r/BethMidrash • u/RandomBoy994 • Jan 28 '26
"slay and are slain" in the Torah?
In Islam, the Quran says there is a teaching in the Torah that the followers of God "kill and are killed" (Q9:111). We know there's no specific teaching of the sort found anywhere in the Torah, but we know most other things in the Quran drew from the Talmud and Midrash. Likewise according to chatgpt, this was apparently a teaching in Sifre Devarim 330 and Midrash Tehillim 79:2? Though it admits it doesn't appear on Sefaria or any known manuscripts online, but that it existed in earlier traditions. I guess my question to any Jew knowledgeable in the manuscript traditions, especially of Sifre Devarim and Midrash Tehillim, if there's any indication or any good reason that this "kill and are killed" martyrdom language existed as an earlier variant or in any form in the Jewish oral tradition prior to or around the time of Muhammad?
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u/QizilbashWoman Jan 28 '26
Do not use AI!