2.49–74 – (Remember) when We rescued you from the house of Pharaoh

Direct address to the “Sons of Israel” moves into a story about Israel in the past through the simple expression “and when” (wa idh). The long narrative that follows (vv. 49–73) is a series of reminders, starting with God’s deliverance of the Children of Israel from Egypt and continuing until their worship of the calf. The text slips into commentary and direct address a number of times (e.g., vv. 61, 72), as if the story is being told to a particular audience. Finally, at verse 74 the passage returns to direct address to accuse that “your hearts became hardened after that, and they (became) like stones or even harder.”

There are more stories about Moses in the Quran than about any other character. This first canonical appearance of the stories contains a number of narrative elements familiar from the biblical account of Moses. Several details in the Quran’s story are not found in the Bible – for example, the elaborate search for the right kind of cow to slaughter (vv. 67–71). An even longer Moses story in Sūra 7 parallels this first story in many details and also fills in some of the gaps (7.103–71).

2.67 – When Moses said to his people, “Surely God commands you to slaughter a cow”

The Sons of Israel search for a particular cow to slaughter (dhabaḥa). Moses gives them a series of clues so that they can identify the correct animal (vv. 68–71). The name of the sūra comes from this cow (baqara).