Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/28

 10 JUDAISM AND

nevertheless even the quoted saying is perverted, for Gabriel is regarded as the messenger of God for the punishment of sinners only, and in another passage of the Talmud l it is actually said of him that he is called the 2 one who stops up, because he stops up the sins of Israel i.e., wipes them away, and therefore he could never be represented to the Israelites as their enemy.

Further, Muhammad's intentional misrepresentation 3 is shown by his changing the order assigned by the Jews to the Angels. The Jews assert that Michael stands at God's right hand and Gabriel on His left. 4 This position is reversed by Muhammad, in order to give the highest rank to Gabriel 5 to whom he attributes all his revelations. This

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" Our sages, blessed be their memory, attributed the execution of God's punitive judgments to Gabriel, as, for instance, Gabriel came and over- threw them in the earth (Sanhedrin 19. 1), and Gabriel came to destroy Sodom." Comp. also Sanh. 21. 26. 95, 2. 96. 1 Sanhedrin 44.

3 These words must be taken in the sense explained at the end of the 3rd Section of the 1st Division.

4 Comp. the evening prayer of the Jews.

Also the prayer on the Day of Atonement.

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5 Comp. also Midrash Tanchuma Sect. ttf^T f. 21. c. 2. Venetian Ed. 1545, where it is written inD! bSO^ Pit btZ?H to 1715} b$an

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" The versa Job, xxv. 2, ' Dominion and fear are with Him,' refers to Michael and Gabriel, in that the former is made out of water, and the latter out of fire ; still they do not hurt each other, because ' He maketh peace in His high places."' Here all the facts which we sought out separately are given briefly. Michael is the milder, Gabriel the more terrible, but they are nevertheless in perpetual harmony.