batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l24464-l24562
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l24464-l24562
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XIX. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XX. / IN THE
NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 24464-24562
start: '24464'
end: '24562'
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: Commentary recounts the infant Moses being placed in a papyrus ark and
carried by water to Pharaoh, plus related preservation traditions. The Qur'anic
passage then presents Moses answering Pharaoh, describing God's creation and resurrection,
arranging a public contest with Pharaoh's magicians, and defeating their seeming
serpents with his rod, after which the magicians profess belief and Pharaoh threatens
them.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Commentary says Moses' mother made a papyrus ark, pitched it, placed cotton
and the child in it, and committed it to the river.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The stream carried the ark into Pharaoh's garden and fishpond, where Pharaoh
and his wife Asia were present; Pharaoh had it opened and ordered the child brought
up.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A cited preservation tradition says the infant Moses was hidden in an oven,
a fire was kindled there, and he was later taken out unhurt.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Commentary says love of Moses was inspired into the hearts of those who saw
him, especially Pharaoh.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Commentary says the child refused all nurses until Miriam brought his mother
as nurse.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Moses tells Pharaoh that knowledge of former generations is with his Lord
in the book of decrees.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The passage describes God spreading the earth, making paths, sending rain,
producing vegetation, feeding humans and cattle, creating humans from the ground,
returning them to it, and bringing them forth again.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Pharaoh rejects the signs shown through Moses, accuses him of enchantment,
and proposes a public contest.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Moses sets the appointment for the day of solemn feast, with the people assembled
in open day.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: Pharaoh gathers expert magicians, and they accuse Moses and Aaron of sorcery
and political dispossession.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: The magicians' cords and rods appear by enchantment to run about like serpents,
causing Moses to fear.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: God tells Moses not to fear and to cast down the rod in his right hand, which
will swallow the seeming serpents.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:13
text: After seeing Moses' miracle, the magicians fall down in worship and profess
belief in the Lord of Aaron and Moses.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:14
text: Pharaoh threatens the believing magicians with cutting off opposite hands
and feet and crucifixion on palm-tree trunks.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Moses
description: Infant placed in the ark in commentary; later speaker and miracle-worker
confronting Pharaoh.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Moses' mother
description: Makes the ark, places Moses in it, commits it to the river, and later
is brought as nurse.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Pharaoh
description: Ruler who receives the infant Moses, later rejects Moses' signs, organizes
opposition, and threatens the magicians.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- ev:13
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Asia, daughter of Mozahem
description: Pharaoh's wife, present when the ark arrives at the fishpond.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Miriam
description: Moses' sister who, according to commentary, finds news of him and brings
his mother as nurse.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Aaron
description: Named with Moses by the magicians in their profession of belief; commentary
also says he came to meet Moses.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:14
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Pharaoh's magicians
description: Expert magicians gathered by Pharaoh who cast rods and cords, then
fall down and profess belief after Moses' sign.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:12
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: God / LORD
description: Possessor of knowledge in the book of decrees; creator and sustainer;
speaker who reassures Moses and gives command.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: miraculously preserved child
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Commentary recounts Moses as an infant preserved through the ark episode
and, in another tradition, unharmed by fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: divine spokesman
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Moses answers Pharaoh with statements about God's knowledge, creation, and
resurrection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: sign-performing opponent of magicians
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Moses casts down the rod that swallows the magicians' seeming serpents.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: role:4
label: protective mother
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: She prepares the ark, places the child in it, and is later returned as nurse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: rejecting ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Pharaoh rejects the signs, accuses Moses of enchantment, organizes the contest,
and threatens punishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:13
- id: role:6
label: sibling intermediary
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Miriam brings Moses' mother as nurse after the child refuses others.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: named companion of Moses
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The magicians profess belief in the Lord of Aaron and Moses; commentary says
Aaron came to meet Moses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:14
- id: role:8
label: ritual specialists in contest
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Pharaoh gathers expert magicians who cast rods and cords by enchantment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:9
label: converted witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: After seeing Moses' miracle, the magicians fall down and profess belief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:10
label: divine creator and revealer
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The passage attributes cosmic ordering, rain, growth, human origin and return,
and Moses' reassurance to God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: papyrus ark
literal_form: Ark made of papyrus, pitched and padded with cotton, carrying the
infant Moses.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- ark_vessel
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: river and fishpond
literal_form: River branch carrying the ark into Pharaoh's garden and fishpond.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: oven fire
literal_form: Large fire kindled in the oven where the infant Moses had been hidden.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: book of decrees
literal_form: Book in which the Lord has knowledge of former generations.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: earth, rain, and vegetation
literal_form: Earth spread as a bed, paths, rain from heaven, and various vegetables
for humans and cattle.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: rods and cords as seeming serpents
literal_form: Magicians' cords and rods appearing by enchantment to run like serpents.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:7
label: Moses' right-hand rod
literal_form: Rod in Moses' right hand that swallows the seeming serpents.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:8
label: palm-tree trunks
literal_form: Trunks of palm-trees named as the place of threatened crucifixion.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Infant Moses in the ark reaches Pharaoh
summary: Moses' mother places him in a prepared papyrus ark and commits it to the
river; it reaches Pharaoh's garden, is opened, and Pharaoh orders the child raised.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Infant preserved from oven fire
summary: A commentary tradition says Moses is hidden in an oven where a fire is
kindled, but he is removed unharmed.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Refusal of nurses and return to mother
summary: The child refuses other nurses until Miriam brings his mother to nurse
him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Moses answers Pharaoh about former generations and creation
summary: Moses says knowledge of former generations is with his Lord and describes
divine ordering of earth, rain, vegetation, death, and future bringing forth.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Public contest is arranged
summary: Pharaoh rejects the signs, accuses Moses of enchantment, and the confrontation
is set for the feast day before the assembled people.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:6
label: Rods, serpents, and profession of belief
summary: The magicians' rods and cords seem to become serpents; God reassures Moses,
his rod swallows them, and the magicians fall down and profess belief.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: scene:7
label: Pharaoh threatens the believing magicians
summary: Pharaoh accuses the magicians of following Moses without permission and
threatens mutilation and crucifixion on palm-tree trunks.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Exposed infant saved in a vessel on water
taxonomy_refs:
- ark_vessel
- miraculous_child
basis: The commentary describes the infant Moses placed in a papyrus ark and carried
by river to Pharaoh, who adopts or raises him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: This episode is reported in commentary within the passage rather than
in the quoted Qur'anic narrative lines alone.
