
basis: Zacharias asks for an heir despite his old age and his wife's barrenness,
and an angel announces John as his son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames the event as divine ease and announcement, but the
birth itself is not narrated in this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: Temporary muteness as divine sign
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Zacharias is given a sign that he will not speak to men for three nights
while healthy, and he communicates by signs to his people.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: No provided taxonomy reference directly matches this sign motif.
- id: motif:3
label: Wisdom bestowed in childhood
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: John is commanded to receive the book of the law and is said to have been
given wisdom while yet a child.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes wisdom but does not narrate a quest or test of wisdom.
- id: motif:4
label: Peace at birth, death, and resurrection
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
basis: John is blessed with peace on the day he is born, the day he dies, and the
day he is raised to life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The line states future resurrection formulaically; it does not narrate
a resurrection event.
- id: motif:5
label: Virgin conception announced by divine messenger
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_birth
- miraculous_child
basis: Gabriel tells Mary she will have a holy son though she says no man has touched
her; the event is described as decreed, a sign, and a mercy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage identifies the child as holy and divinely decreed, but does
not use later theological terminology beyond the excerpt's wording.
- id: motif:6
label: Birth beside tree and water provision
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_birth
- tree
- water
basis: Mary experiences childbirth pains near a palm-tree and is told that God has
provided a rivulet beneath her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The palm-tree and rivulet are literal elements in the birth scene; any
broader symbolic interpretation requires review.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 23869-23958; Chapter XIX, opening prayer of Zacharias
quote_or_summary: Zacharias secretly invokes his Lord, describes his weakness, old
age, and barren wife, fears his successors, and asks for a bodily heir acceptable
to God.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 23869-23958; announcement of John
quote_or_summary: An angel announces to Zacharias a son named John and says the
Lord can easily do this, having created Zacharias when he was nothing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 23869-23958; sign to Zacharias
quote_or_summary: Zacharias asks for a sign; he is told he will not speak to men
for three nights while healthy, then goes from the chamber and signals his people
to praise God morning and evening.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 23869-23958; description of John
quote_or_summary: John is told to receive the book of the law, receives wisdom as
a child, and is described as merciful, pure, devout, dutiful to his parents, not
rebellious, and under peace at birth, death, and being raised to life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 23869-23958; Mary's withdrawal and Gabriel's appearance
quote_or_summary: Mary withdraws from her family to an eastern place, takes a veil,
and Gabriel is sent to her, appearing as a perfect man; she seeks refuge in the
merciful God.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 23869-23958; annunciation to Mary
quote_or_summary: Gabriel identifies himself as the messenger of Mary's Lord and
says he is sent to give her a holy son; Mary asks how this can be when no man
has touched her, and Gabriel says it is easy for the Lord and decreed as a sign
and mercy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 23869-23958; conception and childbirth scene
quote_or_summary: Mary conceives, retires to a distant place, experiences childbirth
pains near a palm-tree, wishes she had died and been forgotten, and is told from
beneath her not to grieve because God has provided a rivulet beneath her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is strongly supported by the supplied passage. Motif labels
use only the supplied taxonomy where directly supported; broader symbolic readings
of palm-tree and rivulet are cautious.
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: |-
Footnote material in the supplied passage was used only where it clarified immediate literal references; no external comparisons were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l23869-l23958
passage_sha256=5d842aa9256beb621f059c7ddc277193345f37e38b736903d43830f8eb5c1f4c