Home > Torah - Exodus Stories in the Quran
The Bible tells us that Moses encountered God within a burning bush at Mount Horeb while still working a shepherd.
Exodus 3:1–3: Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
Exodus 3:15: God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
The Quran tells a different story. It is while on a journey back to Egypt with his family, not while working as a shepherd.
Surah 20:10-14: When he saw a fire, he said to his family, “Stay; I have noticed a fire; Perhaps I can bring you a torch therefrom, or find some guidance by the fire.”
But when he approached it, he was called, “O Moses!
It is truly I. I am your Lord! So take off your sandals, for you are in the sacred valley of Ṭuwa.
‘It is truly I. I am Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Me. So worship Me ˹alone˺, and establish prayer for My remembrance.
The Bible says Moses was called from working alone as a Shepherd by the LORD (Yahweh) to free the people of Israel and God speaks to him through the miracle of a burning bush.
The Bible identifies the location as Mount Horeb/Sinai. The Quran identifies it as the "Sacred Valley of Tuwa." There is no historical or archaeological record of a "Valley of Tuwa" in the Sinai Peninsula prior to the 7th century.
However, the Quran states Moses was already on his way to Egypt with his family when Allah called him to preach a message of monotheism. This contradicts the Bible story in multiple ways while also bringing up Allah rather than Yahweh.
It takes a foundational historical event and strips it of its specific geography (Horeb), its specific identity (Yahweh), and its specific narrative purpose (the catalyst for the Exodus), replacing them with 7th-century theological tropes.