NOTES for Gen 22:1-24
1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. |
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. |
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. |
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. |
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you, |
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. |
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? |
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. |
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. |
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. |
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. |
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. |
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. |
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. |
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, |
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: |
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; |
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. |
19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. |
20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; |
21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, |
22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. |
23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother. |
24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah. |
Hide
The event we call the sacrifice of Isaac is called the Akedah in Hebrew. The word literally means "binding" - and indeed, the sacrifice itself never took place; it only came to the binding of Isaac and his being placed on the altar. God stopped Abraham - and no killing took place. Killing is exactly the word: today hardly anyone would have doubts about God's attitude toward human sacrifice; the Bible speaks about this completely unambiguously.
So what happened to Abraham then? Traditionally, what happened is interpreted as a kind of test of Abraham - of his faithfulness to God, his trust in Him, his readiness to do everything that God might require. All of this would be true if not for one very important point: why would God need to test Abraham's readiness to commit what in God's eyes is a double sin - apostasy and murder? Apostasy, because in those times human sacrifices were offered only to underground gods, gods of the lower world, lords of the realm of shadows; and murder for an entirely understandable reason - God does not need human sacrifices by definition, so from His point of view this is precisely murder and nothing else. What, then, are we to do with the voice Abraham heard? If it was not God, then who was it? And where was God, if it was not His voice?
In the biblical story of the Akedah God is not named by His personal name; He is simply God there - and the word used in the text to designate God was not used in Abraham's time. We clearly have before us a retold story, retold, judging by the features of the text, by someone from a priestly milieu. In that milieu (and generally in pre-exilic times), believing Yahwists did not distinguish between God's will and His permission as we distinguish them today - at least on the level of terminology. If God allowed Abraham to hear a voice, then the voice was from Him.
What, then, could Abraham himself have thought? He knew that his God was El Shaddai, God of power, as He Himself named Himself during the second of Abraham's theophanies described in the Book of Genesis. The ancients were more inclined to seek the source of power in the lower world, under the earth, than in the upper world, in heaven. What if Abraham's God was lord of the lower world? Then He could demand a human sacrifice... but then what about the promises connected with Isaac? What about the alliance-covenant made with God?
A trial by absurdity is the most terrible kind. Because absurdity paralyzes the soul - and a paralyzed soul is far more terrible than a paralyzed body. Yet Abraham still preserves trust in his God. To Isaac's question about the lamb he answers: God will provide Himself the lamb. And God really does provide it, freeing Abraham's soul from the power of the force He had permitted to take hold of it.
He praises Abraham - for faithfulness. For not going back, for not retreating. Abraham, even while under the power of a dark force permitted by God, understands that there is no way back for him. Back there, behind him, there is no salvation from the evil absurdity in which he has found himself. To be saved, he must go only forward, toward God. Abraham goes forward - and truly meets God, who accepts him, frees him from the power of darkness, and praises him for his faithfulness.
Other notes
For Gen 22:1-24
1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. |
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. |
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. |
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. |
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you, |
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. |
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? |
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. |
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. |
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. |
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. |
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. |
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. |
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. |
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, |
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: |
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; |
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. |
19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. |
20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; |
21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, |
22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. |
23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother. |
24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah. |
Hide
For Gen 22:1-18
1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. |
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. |
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. |
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. |
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you, |
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. |
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? |
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. |
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. |
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. |
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. |
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. |
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. |
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. |
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, |
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: |
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; |
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. |
Hide
After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan. Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free. | ||
