Moses and the Injeel? (7:157)

Jesus is born more than a thousand years after Moses, yet 7:157 appears to have God speaking to Moses about what is written in the Injeel - the Book given to Jesus. The claim is that this is an anachronistic error.

The false claim: 7:157 has God telling Moses about the Injeel, which wouldn't exist for over a thousand years - a historical error.

God is not speaking to Moses in 7:157. Reading the passage carefully makes this clear.

7:155-156 records Moses' prayer to God on behalf of his people, and God's response: that His mercy is decreed for those who are reverent, give the Zakat, and believe in His revelations. Then 7:157 continues God's statement, describing the recipients of that mercy as those who:

[7:157] "(Mercy is designated) for those who follow the messenger, the gentile prophet, whom they find written in their Torah and Gospel. He exhorts them to be righteous, and enjoins them from evil. He makes good things lawful for them and prohibits evil things from them, and he removes the burdens and shackles imposed upon them. Those who believe in him, honor him, support him, and follow the light that came with him are the winners."

If God were addressing Moses in this verse, "the messenger, the gentile prophet" would have to be Moses himself - which makes no sense, since God would not instruct Moses to follow Moses. Nor could it be Jesus or Muhammad, since it would be absurd for God to command Moses to follow a prophet who would not arrive for over a thousand years.

The resolution is that God in 7:157 is not addressing Moses at all. He is speaking to the Jews and Christians of Muhammad's time - the People of the Scripture who have the Torah and the Injeel already in their possession. God is telling them that His mercy is designated for those among them who follow Muhammad, the gentile prophet, whose description they can find recorded in their own scriptures. The transition from Moses' prayer in 7:155-156 to God's broader address to the People of the Scripture in 7:157 is a natural extension of the passage's subject - the scope of God's mercy and who receives it.

The Injeel is mentioned not because God is informing Moses about Jesus's future scripture, but because God is addressing people who already have the Injeel and can verify Muhammad's description within it. No anachronism exists in the verse once the correct addressee is identified.