There is, in their stories, instruction for men endued with understanding. It is not a tale invented, but a confirmation of what went before it,- a detailed exposition of all things, and a guide and a mercy to any such as believe. Surah 12:111
Surah 12 recounts the story of Joseph. The account differs slightly from the version in the Bible. The end of the chapter makes the above statement—this is not a “tale invented.” The story of Joseph is found in the Bible, written thousands of years before the Koran account was communicated to Muhammad. So when comparing the two account, are there parts of the Koran story that were “invented”?
Instead of laying out the entire story, here are the inconsistencies.
Koran: Jacob (Joseph’s father) tells him not to tell his brothers about his dream.
Bible: Jacob is slightly offended by the dream and keeps it quiet.
Koran: After hearing of Joseph’s death, Jacob immediately suspects a scheme by the brothers.
Bible: Jacob buys the lie from his sons and mourns the death of Joseph.
Koran: Joseph and the lady of the house are caught in the doorway by the husband as she tried to seduce Joseph. She held his shirt in her hand, which she tore.
Bible: The husband does not catch them together.
Koran: The husband immediately suspects his wife for seducing Joseph.
Bible: The husband (Potiphar) believes his wife and sends Joseph to jail.
Koran: The husband’s wife hears that others are gossiping about her seduction of Joseph and invited the gossipers to dinner. She asked Joseph to enter the room and they were so taken by his beauty that they cut their hands with knives. Joseph would rather go to prison than sinning.
Bible: No such scene occurs.
Koran: Two men in prison tell Joseph their dreams about wine and bread. Joseph lectures them about his religion, not serving idols, worshipping one God, then tells them the interpretation of the dream.
Bible: Joseph amazingly tells them the interpretation of the dream.
Koran: Joseph tells the king about his dream and the king immediately investigates the women who cut their hands. The wife of the governor confesses.
Bible: Joseph’s explanation of Pharaoh’s dream is a little longer, but similar. There is no confession or end of the story regarding Potiphar’s wife.
Koran: Joseph is promoted and asks for the job of treasurer.
Bible: Joseph is promoted and takes the job of basically vice-president or chief of staff, overseeing all the affairs of Pharaoh.
Koran: Joseph puts some items in the packs of brothers’ camels.
Bible: Joseph puts some items in the packs of his brothers’ donkeys.
Koran: Jacob has some sort of private knowledge given to him by God.
Bible: Nothing of that sort is recounted in the Bible.
Koran: Joseph’s brothers guess he is Joseph.
Bible: Joseph tells them he is Joseph.
Koran: Jacob senses Joseph is alive.
Bible: Jacob (renamed Israel by God) has no idea Joseph is alive.
Koran: Joseph gives them a shirt to prove to his father Jacob that he is alive. Jacob receives his sight back.
Bible: The brothers tell Jacob Joseph is alive and he believes them. Israel is not blind.
Koran: Joseph’s parents come to Egypt.
Bible: Rachel dies before the family moves to Egypt. Only Israel makes the trip.
If the stories are so different, then one is wrong and the other is right. This means that the Koran and the Torah are written by different authors or either Muhammad or Moses (the writer of Genesis) received the wrong information.
