2.87 – Certainly We gave Moses the Book

The Quran again affirms the revelation of the Torah to Moses.

2.87 – We gave Jesus, son of Mary, the clear signs, and supported him with the holy spirit

The Quran calls Jesus ‘Īsā. This is not the same as the Arabic word for Jesus, which is Yasū‘a. Muslim and non-Muslim scholars alike have tried to explain why the Quran uses the name ‘Īsā, but no conclusive answer has been found. In terms of Semitic root letters, the Quran seems to have flipped the consonants of the Hebrew Yēshūa‘ back to front. One consequence of the Quran’s renaming Jesus is that the name ‘Īsā carries with it none of the sense of salvation that the angel assumes in Matthew 1:21.

The name ‘Īsā appears here for the first time in the canonical progression. It occurs twenty-four more times, including twice more in this sūra (vv. 136, 253). The Quran offers longer passages on ‘Īsā in the third, fifth, and nineteenth sūras, while the fourth and fifth sūras contain several crucial shorter passages.

The difference in names between the Quran and the Bible alerts non-Muslim readers to the larger question of how the quranic ‘Īsā compares to the biblical Jesus. For this reason, this commentary maintains the name ‘Īsā for the quranic Jesus and carefully observes the characteristics of ‘Īsā in order to facilitate a meaningful interaction with this central question. See an analysis of the ‘Īsā passages at 57.27.

The Arabic for “holy spirit,” rūḥ al-qudus (lit. “the spirit of the holy”) resembles the Hebrew words ruaḥ ha-ḳodesh (cf. Psalm 51:11; Isaiah 63:10, 11). But what does the Quran mean by it? See the analysis of “holy spirit” passages at 16.102.