Genesis ch. 22 recounts one of the greatest tests of Abraham’s faith and unwavering obedience to God Eternal.
The section is called the Akedah (the binding) or Akedat
Yitzchak (the binding of Isaac) and
is read every day in the morning Shacharit service.
It is one of the most powerful pieces of dramatic
literature anywhere in the Bible and below is an analysis of its theological
and literary aspects.
It is so seminal an event that over two millennia thereafter,
it also became a core event in the new religion of Islam -- with Ishmael as the
offering. It is celebrated annually for 4 days as Eid al-Adha: with the slaughter of a ram, sheep, cow or camel for
communal festive meals[ii].
The Event
Abraham receives a Divine message to take his only son
to mount Moriah and sacrifice him there.
It is a three day journey and
Abraham takes his son, two young male companions, a donkey, wood, fire and a
butcher knife.
Near the site, Abraham leaves behind the two young men
and the donkey, and he and his son walk
the remaining distance, talking to each other.
Once at the Divine site, Abraham builds a stone alter,
lays on the wood and then binds his son and places him on top. As he is about
to stab his son or slit his throat, a voice from Heaven says to stop.
Abraham finds a ram ensnarled in a bush nearby and
offers the ram to God instead.
Having passed the test – i.e., would Abraham give up
his only son and heir, and slaughter him as a sacrifice if God so asked –
Abraham is given a threefold blessing.
The group then departs and returns home.
Theology
1. No to Human Sacrifice
Human
sacrifice was a common practice in Canaan.
It would be used in dire situations to ‘appease’ the
gods as did the King of Moab with his own eldest son: to invoke divine
intervention when surrounded by his enemies
(2 Kings 3:27).
And while the Bible does not go into the ‘pagan
reasoning’ for such human sacrifice, records from other pagan civilizations
show human sacrifices were common: to appease the gods during drought and
famine, and even as a regular part of the agricultural year: before planting,
to ensure a bountiful harvest months later.[iii]
Jeremiah 19:5 speaks of sacrificing daughters and son
to the god Baal.
The ‘human offering’ would be placed on a stone alter,
slaughtered and then burned to ashes: the same steps and ritual as used in
animal sacrifices.
It is referred to with the same terms as for animal
sacrifice: עֹלָה [iv] or זִבְּח [v] .
A second, different ‘sacrifice’ of one’s children
involved the cult of Moloch.
It is mentioned a number of times in the Bible as an abomination.
The Moloch cult had a ritual where young males and
young females would “pass through the fire”
בָּאֵשׁ וּבִתּוֹ בְּנוֹ מַעֲבִיר (Deut. 18:10).
This
Moloch ritual is repeatedly castigated in Lev. 18:22,
Lev. 20:2-5, Deut. 18:10 , 2 Kings 16:3 (where Judah’s king Ahaz does so to his son)
2 Kings 21:6, 2Kings 23:20-25 (where
Judah king Manasseh also has his son do so), Isaiah 57:5, Jeremiah 7: 31, 19:5,
and 32:35, and Ezekiel 16:20-21 and 20:31.
Medieval rabbinic speculation on Moloch is summarized at
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/4372130/jewish/The-Tragic-History-of-Molech-Child-Sacrifice.htm
The Moloch ritual seems to be a variation of the
‘firewalk’ test found in various ancient cultures in Polynesia, Fiji, Greece
and Spain.[vi]
It would be used for the young when initiated into the
cult as ‘novices’: with survivors becoming the next generation of potential Moloch
priests and priestesses.
Many would fail and burn to death. And survivors would
most likely have had permanent and major visible burn marks and melted skin: markings
that publically identified them as Moloch devotees.
The Bible’s fierce objection to this practice -- aside
from the idolatry -- would be due to the many deaths involved, and the
disfigurement of those who ‘passed’ the test: as the Bible prohibits any
disfigurement via cutting the skin during mourning or tattoos (Lev. 19:28).
Moses forewarns the Children of Israel of such
Canaanite abominations just before they were about to cross the Jordan.
He warns that child sacrifice was practiced to many
“gods” – not just Moloch – and ended with the children burned to ashes.
And he warns them not to copy this common
practice in the worship of God Eternal once in Canaan.
Deut. 12:30-31
But, according to Psalm 106, the Children of Israel succumbed
once they ruled Canaan.
They offered their own sons and daughter to pagan
deities as sacrifices, זִבְּחוּ.
https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt26a6.htm
And also to Moloch.
This was ongoing, as it is criticized
repeatedly in 2 Kings, Jeremiah, Isaiah and Ezekiel (as noted above).
