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Prophetic warning
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Often appears with:
the fear of death · justice as a virtue · the nature and attributes of God · religious persecution and toleration · providence and divine governance · winds, clouds, and resurrection · theodicy and divine power · sirius as a divine marker · sin, guilt, and repentance · shiloh · resurrection denial · patience before judgment
Usually:
confronting death
(4) · exhortation
(4) · narrative
(3) · wonder
(3) · sudden reversal of fortune
(2) · the fall of the great
(2) · detachment
(2) · argument
(1) · commentary or gloss
(1) · description
(1)
Quotable
“What is the law I call in aid? ’Tis thus I argue. Had it been a husband dead I might have wed another, and have borne Another child, to take the dead child’s place.”
Sophocles, Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Col
· observation
“Then which of the gifts of thy Lord, (O man,) wilt thou dispute about? This is a Warner, of the (series of) Warners of old! The (Judgment) ever approaching draws nigh:”
Ali, Abdullah Yusuf; Pickthall, Marmaduke William; Shakir, M. H., Three translations of the Koran (Al-Qur'an) side by
· precept
“for as thou enterest the city he shall depart this life; yet shall he be buried with the lamentation of all the multitude, and honored with a general mourning”
Josephus, Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews
· observation
G. Margoliouth (George)
· 610-632 CE (revelations compiled progressively; book published after the prophet’s death)
Book carefully concocted from various sources, and with much extraneous aid, and published as a divine oracle, then it would seem that the author is at once open to the charge of the grossest imposture, and even of impious blasphemy. The evidence rather shews, that in all he did and wrote, Muhammad was actuated by a sincere desire to deliver his countrymen from the grossness of its debasing idolatries-that he was urged on by an intense desire to proclaim that great truth of the Unity of the Godhead which had taken full possession of his own soul-that the end to be attained justified to his mind the means he adopted in the production of his Suras-that he worked himself up into a belief that he had received a divine call-and that he was carried on by the force of circumstances, and by gradually increasing successes, to believe himself the accredited messenger of Heaven. The earnestness of those convictions which at Mecca sustained him under persecution, and which perhaps led him, at any price as it were, and by any means, not even excluding deceit and falsehood, to endeavour to rescue his countrymen from idolatry,-naturally stiffened at Medina into tyranny and unscrupulous violence. At the same time, he was probably, more or less, throughout his whole career, the victim of a certain amount of self-deception. A cataleptic13 subject from his early youth, born-according to the traditions-of a highly nervous and excitable mother, he would be peculiarly liable to morbid and fantastic hallucinations, and alternations of excitement and depression, which would win for him, in the eyes of his ignorant countrymen, the credit of being inspired. It would be easy for him to persuade himself that he was "the seal of the Prophets," > Book is no other than a warning and a clear Koran, (55/104)
The text continues prophetic histories after the flood: it closes Noah’s episode with divine blessing and punishment for unbelievers, then presents Hud (Houd) confronting Ad, followed by God’s chastisement and the rescue of believers.
do I repair lest I ask that of thee wherein I have no knowledge: unless thou forgive me and be merciful to me I shall be one of the lost.
It was said to him, "O Noah! debark with peace from Us, and with blessings on thee and on peoples to be born from those who are with thee; but as for other and unbelieving peoples, we will give them their good things in this world, but hereafter shall a grievous punishment light o…
G. Margoliouth (George)
· 610-632 CE (revelations compiled progressively; book published after the prophet’s death)
Book carefully concocted from various sources, and with much extraneous aid, and published as a divine oracle, then it would seem that the author is at once open to the charge of the grossest imposture, and even of impious blasphemy. The evidence rather shews, that in all he did and wrote, Muhammad was actuated by a sincere desire to deliver his countrymen from the grossness of its debasing idolatries-that he was urged on by an intense desire to proclaim that great truth of the Unity of the Godhead which had taken full possession of his own soul-that the end to be attained justified to his mind the means he adopted in the production of his Suras-that he worked himself up into a belief that he had received a divine call-and that he was carried on by the force of circumstances, and by gradually increasing successes, to believe himself the accredited messenger of Heaven. The earnestness of those convictions which at Mecca sustained him under persecution, and which perhaps led him, at any price as it were, and by any means, not even excluding deceit and falsehood, to endeavour to rescue his countrymen from idolatry,-naturally stiffened at Medina into tyranny and unscrupulous violence. At the same time, he was probably, more or less, throughout his whole career, the victim of a certain amount of self-deception. A cataleptic13 subject from his early youth, born-according to the traditions-of a highly nervous and excitable mother, he would be peculiarly liable to morbid and fantastic hallucinations, and alternations of excitement and depression, which would win for him, in the eyes of his ignorant countrymen, the credit of being inspired. It would be easy for him to persuade himself that he was "the seal of the Prophets," > Book is no other than a warning and a clear Koran, (101/104)
Continuing the Qur’an text, God controls winds, rain, resurrection, human creation, and the unequal states of sight and blindness, while prophets warn peoples and past generations are punished for denying God’s signs.
treated like him who seeth things aright? Verily God misleadeth whom He will, and guideth whom He will. Spend not thy soul in sighs for them: God knoweth their doings.
