Isaac Bound

2021

Among biblical commentators and scholars, the accepted view of Abraham in the story of the Binding of Isaac is of a one-dimensional, almost superhuman figure whose entire consciousness, on the way to sacrifice his son, is focused solely on fulfilling the Divine will. According to this view there is no textual evidence of any deliberation or hesitation in Abraham's mind, and he is to be viewed as praiseworthy for fulfilling God's will without any doubt or misgiving.

2024

Following an annotated translation, I provide an exegesis of the Aqedah, the narrative of Yahweh's test of Abraham which threatened the very promises at the heart of the covenant. In this paper I discuss some key words, the structure and style of the narrative, and discuss difficult themes, such as child sacrifice and how to relate to such a hard narrative as Christian Scripture.

International Multidisciplinary Journal of Pure Life (IMJPL), 2024

SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: The paper delves into the event of Patriarch Abraham’s intended sacrifice of his ‘Only Son’ on Mount Moriah. The study aims to determine the true identity of the ‘Only Son’ based on biblical verses. METHOD & FINDING: Using a descriptive-analytical methodology, the research examines relevant Biblical texts and commentaries. It compares the sacrifice event to other significant occurrences, including the birth chronology of Abraham’s sons, God’s covenant regarding his offspring, the status of firstborns in the Old Testament, and Abraham’s love for his son Ishmael. Through this analysis, the study concludes that the ‘Only Son’ ordered for sacrifice was Abraham’s firstborn, Ishmael, rather than Isaac. CONCLUSION: Through a detailed examination of biblical verses and related events, this study sheds light on the identity of the ‘Only Son’ in Abraham’s sacrifice. Contrary to popular belief, the evidence points to Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn, as the son chosen for sacrifice on Mount Moriah. This conclusion challenges traditional interpretations and invites further exploration into the nuances of this pivotal moment in religious history.

2018

The words in this famous chapter are organized in such a way that the name of Isaac is positioned precisely at the mathematical centre of the text, flanked by 153 (9x17) words on either side. This is to express symbolically that Isaac is absolutely safe in his life-threatening situation, because YHWH is with him.

From the perspective of Heilsgeschichte, Gerhard von Rad saw clearly that Genesis 22 deals with the possible annihilation of the covenant promise. A fresh approach to Genesis corroborates this view and demonstrates that innerbiblical exegesis has shaped the message of Genesis 22. m erhard von Rad wrote many books and articles in his academic life and he Ä ^y commented on nearly every biblical book. What is especially noteworthy about ^^ii * his interpretation of Gen 22, the story commonly known as "The Sacrifice of Isaac" or "The Binding of Isaac"? Although many of von Rad's literary and historical judgments about this text are obsolete today, his careful reading of Gen 22 offers indispensable clues to an accurate understanding ofthat story, clues that are not always provided with the same quality and substance by the many articles and books on Gen 22 that have appeared since von Rad's death in 1971. The following observations and interpretations rely especially on von Rad's treatment of Gen 22 in his commentary on Genesis and in his litde booklet Das Opfer des Abraham, which was published in the year of his death, 1971. 1 The following considerations will be developed in three steps: 1) The long shadow of Hermann Gunkel's interpretation of Gen 22; 2) von Rad's main observations on Gen 2; and 3) recent corroborations of von Rad's interpretive approach to Gen 22.

Acta Theologica. Supplementum 37, 35–55., 2024

This article analyses and compares the testing of Abraham and that of Job. The analysis of Genesis 22 examines the meaning of God testing Abraham in comparison to other instances of God testing individuals in the Bible and draws parallels with the book of Job. Both positive and negative interpretations of human sacrifice are considered with reference to Jewish sources. The tension between the narrative and the poetic part of the book of Job is understood as a correction of a fatalistic, obedient world view. Such critical thinking is lacking in Genesis 22 and is only part of the reception history.

JSOT, 2019

This essay explores the meeting scene between Isaac and Jacob in Gen 27:18-29. The repetition of Isaac's act of blessing in vv. 23 and 27 exposes the parallel structure of the scene, and Isaac's dual test to determine his son's identity. This structure emphasizes the importance of the sensory tests and Esau's external identity markers-his hairy hands and the scent of the field-that convinced Isaac to bless the son standing before him. These identity markers are not merely technical; they are literary devices that point to Esau's character and hint at the motivation behind Isaac's desire to bless Esau instead of Jacob. These motives are clarified through an analysis of Esau's traits, links to Isaac's personality, and the nature of the blessings he had intended for Esau. The conclusions contribute to a better understanding of the scene and resolve some of the fundamental difficulties in the blessings narrative of Gen 27:1-28:9.

Someone once said war is never the cause of anyone's death. It's merely the cause of their premature death. We're all, every one of us, going to die, eventually, because of the true nature and cause of death: the bondage to death and the angel-of-death caused by the original sin in the Garden. The original sin in the Garden aborted God's original covenant with mankind-which included everlasting life-such that now we're all under the bondage of sin (and the death that comes with it). It's therefore particularly fitting that Rabbi Hirsch claims that strict Hebrew exegesis suggests the covenant between God and Abraham renews the original covenant between God and mankind, i.e., freedom from the bondage of sin, and thus freedom from death, and therefore, the renewal of mankind's destiny with everlasting life. It's good to remember these things when exegeting the "binding" (bondage) of Isaac, since there's nuanced gems of immense value hidden away in the narrative since times immemorial. Judaism, as it's often practiced, doesn't speak so much of the "sacrifice of Isaac" but instead the "binding" of Isaac (Isaac's bondage). The "binding of Isaac," a.k.a. the Akedah (so to say), can very easily be read as the macrocosmic eventuality, eventuating from Abraham's binding of the organ which, according to the Abrahamic covenant (and even Rabbi Hirsch's interpretation of it) must be bound, limited, placed under strict constraints, in order that the covenant be enacted in the actuality of the two acts that represent the covenant, i.e., Abraham's binding of the organ of the covenant, and then the binding of Isaac. A relationship is clearly established between the first covenant between God and mankind, its abortion, the results of the abortion (bondage to sin and inevitable death), and the rituals and symbols associated with the renewal of the original covenant, i.e., the signs and symbols associated with the establishment of the Abrahamic covenant. Isaac isn't actually sacrificed, though there's every reason to think that's the intent of his binding, i.e., his being bound.-Likewise, the organ of the covenant isn't sacrificed, emasculated, cut off,. .. even though there's every reason to believe that's the intent of its being bound, its binding, and Abraham being bound to cut and bleed it. Notwithstanding the obvious parallels between binding the organ through which the "firstborn" must come (so to say), followed up by the binding of the firstborn himself, and neither being fully or actually sacrificed, though the parallels make it extremely clear that that's what's being implied by the bindings. .. it's nevertheless not the case that either of the symbols of the Abrahamic covenant, i.e., the organ of the covenant, or the "firstborn" son of the covenant, are actually sacrificed.