The Children of Israel had been freed from Pharaoh’s oppression, had received the Book, and had seen prophets arise among them. They could remember that past with gratitude and learn from it; they could also merely boast about it and consider themselves better than others. God’s call to remember His favor brings them back to the Giver of these gifts and to the responsibility they bear in receiving them.

The exact wording of this verse has already appeared in Al-Baqarah 2:47. The meaning of favor, the distinction granted to the Children of Israel, and the responsibility accompanying that gift are explored there in greater detail.

The Arabic verb rendered “I favored you” means “I gave you preference.” We must understand this preference through what they had been given. Al-Jathiyah 45:16 names the Book, judgment, prophethood, and good provisions; alongside these gifts, it speaks of the Children of Israel being favored above the peoples of the world. In our reading, this standing concerns the particular gifts they received in that period. It does not mean superiority by blood or race, or guaranteed salvation for all their descendants. Someone whose path has been made clearer bears greater responsibility toward it, not greater permission to disregard truth.

Joseph likewise describes the path of worshipping God alone as God’s favor upon himself and upon people, and speaks of most people’s failure to give thanks (Yusuf 12:38). Receiving guidance therefore does not make its path the property of one family. Gratitude for such a gift is found in remaining faithful to it.

Verse 121 spoke of precisely this faithfulness: some give the Book’s recitation its due and believe in it, while others reject it. The reminder of favor that follows puts an immediate question before the Children of Israel: what have you done with the Book you were given? If the Book is one of God’s great gifts, one cannot take pride in possessing it and set aside its words whenever they conflict with one’s wishes. Remembering the gift here brings the matter back to their lives in the present. The prophets’ legacy had reached them, but they had to show their own faithfulness to it.

• Al-Baqarah 2:47— The same wording, with a fuller discussion of favor, the gifts granted to the Children of Israel, and their responsibility.
• Al-Baqarah 2:121— Giving the Book’s recitation its due and believing in it: the immediate context for this reminder of favor.
• Al-Jathiyah 45:16— The Book, judgment, prophethood, and good provisions, alongside the favoring of the Children of Israel.
• Yusuf 12:38— Worshipping God alone as God’s favor upon Joseph’s family and upon people, and the call to give thanks for this gift.