2. Others, again, of the sons of Korah were "por- ters," i. e. doorkeepers, in the Temple, an office of con- siderable dignity. In 1 Chron. ix, 17-19, we learn that Shallum, a Korahite of the line of Ebiasaph, was chief of the doorkeepers, and that he and his brethren were over the works of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle (compare 2 Kings xxv, 18) apparently about the time of the Babylonian captivity. See also
1 Chron. ix, 22-29; Jer. xxxv, 4; and Ezra ii, 42. But in 1 Chron. xxvi we find that this official station of the Korahites dated from the time of David, and that their chief was then Shelemiah or Meshelemiah, the son of (Abi)asaph, to whose custody the east gate fell bj' lot, being the principal entrance. Shelemiah is thought to have been the same as Shallum in 1 Chron. ix, 17, and perhaps MeshuUam, 2 Chron. xxiv, 12; Neh. xii, 25, where, as in so many other places, a name may desig- nate, not the individuals, but the house or family. In
2 Chron. xxi, 14, Kore, the son of Imnah the Levite, the doorkeeper towards the east, who was over the free-will offerings of God to distribute the oblations of the Lord and the most holy things, was probably a Korahite, as we find the name Kore in the family of Korah in 1 Chron. ix, 19. In 1 Chron. ix, 31 we find that jSIatti- thiah, the first-born of Shallum the Korahite, had the set oflice over the things that were made in the pans. — Smith. See Levite.
Koraidhites is a name sometimes applied to the unfortunate Jewish tribe of Koraidha, of Northern Ara- bia, which Jlohammed extirpated upon their refusal to accept him as God's " prophet." For a detailed descrip- tion of the sufferings of the Jews of Karaidha, see Grtitz, Gesch. d. Juden, v, 1 25-127 ; Milman, Hist, of the Jews, iii, 99 sq. ; jNIuir, Life of Mohammed, iii, 135 sq. ; Sale's Ko- ran, p. 345, note h. See Mohainimed.
Koi'&n, often Anglicized (when, as properly, it has the article prefixed) Al-Coran, but more iireciscly Qu- raii. The emphasis is not on the first syllable, as many persons plnce it. The word is from the Arabic root karaa, and means literally the reading — that which ought to be read; corresponding nearly to the Chaldee Keri (q. v.). The book is also called Furqun, from a root signifying to divide or distinguish ; Sale says to de- note a section or p(n-tion of the Scriptures; but Moham- medans say because it distinguishes between good and evil. It is furthermore spoken of as A l-Moshaf-^ The Volume," and .1 l-Kitcib. •• The Book," by way of emi- nence; and Al-Hhikr, '"The Admonition." The Koran is the Mohammedan Book of Faith, or, as wc may say, Bible.
Divisions.— \l consists of one volume, v.hicli is divided into one hundred and fourteen larger sections or portions called Surus, which signifies a regular scries. These suras or sections arc not numbered in the original, but bear each its own title, which is generally some key- :\ord in the chapter, or the first word therein. In cases where it is taken from near the close of the chajiter, it is probal)le that that ])ortion was originally uttered first. Some sup]wse these titles to have been matter of revela- tion, as also the initial Bism-iUah. '' In the name of ( Jod." etc., which is likewise placed as a prefatory phrase in all iMoslem books, but in the Koran stands at the head of each chai)tcr or sura. There are twenty-nine chap- ters which begin with certain letters, and these the Mo- hammedans believe to conceal profound mysteries, that have not been communicated to any but the prophet •,
KORAN
151
KORAN
notwithstanding which, various explanations of them have been proffered. For these curious but unimpor- tant theories, see Sale, p. 43. The chapters or suras do not no^v stand in tlie order in which they were original- ly uttered. As the Mohammedan theory concerning the reconciliation of inconsistencies in the Koran is that the later revelation abrogates any former one with which it conflicts, and as some two hundred and twenty-five of the passages of the Koran are admitted thus to have been cancelled, their chronological order frequently be- comes a matter of considerable importance. The real order in point of time, and, therefore, authority, as now determined, after immense painstaking, is the following : Suras numbered 103, 100, 99, 91, 106, 1, 101, 95, 102, 104, 82, 92, 105, 89, 90, 93, 94, 108, were dehvered in the order in which they are here set down in the first stage of Mohammed's prophetic career. Suras nimibered 90, 1 12, 74, 111, belong to the second period of his career, and extend to his fortieth year. Those numbered 87, 97, 88, 80, 81, 84, 86, 110, 85, 83, 78, 77, 76, 75, 70, 109, 107, 55, 56, belong to the third period. Numbers 67, 53, 32, 39, 73, 79, 54, 34, 31, 09, 68, 41, 71, 52, 50, 45, 44, 37, 30, 26, 15, 51, cover the time from the sixth to the tenth year of JIo- hammed's mission. Numbers 46, 72, 35, 36, 19, 18, 27, 42, 40, 38, 23, 20, 43, 12, 11, 10, 14, 6, 64, 28, 23, 22, 21, 17, 16, 13, 29, 7, to the fifth stage. The date of numbers 113, 114 is not known. Numbers 2, 47, 57, 8, 58, 65, 98, 62, 59, 24, 63, 48, 61, 4, 3, 5, 33, 60, 06, 49, 9, are those de- livered at iledina. Most of the others were delivered at Mecca, though some were delivered partly at IMedina and partly at Mecca. The Koran is further subdivided by the e([uivalent of our verses, called Ayat, wliich means si(jas or wonders, as the secrets of God's attri- butes, works, judgments, etc. It is again arranged in sixty equal portions called Ileizb, each of winch is di- vided into four equal parts (or into thirty portions twice the length of the former, and subdivided into four parts), for the use of the readers in the royal temples or in the adjoining chapels where the emperors and great men are interred. Thirty of these readers belong to each chapel, and each reads his section every day, so that the whole Koran is read through once a day (Sale, p. 42).