It is God who sendeth forth the winds which raise the clouds aloft: then drive we them on to some land dead from drought,1 and give life thereby to the earth after its death. So shall be the resurrection.
If any one desireth greatness, all greatness …
Muhammad (Al-Qur'an content traditionally attributed; Rodwell as translator)
· c. 610–632 CE (revelations compiled into the Qur'an after the prophet’s death)
Book carefully concocted from various sources, and with much extraneous aid, and published as a divine oracle, then it would seem that the author is at once open to the charge of the grossest imposture, and even of impious blasphemy. The evidence rather shews, that in all he did and wrote, Muhammad was actuated by a sincere desire to deliver his countrymen from the grossness of its debasing idolatries–that he was urged on by an intense desire to proclaim that great truth of the Unity of the Godhead which had taken full possession of his own soul–that the end to be attained justified to his mind the means he adopted in the production of his Suras–that he worked himself up into a belief that he had received a divine call–and that he was carried on by the force of circumstances, and by gradually increasing successes, to believe himself the accredited messenger of Heaven. The earnestness of those convictions which at Mecca sustained him under persecution, and which perhaps led him, at any price as it were, and by any means, not even excluding deceit and falsehood, to endeavour to rescue his countrymen from idolatry,–naturally stiffened at Medina into tyranny and unscrupulous violence. At the same time, he was probably, more or less, throughout his whole career, the victim of a certain amount of self-deception. A cataleptic13 subject from his early youth, born–according to the traditions–of a highly nervous and excitable mother, he would be peculiarly liable to morbid and fantastic hallucinations, and alternations of excitement and depression, which would win for him, in the eyes of his ignorant countrymen, the credit of being inspired. It would be easy for him to persuade himself that he was "the seal of the Prophets," > Book," "the Seven Verses of Repetition." The Muhammadans always say "Amen" (17/56)
Sura LVI (“The Inevitable”) portrays sudden apocalyptic arrival, division into people of the right and left, descriptions of Paradise’s couches, houris, and rivers, and Hell’s punishments and the denial of resurrection.
On couches ranged in rows shall they recline; and to the damsels with large dark eyes will we wed them.
And to those who have believed, whose offspring have followed them in the faith, will we again unite their offspring; nor of the meed of their works will we in the least defraud them. Pledged to God is every man for his actions and their desert.3
And fruits in abundance will we give them, and flesh as they shall …
Josephus, Flavius
· c. 93–94 CE
BOOK I. Containing The Interval Of Three Thousand Eight Hundred And > CHAPTER 11. Concerning The Death Of A Son Of Jeroboam. How Jeroboam Was (2/4)
Jeroboam’s sick son Abijah dies after the prophet Ahijah forecasts it, when the prophet warns Jeroboam’s wife to tell Jeroboam that his dynasty will be destroyed and the people scattered beyond the Euphrates.
A Little Afterward And Was Succeeded In His Kingdom By Asa. And Also How, After The Death Of Jeroboam Baasha Destroyed His Son Nadab And All The House Of Jeroboam.
1. However, God was in no long time ready to return Jeroboam's wicked actions, and the punishment they deserved, upon his own head, and upon the heads of all his house. And whereas a son of his lay sick at that time, who was called Abijah, he enjoined his…
Ali, Abdullah Yusuf; Pickthall, Marmaduke William; Shakir, M. H.
· -610 to -632 (revelation); Qur'an as compiled afterward
Chapter 1: > Chapter 53: (4/4)
Surah 53 affirms divine power over laughter, tears, death and life, creation in male-female pairs, resurrection, provision and contentment, destruction of ancient peoples like Ad and Thamud, and warns that the Hour is approaching.
P: And that thy Lord, He is the goal;
S: And that to your Lord is the goal-
053.043
Y: That it is He Who granteth Laughter and Tears;
P: And that He it is who maketh laugh, and maketh weep,
S: And that He it is Who makes (men) laugh and makes (them) weep;
053.044
Y: That it is He Who granteth Death and Life;
P: And that He it is Who giveth death and giveth life;
S: And that He it is Who causes death and gives …
Sophocles
· c. 429 BCE–401 BCE
Scene: Thebes. Before the Palace of Oedipus. > Scene: In front of the grove of the Eumenides. (35/40)
The Chorus compares Antigone to other imprisoned or doomed figures and introduces Teiresias, who warns Creon that violating proper burial rites profanes the gods and will bring punishment to his household.
if she choose, to live in solitude, The tomb her dwelling. We in either case Are guiltless as concerns this maiden’s blood, Only on earth no lodging shall she find.
ANTIGONE.
O grave, O bridal bower, O prison house
Hewn from the rock, my everlasting home,
Whither I go to join the mighty host
Of kinsfolk, Persephassa’s guests long dead,
The last of all, of all more miserable,
I pass, my destined span of years cut sho…
HKB