The Quran’s Depiction of Abraham in Light of the Hebrew Bible and Midrash r 53Abraham and Muhammad. Both were exiled from their countries because
of their belief in one God. And, just as Abraham was saved from his pur-
suers and merited the blessing of God, so was Muhammad saved from the
people of Mecca, and he succeeded in his mission.
According to John Kaltner, the Quran emphasizes that Abraham left
his country in order to distance himself from idolaters, whereas his des-
tination is rendered of secondary importance. Therefore, there is only
one brief statement that mentions the blessed land to which Abraham
escaped.^39 In my opinion, Muhammad preferred not to emphasize the
promise to Abraham that he and his descendants would inherit the Land
of Israel. So he modified the reason why Abraham left his land and mini-
mized the importance of the destination of his escape. This change suits
Muhammad’s universalistic approach, which views the religion of Islam
in its multinational scope, in contrast to Judaism, which focuses on the
selection of the People of Israel and the inheritance of the Land of Israel.
Covenant between the Pieces (Berith bein ha-Betarim)
The Quran significantly alters the biblical story of the Covenant between
the Pieces. According to the Quran, Abraham asked God to show him
how he resurrects the dead. God’s reply was as follows: “Why, dost thou
not believe?” “Yes,” he said, “but that my heart may be at rest.” Said He,
“Take four birds and twist them to thee, then set a part of them on every
hill, then summon them, and they will come to thee running. And do
thou know that God is All-mighty, All-wise” (2:260).
In Jewish sources, the Covenant between the Pieces plays a central
role.^40 Although the Quran adopts some of the early Jewish material in
its story, the central motif is changed. In contrast to the Jewish sources,
in which the Covenant between the Pieces stresses the promise of the
Land of Canaan to the forefather of the people and his descendants, in the
Quran the central motif is God’s ability to resurrect the dead. The themes
concerning the Land of Israel and the covenant with Abraham and his
descendants are not even mentioned. It seems to me that the Quran dis-
regarded the promise of the Land to the People of Israel in order to mini-
mize as much as possible attention to the land promised to the Children of
Israel,^41 because in the Quran’s perception, Abraham was the first mono-
theist, the father of the religion of Islam, which is principally a universal