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159 - Element 3: EXPLANATION - Differences between the biblical and koranic descriptions of God
The Arabic plural “we”, is conspicuously consonant with the Hebrew plural of “Elohim”, which for us is the Old Testament prefiguration of the Tri-Unity of our God, as Christ revealed him. But Muslims reject this interpretation because of other verses in the Koran opposing any trace of the Tri-Unity of Allah. Instead they often interpret the Arabic “we” as designating the majestic plural of Allah as a king.
The key change of biblical content in the Koran here, however, is that the truthful and faithful God of the Bible (Yahweh) is replaced with the inscrutable God of the Koran (Allah). (See Omission Example 1 in Unit 07 above)
The omission of the biblical “Yahweh commanded the Adam” can be understood from the context of this verse: it is part of the Torah of Moses. The Hebrew word “Torah” means “Instruction”. So, the passage in Genesis 2:15-17 is part of the divinely inspired Instruction that Moses gave to his people concerning Adam. However, Muslims understand the Koran not as an instruction of Muhammad to his people, but as an indirect revelation of Allah to Muhammad through an intermediary (the angel Jibril). So, it is not surprising that the verb “commanded” describing what Yahweh did in Genesis, as part of Moses' instruction to his people, was omitted in the Koran, because in the Koran it would have no significance, the Koran itself not being instruction, but revelation from Allah.