16 Preface وَلَقَد آتَينا بَني إِسرائيلَ الكِتابَ وَالحُكمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ وَرَزَقناهُم مِنَ الطَّيِّباتِ وَفَضَّلناهُم عَلَى العالَمينَYusuf AliWe did aforetime grant to the Children1 of Israel the Book the Power of Command, and Prophethood; We gave them, for Sustenance, things2 good and pure; and We favoured them above the nations.The argument here is similar to that in 44:32-33 but; it is more particularised here. Israel had the Revelation through Moses, the power of judgment and command through the Kingdom of David and Solomon, and numerous prophetic warnings through such men as Isaiah and Jeremiah.“Sustenance”, here as elsewhere is to be understood both in a physical and metaphorical sense. The Mosaic Law laid down rules of diet, excluding things unclean, and it laid down rules for a pure and honourable life. In this way Israel became the standard-bearer of God’s law, thus “favoured above the nations.”