batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l28042-l28140
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l28042-l28140
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER XXVII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXVIII.
/ IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 28042-28140
start: '28042'
end: '28140'
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 28 as a truthful recounting of parts of the history
of Moses and Pharaoh. Pharaoh oppresses a weakened people by killing their male
children. God declares an intention to favor the weakened, make them heirs, and
show Pharaoh, Haman, and their forces the destruction they sought to avoid. Moses'
mother receives revelation to suckle him and, if afraid, cast him into the river
with a promise that he will be restored and made an apostle. She places him in
an ark in the river, where Pharaoh's family takes him up. Pharaoh's wife urges
that the child not be killed and suggests adopting him. Moses' mother fears for
him, sends his sister to follow him, and the sister watches from a distance. When
Moses refuses other nurses, the sister directs Pharaoh's household to his mother,
and he is restored to her care.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Pharaoh is described as exalting himself in Egypt, dividing his subjects,
weakening one party, killing male children, and preserving females alive.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: God states an intention to favor the weakened people, make them models of
religion, make them heirs, and establish them in the earth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The passage names Pharaoh, Haman, and their forces as those who will be shown
the destruction of their kingdom and nation.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Moses' mother is directed by revelation to suckle the child and, if afraid,
cast him into the river without fear or grief.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The revelation promises that Moses will be restored to his mother and appointed
one of God's apostles.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Moses' mother places the child in an ark and casts it into the river.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The family of Pharaoh takes up the child from the river.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Pharaoh's wife calls the child a delight of the eye and urges that he not
be killed, suggesting he may be useful or adopted as a son.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Moses' mother becomes fearful and nearly discloses him, but her heart is strengthened
with constancy.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Moses' mother tells his sister to follow him, and the sister watches him at
a distance without being perceived.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Moses does not take the breasts of the nurses provided before his sister arrives.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Moses' sister offers to direct Pharaoh's household to people of Moses' nation
who can nurse and care for him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: Moses' sister brings his mother to Pharaoh's household, and Moses is restored
to his mother.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: A translator's note says a prophecy or divination that a Hebrew child would
ruin Pharaoh's kingdom was supposed to occasion Pharaoh's cruelty, and links this
circumstance to Jewish invention.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Moses
description: The child cast into the river in an ark, taken up by Pharaoh's family,
later restored to his mother, and promised appointment as an apostle.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Pharaoh
description: Ruler in Egypt who oppresses a weakened party by killing male children
and preserving females alive.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Moses' mother
description: The woman who receives revelation concerning Moses, suckles him, casts
him into the river when afraid, sends his sister to follow, and is later restored
to him as nurse.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Family of Pharaoh
description: The household group that takes up the child Moses after he is placed
in the river.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Wife of Pharaoh
description: The woman in Pharaoh's household who urges that the child not be killed
and proposes usefulness or adoption.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Moses' sister
description: The sister who follows Moses at her mother's instruction, watches from
a distance, and directs Pharaoh's household to a nurse from Moses' people.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Haman
description: Named with Pharaoh and their forces as a sinner and as one who will
be shown the destruction sought to be avoided.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Weakened party / Israelites
description: The people weakened by Pharaoh; a note identifies them as the Israelites.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: God
description: The speaker who declares favor toward the weakened people and gives
revelation to Moses' mother with a promise of restoration and apostleship.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: oppressor or hostile ruler's faction
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:7
basis: Pharaoh oppresses the weakened party; Pharaoh, Haman, and their forces are
named as sinners and targets of impending destruction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: threatened infant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Moses is the male child endangered by Pharaoh's policy and cast into the
river for preservation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: mother commanded by revelation
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Moses' mother is directed by revelation to nurse him and cast him into the
river if she fears for him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: unwitting rescuing household
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Pharaoh's family takes up Moses, though providence designs that he become
an enemy and sorrow to them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: protector and prospective adoptive mother
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Pharaoh's wife asks that the child not be killed and suggests adopting him
as a son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: watcher and intermediary
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Moses' sister follows and watches him, then directs the household to a suitable
nurse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:7
label: restored nurse-mother
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Moses' sister brings his mother to Pharaoh's household, restoring Moses to
her care.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: future apostle
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The revelation promises that Moses will be appointed one of God's apostles.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:9
label: persecuted people promised reversal
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The weakened people are oppressed by Pharaoh but promised favor, inheritance,
and establishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:10
label: divine revealer and fulfiller of promise
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: God gives revelation to Moses' mother and restores Moses to her so she may
know God's promise is true.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: ark in the river
literal_form: An ark carrying the child Moses on the river.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- ark_vessel
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: river
literal_form: The river into which Moses' mother casts the child in the ark.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: suckling and nursing
literal_form: Moses is suckled by his mother, refuses other nurses, and is returned
to his mother as nurse.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- milk
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:4
label: killing of male children
literal_form: Pharaoh's policy of slaying male children while preserving females
alive.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:5
label: strengthened heart
literal_form: The heart of Moses' mother is armed with constancy so she does not
disclose him.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Pharaoh oppresses a weakened people
summary: Pharaoh exalts himself in Egypt, divides his subjects, weakens one party,
and kills their male children while sparing females.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Divine promise of reversal
summary: God declares favor toward the weakened people, promising them religious
exemplarity, inheritance, establishment in the land, and the exposure of Pharaoh's
and Haman's feared destruction.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Revelation to Moses' mother
summary: Moses' mother is told to suckle him and, if fearful, cast him into the
river, with a promise that he will be restored and made an apostle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Child in ark taken by Pharaoh's family
summary: Moses' mother places the child in an ark in the river, and Pharaoh's family
takes him up, though he is destined to become an enemy and sorrow to them.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:2
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Pharaoh's wife protects the child
summary: Pharaoh's wife calls the child a delight and asks that he not be killed,
suggesting usefulness or adoption.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Sister watches from a distance
summary: Moses' mother nearly reveals him from fear but is strengthened; she instructs
Moses' sister to follow him, and the sister watches unseen.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:7
label: Restoration to the mother through nursing
summary: Moses refuses the nurses provided by Pharaoh's household; his sister suggests
a household from his people, brings his mother, and Moses is restored to her.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Threatened infant preserved in a vessel on water
taxonomy_refs:
- ark_vessel
- miraculous_child
basis: A male child endangered by Pharaoh's killing policy is placed by his mother
in an ark and cast into the river, then taken up by Pharaoh's family.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage uses the ark and river literally; symbolic interpretation
beyond preservation should be reviewed.