- id: motif:2
label: Miraculous child preserved from fire
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
basis: A cited tradition says Moses was hidden in an oven where a large fire was
kindled and was taken out unhurt.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage attributes this to 'some writers' rather than presenting it
as the main narrative.
- id: motif:3
label: Divinely inspired affection for a threatened child
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
basis: Commentary says love for Moses was inspired into the hearts of viewers, especially
Pharaoh.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is inferred from a brief explanatory note.
- id: motif:4
label: Creation from earth and future bringing forth
taxonomy_refs:
- resurrection
- death_rebirth
basis: The passage states that humans are created from the ground, returned to it,
and brought forth another time.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states this doctrinally rather than as a narrated journey
scene.
- id: motif:5
label: Contest of divine sign against magic
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
- serpent
basis: Pharaoh's magicians make rods and cords appear as serpents, but Moses' rod
swallows the seeming serpents and the magicians acknowledge God.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The serpent taxonomy is attached to the literal form of the illusion;
the passage calls them seeming serpents.
- id: motif:6
label: Public ordeal before assembled people
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: Moses and Pharaoh agree to an appointed feast day in open daylight, after
which the contest displays the superiority of Moses' sign.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage frames the event as a contest of signs and enchantments, not
explicitly as an ordeal term.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself preserves variant Moses traditions by contrasting commentator
reports with a Jewish account of Moses' imprisonment, attempted beheading, and
miraculous invulnerability.
claim_level: same_function
target: Jewish Moses tradition cited as Shalsh Hakkab in the footnote
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The Jewish tradition is only summarized in an editorial/commentarial
note and concerns a later escape episode, not the ark or serpent contest.
- id: claim:2
claim: An editorial note links the rods or seeming serpents episode with a parallel
treatment elsewhere in the same translated text, indicating a recurring Moses-versus-magicians
motif within the corpus.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Chapter 7 cross-reference noted in the passage
evidence_refs:
- ev:16
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The compared passage is not provided here; the claim relies only on
the cross-reference note.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 24466-24475
quote_or_summary: 'Commentary: Moses'' mother makes a papyrus ark, places the child
inside, commits it to the river; it reaches Pharaoh''s garden and fishpond, and
Pharaoh orders the child brought up.'
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 24476-24482
quote_or_summary: Some writers say Moses was hidden in an oven, a large fire was
kindled there, and he was taken out unhurt.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 24483-24485
quote_or_summary: Commentary explains that love for Moses was inspired into the
hearts of those who saw him, particularly Pharaoh.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 24486-24489
quote_or_summary: 'Commentary: the child refused the breast of all nurses until
Miriam brought his mother.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 24510-24512
quote_or_summary: '"The knowledge thereof is with my LORD, in the book of his decrees".'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 24513-24520
quote_or_summary: God spreads the earth, makes paths, sends rain, produces vegetation,
feeds humans and cattle, creates from ground, returns humans to it, and brings
them forth again.
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 24521-24527
quote_or_summary: Pharaoh sees signs empowered through Moses but rejects them as
imposture and enchantment, then proposes a matched appointment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: lines 24528-24530
quote_or_summary: '"Let your appointment be on the day of your solemn feast".'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 24531-24540
quote_or_summary: Pharaoh gathers expert magicians; they privately say Moses and
Aaron are magicians seeking to dispossess the people by sorcery.
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 24541-24545
quote_or_summary: The magicians ask about casting first; their cords and rods appear
by enchantment to run like serpents, and Moses feels fear.
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 24546-24551
quote_or_summary: God tells Moses not to fear, to cast the rod in his right hand,
and says it will swallow the seeming serpents made by enchantment.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: quote
locator: lines 24552-24554
quote_or_summary: '"We believe in the LORD of Aaron and of Moses."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 24555-24559
quote_or_summary: Pharaoh accuses the magicians of unauthorized belief and threatens
opposite-side amputation and crucifixion on palm-tree trunks.
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 24500-24502
quote_or_summary: Commentary says Aaron had come out to meet Moses, either by divine
inspiration or by notice of his plan to return to Egypt.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: lines 24490-24498
quote_or_summary: Commentary says Moses killed an Egyptian and fled to Midian; a
Jewish account says he was imprisoned and condemned, but his neck became hard
as ivory and the sword rebounded.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:16
type: note
locator: lines 24560-24562
quote_or_summary: Footnote on the seeming serpents gives a physical explanation
with quicksilver and refers the reader to chapter 7.
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: Literal extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif labeling
is cautious, especially where material comes from commentary or footnotes rather
than the central narrative. Comparison claims are limited to explicit notes and
cross-references within the passage.
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: |-
All observations and motifs are based only on the provided passage and metadata; no external parallels were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l24464-l24562
passage_sha256=26f3b11b61b5b4647a1058128df9eca884fbd1935d3cb44bdea4ebf636e8d6f3