Bismillah:
Quote:> the Mercy of God can appear through His messengers and Prophets.
> So this guy's interpretation is not sufficient and still can very
> well mean a Prophet.
You seem to be claiming that every occurance of "God" in the bible can be replaced by "Mohammad". Correct? So, for example, you believe that the first verse in the bible should read:
<b>In the beginning, Mohammad created the Heavens and the Earth.</b>
If that is not what you are saying, then how do you justify replacing the word God in Deuteronomy 33:2 with Mohammad???
first the word in Deut 33:2 is not GOD. it is LORD, and Lord does not always mean God. it also means a<b> man of noble rank or high office</b>, <b>a master or ruler.</b> you can check Oxford Dictionary. the word LORD not always means God the Creator.
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Quote:> So the word could mean ten thousand too.
My bible (New English Version) translates the word as myriads, not ten thousands.
My Bible the KJV said ten thousand.
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Quote:> And what is the significant of mentioning the city of PARAN (MECCA) here?
The Wilderness of Paran is in the Eastern Sinai. Mecca is on the west coast of Sinai. Obviously, they can't be the same place. What evidence do you have that Paran and Mecca refer to the same place???
"Then God opened her [Hagar] eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. <b>While he was living in the Desert of Paran</b>, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. (Genesis 21:19-22)"
Hagar was an Arab. Abraham peace be upon him had Ishmael from her, <b>who was 13 years older than Issac</b>. After Sarah, Abraham's wife gave birth to Issac, Abraham decided to let Hagar and her son Ishmael go. He sent to the desert of Arabia in the region of Paran
<b>Then GOD Almighty promised Ishmael that from him, He will increase his numbers and make from him a great nation</b>, the Arab nation; "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. (Genesis 17:20)"
The Bible clearly says that Paran is south of Sinai in Egypt; "He said: 'The LORD came <b>from Sinai </b> and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth <b>from Mount Paran</b>. He came with myriads of holy ones from the <b>south</b>, from his mountain slopes.' (Deuteronomy 33:2)"
Kedar came from Ishmael; "These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, <b>Kedar</b>, Adbeel, Mibsam, and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations. <b>Kedar and Ancient Arabs </b> (Genesis 25:13)" The Arabian desert region was named after Kedar. See the second map below.
![[Image: paran1.gif]](http://www.answering-christianity.com/paran1.gif)
![[Image: map_paran.gif]](http://www.answering-christianity.com/map_paran.gif)
The Ishmaelites were Arabs and not Egyptians. They came from the Arabian desert; "As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of <b>Ishmaelites</b> coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to <b>take them down to Egypt.</b> (Genesis 37:25)" "take them down to Egypt" means taking them to the land of Egypt. It doesn't mean taking them toward the south direction. When for instance you say "my house is right down the street", it doesn't mean the house is south of the street. The house could be on the north side. The sentence means that the house is on the street, or will be found if the person walks in the path that you lead him to.
The point however in the above Verse is that the Ishmaelites were not from Egypt. They came from another land. They had loaded camels and they were heading to Egypt. Arabs used to rely heavily on camels for traveling. And as we've seen from the above Verses regarding Ishmael and his Mother (Hagar) living in the desert of Paran in the South, this clearly proves to us that the desert of Paran is located in Arabia and not in Egypt, since the Ishmaelites are not Egyptians.
Let me paste for you the following Verses from the Bible and the Noble Quran:
"Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of <b>Baca </b> make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. (Psalms 84:5-6)"
"The first House (of worship) appointed for men was that at <b>Bakka</b> full of blessing and of guidance for all kinds of beings: In it are signs manifest; (for example) the Station of Abraham; whoever enters it attains security; pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith Allah stands not in need of any of his creatures. (The Noble Quran, 3:96-97)"
"And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in <b>the wilderness of Paran</b>: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. (Genesis 21:17-21)"
more verses on paran:
"Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran. (Numbers 10:12)" Here the desert of Paran means the region of Paran, which would be either at or near Mecca.
"After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran. (Numbers 12:16)" Here the desert of Paran means the region of Paran, which would be either at or near Mecca.
"So at the LORD's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.(Numbers 13:3)"
"These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert east of the Jordan--that is, in the Arabah--opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. (Deuteronomy 1:1)"
ALSO.... Recent archeological discoveries along with Paul's own words in Galatians 4:25 clearly suggest that Mount Sinai is located in Saudi Arabia. This means that Paran being south of Mount Sinai clearly means that it is the Holy City of Mecca as I showed above:
The Bible clearly says that Paran is south of Sinai in Egypt; "He said: 'The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes.' (From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 33:2)"
This verse is elaborated on further above. Now, let us first look at Galatians 4:25, then the archeological evidence:
"Now Hagar stands for <b>Mount Sinai in Arabia </b> and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. (From the NIV Bible, Galatians 4:25)"
you can also read:
Why isn't there any record of millions of Jews wandering in the desert?
more reading here:
Christian Archeologists prove from the Bible that Mount Sinai is in "Saudi Arabia" today
by the way, i still have more evidence if you wish i can post more.
Salam
Wael
