Amram

In the Book of Exodus, Amram (), is the father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam and the husband of Jochebed. 
==In the Bible==
In addition to being married to Jochebed, Amram is also described in the Bible as having been related to Jochebed prior to the marriage, although the exact relationship is uncertain; some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Septuagint state that Jochebed was Amram's father's cousin, and others state that Amram was Jochebed's cousinExodus 6:16-20, LXX - , but the Masoretic text states that he was Jochebed's nephewNew American Bible, footnote to Exodus 6:20. 
Textual scholars attribute the biblical genealogy to the Book of Generations, a document originating from a similar religiopolitical group and date to the priestly source.Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote The Bible? According to biblical scholars, the Torah's genealogy for Levi's descendants, is actually an aetiological myth reflecting the fact that there were four different groups among the levites - the Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites, and Aaronids;Peake's commentary on the Bible Aaron - the eponymous ancestor of the Aaronids - couldn't be portrayed as a brother to Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, as the narrative about the birth of Moses (brother of Aaron), which textual scholars attribute to the earlier Elohist source, mentions only that both his parents were Levites (without identifying their names). Biblical scholars suspect that the Elohist account offers both matrilinial and patrilinial descent from Levites in order to magnify the religious credentials of Moses.
==Overview==
Imran in Islam is regarded as the father of Mary. This chapter is named after the family Imran (amram) which includes; Imran, Saint Anne, Mary, Jesus. The chapter is believed to have been revealed in Medina and is either the second or third in Medinan revelation. Almost all of it also belongs to the 3rd year of the Hijra with the possible exception of verse 61 which mentions Mubāhalah and therefore might have been revealed during the visit of the Najrān Christian deputation which was occurred in the 10th year of the Hijrah. This chapter primarily focuses on the departure of prophethood from the Mosaic dispensation.
Another speculation is that since the event of Mobahela is the highlight of this surah, Al Imran could very well refer to the progeny of Abu Talib Bin Abdul Muttalib, whose real name was Imran.
 
 oبِسمِ ٱلله الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيـمِ
[I begin reading Qur'an] With Allah's personal name Ar'Reh'maan Who is The Infinitely Merciful. 
[Note: It should be remembered that it is not the written text/part/Ayah of سُورة[Chapter 3] and hence it is never numbered. For convenience of those readers who are already believers, this is traditionally printed since it is commanded in the Qur'an to read/recite with the Name of Sustainer Lord, The Creator.]
 الم
[Three syllabic] Letters/consonants of Arabic language, Alif; Laam and Meem [conjoined and both written with prolongation sign/mark which reflects that the Book in hand is in the language that has letters and other marks, representing that its writing system is a combination of sounds that form a syllable, rather than a single sound].
 O اللّهُ لَا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ 
Allah is He except Whom there is no iela'aha, He is The Ever Living, Self Subsisting, The Eternal, The Absolute [Perpetually living; not subject to death. Refer 25:58]; [3:02]
 نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ
He has gradually sent to you, the Messenger [Sal'lallaa'hoalaih'wa'salam], The Book as/ containing Statement of Fact,
 مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ
He/that is the Testifier/Affirmer who/which certifies/sanctifies/testifies what was sent in times before it, [مُصَدِّقاً singular, masculine, active participle. بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ is explained byمُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ in 2:91 and by مِن قَبْلُ in 3:04] 
 oوَأَنزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنجِيلَ
and/i.e. He had sent Tor'aat and In'jeel,[3:03]
 مِن قَبْلُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ
in the past times before this Book [Grand Qur'an], as a guide for people;
 وَأَنزَلَ الْفُرْقَانَ 
[Grand Qur'an is named as such in 25:01]
 And He has since sent The Criterion [Al-Furqau'n]. 
 إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِآيَاتِ اللّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ
Indeed, those who deliberately refused to accept Aa'ya'at of Allah for them is a severe punishment
 Oوَاللّهُ عَزِيزٌ ذُو انتِقَامٍ
 and Allah is the Dominant, the Authority to award due punishment to criminals. [3:04]
 O إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلاَ فِي السَّمَاءِ 
Indeed, Allah is the One from Whom nothing in the Earth nor in the Sky is hidden/secreted. [3:05]
 هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَوِّرُكُمْ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ
He is the One Who shapes/faced you people in the wombs as He wills.
 O لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
There is no iela'aha except He Who is All-Pervasive/Dominant and eternally The Wise/Knower of invisible/secreted/infolded.[3:06]
 هُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ
He [the Dominant,The Wise, Knower of hidden realities]is the One Who has since sent you, the Messenger[Sal'lallaa'hoalaih'wa'salam]the Book,
 مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُّحْكَمَاتٌ
from/within him/that Book are Aaya'at [mouh'kmaa'tun; feminine, plural, passive participle] the peculiarity/individuality of which is made to/that they contain straight/ stable/ permanent/ injunctions/commands/prescribed social conduct; [مِنْهُ described a fact as it was during the period of revelation when the whole Book had not been sent/revelation completed, and it describes a fact genuinely today. Grand Qur'an is ALWAYS referred as masculine and Aaya'at as feminine]
 هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ
these Aaya'at are the essence/basic purpose of sending the Book [to demarcate/ segregate the right from the wrong/identify the straight path and path of criminals];
 وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ
and other than those are Aa'ya'at [mota'shaa'be'haa'tin; feminine, plural, active participle] that explain hidden physical facts with metaphors. [active participle performs an act. They will keep enabling people to understand and perceive the invisible knowledge/facts according to the level of information in time and space-mota'shaa'be'haa'tin could never mean allegorical]
 فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ 
 