- id: motif:2
label: Persecuted people promised reversal and inheritance
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
- return
basis: The weakened people oppressed by Pharaoh are promised favor, inheritance,
and establishment, while Pharaoh and Haman are to be shown the destruction they
sought to avoid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a divine reversal pattern, but the exact taxonomy fit
is interpretive.
- id: motif:3
label: Unwitting adoption of future adversary by hostile household
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Pharaoh's family takes up Moses, and Pharaoh's wife argues to spare and possibly
adopt him, while the text states he will become an enemy and sorrow to them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: Royal legitimacy is only indirectly supported by the adoption proposal
within Pharaoh's household.
- id: motif:4
label: Mother-child restoration through divine promise
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
basis: Moses' mother receives a promise of restoration; after the child refuses
other nurses, he is returned to his mother so she may know God's promise is true.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage emphasizes divine promise and maternal reassurance; broader
rebirth or initiation patterns are not explicit.
- id: motif:5
label: Nursing recognition or exclusive nursing bond
taxonomy_refs:
- milk
basis: Moses refuses the breasts of other nurses, enabling his sister to bring his
mother as the successful nurse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy lists milk as a symbol rather than a full motif
family; the motif label is descriptive.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: A translator's note explicitly links the account of a prediction that a Hebrew
child would ruin Pharaoh's kingdom, used to explain Pharaoh's cruelty, with Jewish
tradition.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Jewish Moses infancy traditions concerning a predicted Hebrew child who
would ruin Pharaoh's kingdom
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is supplied by Sale's annotation, not by the Quranic
passage itself; the note frames the circumstance as Jewish invention and requires
human review for source-critical use.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 28042-28140; Sura 28 opening, Pharaoh's oppression
quote_or_summary: Pharaoh lifts himself up in Egypt, divides his subjects, weakens
one party, slays their male children, preserves females alive, and is called an
oppressor.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 28042-28140; divine promise to the weakened
quote_or_summary: God intends to be gracious to the weakened, make them models of
religion and heirs, establish them in the earth, and show Pharaoh, Haman, and
their forces the destruction of their kingdom and nation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 28042-28140; revelation to Moses' mother
quote_or_summary: Moses' mother is told by revelation to suckle him; if she fears
for him, she is to cast him into the river and not fear or grieve, because he
will be restored to her and made an apostle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 28042-28140; ark in the river
quote_or_summary: After Moses' mother puts the child in the ark and casts it into
the river, Pharaoh's family takes him up; providence designs that he become an
enemy and sorrow to them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 28042-28140; Pharaoh's wife speaks
quote_or_summary: Pharaoh's wife says the child is a delight and urges, "kill him
not," suggesting he may be useful or adopted as a son.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; short quotation.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 28042-28140; mother's fear
quote_or_summary: Moses' mother's heart is oppressed with fear and she nearly discloses
him, but her heart is armed with constancy so she may believe God's promises.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 28042-28140; sister follows
quote_or_summary: Moses' mother tells his sister to follow him; the sister watches
him from a distance without being perceived.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise summary.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 28042-28140; refusal of nurses
quote_or_summary: Moses is prevented from taking the breasts of the nurses provided
before his sister arrives; she offers to direct the household to people of his
nation who can nurse and care for him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise summary.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 28042-28140; restoration to mother
quote_or_summary: At their desire, Moses' sister brings his mother; Moses is restored
to his mother so her mind may be eased and she may know God's promise is true.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise summary.
- id: ev:10
type: note
locator: lines 28042-28140; translator note y
quote_or_summary: A note says Pharaoh had dreamed or been told by diviners that
a Hebrew would ruin his kingdom, that this prophecy was supposed to occasion his
cruelty, and that the circumstance is attributed to Jewish invention.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; concise summary of annotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Main narrative extraction is straightforward. Motif taxonomy mapping is partly
interpretive, especially for royal legitimacy and milk. The comparison claim relies
on a translator's annotation and needs review.
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 the provided passage and metadata were used. Quranic narrative and translator's notes are kept distinct in the evidence where relevant.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l28042-l28140
passage_sha256=0a5093011ccad259433868dc0e86bb58a6d09b895fdba9c64c1b5ec3b0d27b6f