The message of the Akedah
test for Abraham -- and all his descendants -- was that human sacrifice is an
abomination in the eyes of God Eternal – and should never, ever be
considered or attempted. Animal
sacrifice is sufficient.
The
Akedah ‘test’ was a ‘case law’ precedent
event that would be reinforced centuries later in Torah law. After all, Abraham and Isaac lived some 400
years before the Exodus, the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and Moses’
writing down the laws of the Chumash
as dictated by God.
It confirmed, in the most dramatic manner, that the
God of Israel, the Eternal, did NOT want human sacrifices – period.
And this was a major distinction between our Jewish
God and the deities worshipped throughout Canaan and beyond.
2. FREE
WILL
The Akedah also severed to
highlight human FREE WILL. Just because
God Eternal ordered Abraham to do this did not mean Abraham would comply.
All
people, since the Garden of Eden, have had the ability to think and reason –
and make choices.
Consequently, when Abraham passed the test ‘of his own
free will’, he earned a reward, the triple blessing quoted above.
3. DIVINE INTERVENTION: God Eternal is
watching and intervenes in History
The
third theological point is God Eternal is always watching to see what humans do:
so He can reward or punish them accordingly. God trusted that loyal Abraham – for all his doubts and concerns for his
only son -- would obey. And God watched
as the group travelled for three days and was ready to intercede at the critical
moment when Abraham was about to thrust his knife into Isaac.
The voice from above that stops Abraham, usually
translated as an angel, is a message from God Eternal Himself – in the first
person.
His Divine voice – in haste – yells out “Abraham,
Abraham” to get Abraham’s attention – and proceeds to explain the test and
block the sacrifice of Isaac.
Gen. 22:
While some may argue the test shows God’s OMNISCIENCE: that the He knows
in advance what people will do in the future, that is not the lesson of the Akedah. Verse 12 above makes this clear.
So, the Akedah highlights
the coexistence of the forces of FREE WILL and DIVINE INTERVENTION. Judaism believes
in both; but not in intractable DESTINY.
4. Who is the God of the Hebrew Bible?
This
may sound an odd question, but as explained in earlier blogs, especially “The
Tetragrammaton, the hidden name of God”, the Deity of the Bible has a number of
names or appellations. Very often it is םיאֱלֹהִ ,
the ‘generic’ term meaning God: used to stress His almighty powers and as the
Creator of the Universe, our world and all its plant and animal life. It is the exclusive term used during the Six
Days of Creation account, Genesis ch. 1, ch. 2:1-3. All 35 times!
But far more often is the proper name הוָהיְ which means “the Eternal” and indicates Divine mercy, caring and
intervention.
It is this latter, real and personal name of the Deity
that King David uses constantly when he reaches out for personal protection
and, when saved, offers thanksgiving.
Just see the famous Psalms 27, “The Eternal is my
light and salvation” and the resounding final lines of Psalms 32 and 34.
Psalm 32:11
|
יא שִׂמְחוּ
בַיהוָה וְגִילוּ, צַדִּיקִים;
וְהַרְנִינוּ, כָּל-יִשְׁרֵי-לֵב. |
11 Be glad in the ETERNAL, and rejoice, ye righteous; and
shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. |
Psalm
34: 23
|
כג פֹּדֶה יְהוָה,
נֶפֶשׁ עֲבָדָיו; וְלֹא יֶאְשְׁמוּ, כָּל-הַחֹסִים בּוֹ. |
23 The ETERNAL
redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them that take refuge in Him
shall be desolate. |
(My
correction of the English.)
In the account of the Akedah, Genesis Ch 22, both names appear, but there is a marked transition
from the use of one ‘name’ to the other.
The story begins by specifying the instruct to
sacrifice Abraham’s son came from םיהִאֱלֹהָ =
God, with
the prefix הָ in verse 1
making clear the instructions are from the real, only God – rather than some
pagan deity or ‘god’.
But at the climactic moment, as Abraham lifts his
butcher knife, it is the voice of The Eternal, הוָהיְ, that calls out for Abraham to stop (verse 11).
And the triple blessing Abraham receives which
begins in verse 15 is again from, הוָהיְ, the Eternal.
Finally, when Abraham in thanks gives the site a
name, he calls it “where the Eternal Sees” האֶריִ יְהוָה.
In brief, then, the Akedah account recognizes the Deity of the Bible has various appellations
and reference terms, reflecting different aspects. The Deity is both creator of the universe and
all powerful, םיהִלֹאֱהָ, but also and,
more importantly, יְהוָה, The
Eternal, who is active in human events and is caring and merciful.