For this reason/making it an excuse, those people who have inclination/atilt in their hearts keep physically pursuing that from the Book [مِنْهُ, denotes from/in the Qur'an and NOT Aa'ya'at مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ -The invisible/hidden physical/scientific facts can/are explained only by metaphors both in books and orally by scientists. The purpose of explaining with metaphors is NOT creating confusion but to make the hidden fact conveniently perceivable to a certain extent for common man. فَيَتَّبِعُونَ does not denote/include scholarly discussions but means physically pursuing a course; thus it exclusively relates to people who claim to be believers of Grand Qur'an-others publicly contradict it 10:39] whatever was individually perceived [by them] as vague/confusing with the objective of spreading disturbance/confusion/liquefying/distancing people and in pursuit to find his/its [Qur'an] ultimate result/objective perception,
 وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلاَّ اللّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ
but none [of them] knows/have the knowledge [complete information] ultimate objective perception of him/that [whole Grand Qur'an-including Aa'ya'at quoting metaphors-] except Allah; and [contrary to the people of tilted hearts/psyche] the holders of in-depth knowledge/scientists/experts/true believers
 يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا
they say; "We believe in that, the Book, it all/entirely is from our Sustainer Lord". [True believers know/have knowledge of conviction that it is a fact from their Sustainer Lord-2:26] 
 O وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلاَّ أُوْلُواْ الْأَلْبَابِ
 
And none remembers/cautioned except those who look into matters objectively without overlapping it with emotions/prejudices/biases/whims/caprices. [3:07]
===Family tree===
According to the Septuagint, Amram's family tree would be as follows:
while according to the Masoretic text, Amram's family tree would be as follows:
==In rabbinical literature and apocryphal literature==
In the Apocryphal Testament of Levi, it is stated that Amram was born, as a grandson of Levi, when Levi was 64 years old.Testament of the Patriarchs, Levi:12 The Exodus Rabbah argues that when the Pharaoh instructed midwives to throw male children into the Nile, Amram divorced Jochebed, who was three months pregnant with Moses at the time, arguing that there was no justification for the Israelite men to father children if they were just to be killed;Exodus Rabbah 1:17 however, the text goes on to state that Miriam, his daughter, chided him for his lack of care for his wife's feelings, persuading him to recant and marry Jochebed again. According to the Talmud, Amram promulgated the laws of marriage and divorce amongst the Jews in Egypt; the Talmud also argues that Amram had extreme longevity, which he used to ensure that doctrines were preserved through several generations.Jewish Encyclopedia 
Despite the legend of his divorce and remarriage, Amram was also held to have been entirely sinless throughout his life, and was rewarded for this by his corpse remaining without any signs of decay.Baba Batra 17a Prior to his death, according to the Book of Jubilees, Amram was among those who went to Egypt and recovered the bones of the sons of his grandfather and great uncles (excluding those of Joseph which had already been brought to Canaan), so that they could be reburied in the cave of Machpelah.Jubilees 46:11 The text states that this recovery was opportunistically performed when a war broke out between Egypt and Canaan.ibid
One of the Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q535, Manuscript B) is written from Amram's point of view, and hence has been dubbed the Testament of Amram. The document is dated to the 2nd century BC and, in the form of a vision, briefly discusses dualism and the Watchers:
:I saw Watchers in my vision, the dream-vision. Two men were fighting over me ... holding a great contest over me. I asked them, 'Who are you, that you are thus empowered over me?' They answered, 'We have been empowered and rule over all mankind.' They said to me, 'Which of us do you choose to rule you?' I raised my eyes and looked. One of them was terrifying in his appearance, like a serpent, his cloak, many-colored yet very dark. ... And I looked again, and in his appearance, his visage like a viper. ... I replied to him, 'This Watcher, who is he?' He answered, 'This Watcher ... his three names are Belial and Prince of Darkness and King of Evil.' I said (to the other Watcher), 'My lord, what dominion (have you?)' He answered, 'You saw (the viper), and he is empowered over all Darkness, while I (am empowered over all Light.) ... My three names are Michael, Prince of Light and King of Righteousness. translation by Prof. Robert Eisenman
==See also==
Aale Imran, 7
==References==
Category:Levites
Category:Torah people
Category:Qur'an