batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l3170-l3216
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l3170-l3216
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE / SECTION I. / SECTION II. / SECTION III; lines 3170-3216
start: '3170'
end: '3216'
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 explains the Arabic name Koran as meaning a reading or that
which ought to be read, discusses alternate etymological claims, lists several
appellations of the Koran, and describes its division into 114 chapters called
Sowar or Sura. It repeatedly compares these terms with Jewish and Greek scriptural
terminology.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage derives the word Koran from the Arabic verb karaa, glossed as
meaning to read, and says the name properly signifies a reading or that which
ought to be read.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage says Mohammedans use the name Koran for both the whole book and
any particular chapter or section of it.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage compares this usage with Jewish use of Karah or Mikra for either
the whole scripture or a part of it.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The passage reports and rejects an opinion that the Koran was so named because
it is a collection of loose chapters or sheets.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage notes an objection that the Koran could not have been revealed
in parcels over several years because it is called Koran within the book itself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The passage states that Al in Alkoran is the Arabic article meaning the, and
says it should be omitted when the English article is used.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: 'The passage lists other names for the Koran: al Forkan, al Moshaf, al Kitab,
and al Dhikr.'
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The passage says the Koran is divided into 114 larger portions of unequal
length, called chapters in English and Sowar, singular Sura, by Arabians.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The passage says the word Sura properly signifies a row, order, or regular
series, such as a course of bricks or a rank of soldiers.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The passage says manuscript copies do not distinguish chapters by numerical
order, though they are numbered for the reader's ease.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Mohammedans
description: The group said to denote the whole Koran or any chapter or section
of it by the name Koran.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Jews
description: The group compared as using Karah or Mikra for the whole scripture
or a part of it, and as using related terms for sections of scripture.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: learned Arabians
description: A group described as holding an opinion that the Koran was named from
the idea of collecting loose chapters or sheets.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Arabians
description: The group said to call the chapters of the Koran Sowar, singular Sura.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: objectors
description: Those said to object that the Koran must have been forged at once and
could not have been revealed in parcels over several years.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: scriptural naming community
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: They are said to use the name Koran for the whole book and for its parts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: comparative scriptural terminology community
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Their terms Karah, Mikra, Perek, Sura or Tora, and Sedrim are used as comparisons
for Koranic terminology.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: alternative etymology proponents
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: They are described as saying the Koran was named because it is a collection
of loose chapters or sheets.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: chapter-name users
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They are said to call the 114 portions Sowar, singular Sura.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: critics of parcelled revelation claim
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: They object that the book could not have been revealed in parcels over several
years because it names itself Koran.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: scriptural book or reading
literal_form: The Koran as the reading, the volume, the book, and the admonition.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: numbered scriptural portions
literal_form: 114 larger portions or chapters called Sowar, singular Sura.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Explanation of the Koran's name
summary: The passage explains the derivation and use of the word Koran, comparing
its use for whole and part with Jewish scriptural terminology.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Discussion of alternate etymology and objection
summary: The passage reports an alternative derivation from gathering or collecting
and an objection about parcelled revelation, then notes the Arabic article Al.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Catalog of other scriptural appellations
summary: The passage lists names of the Koran such as al Forkan, al Moshaf, al Kitab,
and al Dhikr and compares some of them with Jewish, Greek, Pentateuchal, and Gospel
usage.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Description of chapter divisions
summary: The passage says the Koran has 114 unequal portions called chapters in
English and Sowar or Sura in Arabic, with comparisons to Jewish section terms.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs: []
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage makes a linguistic comparison between Islamic and Jewish terms
for scripture as a whole and for its parts.
claim_level: linguistic_similarity
target: 'Jewish scriptural terminology: Karah, Mikra, Perek, Sura or Tora, and Sedrim'
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is philological and structural rather than a narrative
myth motif.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage compares al Kitab, the book, with the Greek Biblia as a title
used by way of eminence for scripture.
claim_level: linguistic_similarity
target: Greek Biblia as scriptural book-title terminology
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage only provides a brief title comparison and does not develop
a broader tradition history.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3170-3183
quote_or_summary: The word Koran is derived from karaa, to read, and signifies a
reading or that which ought to be read; Mohammedans use it for the whole book
and for individual chapters or sections, compared with Jewish Karah or Mikra.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than extensively quoted.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 3183-3192
quote_or_summary: The passage rejects an opinion that Koran is named as a collection
of loose chapters or sheets, addresses an objection about revelation in parcels
over years, and notes that Al is the Arabic article meaning the.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than extensively quoted.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3193-3201
quote_or_summary: The Koran is also called al Forkan, al Moshaf, al Kitab, and al
Dhikr; the passage compares some names with Jewish Perek, Greek Biblia, and names
also given to the Pentateuch and Gospel.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than extensively quoted.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3202-3210
quote_or_summary: The Koran is divided into 114 unequal portions called chapters
in English and Sowar, singular Sura, by Arabians; Sura is glossed as a row, order,
or regular series and compared with Jewish section terms.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than extensively quoted.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 3210-3216
quote_or_summary: The passage says manuscript copies do not distinguish chapters
by numerical order, though they are numbered for the reader's ease; accompanying
notes cite sources for earlier terminology claims.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than extensively quoted.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is expository and philological, with no clear narrative myth
motif. Comparison claims are limited to explicit linguistic comparisons in 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: |-
No available taxonomy motif family was assigned because the passage does not narrate a mythic episode or symbolic action.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l3170-l3216
passage_sha256=77d193d462c416dee90ec49f40aa91606d15d6d817fb0467c4d4d51305f689fe