OTHER
ASPECTS
The role of the son
The Akedah as
presented in the Bible, i.e., the text’s
simple peshat meaning -- is a test of Abraham alone.
While Isaac is named as the potential sacrifice and there
is even a brief conversation between Isaac and Abraham, the text gives not
credit or recognition to Isaac as an active participant in this test.
I.e., the wording of the text is clear: it is only
Abraham’s test.
When Abraham and Isaac reach the holy mountain top,
Abraham does everything alone.
He builds the alter alone (verse 9), he alone places
the wood on top (verse 9), he binds Isaac alone (verse 9) and he places the
bound Isaac on top of the wood alone (verse 9).
Gen. 22:9
|
ט וַיָּבֹאוּ,
אֶל-הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אָמַר-לוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים, וַיִּבֶן שָׁם אַבְרָהָם
אֶת-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, וַיַּעֲרֹךְ אֶת-הָעֵצִים; וַיַּעֲקֹד, אֶת-יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ,
וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתוֹ עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, מִמַּעַל לָעֵצִים. |
9 And they came to the place which God
had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in
order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. |
Even after the test is over and they descent the
mountain and head home, the text continues to speak only of Abraham.
Gen. 22:19
|
ט וַיָּשָׁב אַבְרָהָם
אֶל-נְעָרָיו, וַיָּקֻמוּ וַיֵּלְכוּ יַחְדָּו אֶל-בְּאֵר שָׁבַע; וַיֵּשֶׁב אַבְרָהָם, בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע. |
19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they
rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. |
Put simply, then, the biblical text in its choice of
words and use of the singular makes clear that the Akedah is NOT a test of Isaac in any way. It is all about Abraham.
Rabbinic
interpretation
This plain reading and meaning of the text, its peshat, did not sit well with our
ancient and medieval rabbis who sought clues and arguments to suggest Isaac had
a positive role – one almost equal to Abraham’s.
They sought for clues and arguments that would make Isaac
an active participant who knowingly, bravely, agreed to be sacrificed at God’s
request: a submission to Divine will that truly would be meritorious.
This view is included in the morning daily prayers:[vii]
, הַמּורִיָּה בְּהַר לּו שֶׁנִּשְׁבַּעְתָּ
אהַבְךָ אַבְרָהָם בְּנֵי :בְרִיתֶךָ בְּנֵי עַמְּךָ אֲנַחְנוּ אֲבָל.
שֶׁמֵּאַהֲבָתְךָ בְּכורֶךָ יַעֲקב עֲדַת, בֵּחַזְהַמִּ גַּבֵּי עַל עֱקַדשֶׁנֶּ יְחִידו יִצְחָק זֶרַע .
וִישֻׁרוּן יִשרָאֵל שְׁמו אֶת קָרָאתָ בּו
שֶׁשּמַחְתָּ וּמִשּמְחָתְךָ אותו שֶׁאָהַבְתָּ
However, we are Your people, children of Your
covenant, children of Avraham, Your beloved, to whom You swore on Mount Moriah;
the seed of Isaac, his
only son, who was bound on top of the altar; the community of Yaakov,
Your firstborn, [whom]—because of Your love for him and Your joyous delight in
him— You named him Yisrael9
Clues to such merit are inferred:
1.
Gen. 22: 6. Isaac carried the altar’s
bundle of wood on his back (going up the mountain). This carrying is seen as
symbolic: that Isaac was ready to be made a burnt offering.
2.
Gen. 22: 6. “And they walked together” up the
mountain.
The ancient Midrash Aggadah states that this wording shows Isaac
knew he was to be the sacrifice from the onset of their walk, and the medieval
Midrash Lekach Tov concurs.[viii]
(Rashi on Gen. 22: 6:2, however,
disagrees, and says Isaac was still ignorant of the plan at this point.)
3.
Gen. 22:8. Isaac, once walking up the mountain alongside
Abraham, suddenly asks Abraham what is to be sacrificed as they have no sheep
with them. Abraham answers vaguely: that
God will show him the sacrifice when he gets to the top -- and Abraham ends
this sentence with the words “my son”.
While the style of this conversation
indicates “my son” is vocative and a form of address, as Abraham uses this
earlier in verse 7, rabbinic tradition sees it here as appositive, i.e.,
indicating the sacrifice was to be “my son” Isaac.
According to Rashi, Gen. 22:8, it is
only at this point that Isaac realized he was to be the sacrifice. Yet he nobly
agreed to go on.
The Midrash Aggadah, briefly adds
here that Abraham explained fully to Isaac that he was to be the
sacrifice -- yet Isaac continued to go along.
Bereishit
Rabbah 56:4 even envisions a conversation with the satanic
angel Samael who tells Isaac he is to be the sacrifice – yet Isaac agrees to go
on[ix].
But not all our rabbis have concurred
with this vision.
Abarbanel holds that Isaac thought
the actions were to be ‘symbolic’ and therefore did not resist being bound. Once
he saw Abraham lift the knife, he finally realized the plan was to kill him, and
he yelled out to God Eternal to intervene.[x]
And the Malbim states that Abraham
took with two attendants to make sure Isaac did not resist or run off.[xi]
Rabbinic
attempts to make Isaac a key participant led to other ‘complications’ and odd arguments.
4.
Age of
Isaac. The Art Scroll Chumash in its introductory commentary
to the Akedah states emphatically
that rabbinic tradition concurs that Isaac was age 37 at this event.[xii]
As such, he could have easily overpowered his father and
ended the test once its goal was clear on the mountain top. Isaac could have prevented Abraham – who was
age 100 at Isaac’s birth – from tying him up, from placing his adult, heavy
body on the alter, and he could well have moved to dislodge the raised knife in
Abraham’s hand.
Consequently, the argument goes, as there is no
textual indication of any resistance by Isaac, it must mean Isaac fully co-operated
and was willing to die if God so wished.
And therefore Isaac, too, was actively ‘tested’.
Why age 37
The idea that Isaac was 37 years old is based on the Akedah’s placement (Gen. ch. 22) immediately
before Gen. ch. 23: the death and burial of his mother Sarah.
Rashi’s commentary on Gen. 23:2, citing Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 32, states that
Sarah died instantly on hearing news that Abraham had almost sacrificed
Isaac, her only child.
The actual Pirkei 32:8 account differs slightly
from Rashi, and states the satanic angel Samael came to Sarah during the Akedah test and lied to her saying
Isaac had been sacrificed[xiii].
And she immediately died from the shock.
There is
also the Targum Yonasan version of this
mystical angel visit cited by the Art
Scroll Chumash in its introduction to Gen. ch. 23[xiv].
Since Sarah
died at age 127 (Gen. 23:1) and she had been age 90 at Isaac’s birth (Gen. 17:17),
Isaac was 37 years old at her death.
Problems
However,
there are a number of reasons that linking and dating the Akedah with Sarah death is highly doubtful.
1.
“After these things” - the opening phrase of the Akedah
Rashi, at
the start of the Akedah chapter 22, verse 1, quotes at length two opinions from
the Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 89b,
where the Akedah[xv]
is discussed. Rashi does not name the rabbis.
The Sandehrin 89B text is as follows:[xvi]
Rabbi
Yohanan in the name of Yosei Ben Zimra states the first words of ch. 22, the opening phrase: “After these
things”, refers to Isaac’s weaning celebration. He goes on to describe a
conversation between Satan and Abraham who tried to dissuade Abraham from
complying with God’s sacrifice command.
A second
opinion of Rabbi Levi is then quoted: namely, that these opening words also
refer to the weaning celebration, but relate to a statement Ishmael made to the
infant Isaac: that since he was circumcised at age 13 he was braver than Isaac,
circumcised at 8 days old. Isaac replied that he was willing to be sacrificed
and die if God so willed it – thereby triggering God’s test.
So, in both
Talmudic opinions re: “After these things”, the Akedah must have taken place close to the time of the weaning
celebration and not some 37 or so years later.
Rashi
acknowledges these Talmudic views but then ignores them.
2.
Geography -
Sarah died at Kiryat arba now called Hebron (Gen. 23:2). And so Abraham bought a cave crypt for her
burial there. (Gen. 23:19).
Hebron is
just under 19 kilometres south of Jerusalem and Mount Moriah[xvii]
in the Judean Hills. But at the end of the Akedah it specifies that Abraham and
company returned to their home in Beer Sheba: located at the north end of the
Negev and a three days walk from Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:19).
|
יט וַיָּשָׁב אַבְרָהָם
אֶל-נְעָרָיו, וַיָּקֻמוּ וַיֵּלְכוּ יַחְדָּו אֶל-בְּאֵר שָׁבַע; וַיֵּשֶׁב
אַבְרָהָם, בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע. |
19 So Abraham returned unto his
young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham
dwelt at Beer-sheba. |
This is a
major geographical incongruity.
It indicates
that Sarah died well after the Akedah,
when the family had moved northward.
Rashi
commentary for Gen. 22:9 tries to rationalize this, arguing Abraham and company
went to Beer sheba merely to ‘stay a while’ on the way to returning to Hebron,
their ‘home’.
But it is
not even a day’s journey from Hebron to Mount Moriah! Why would anyone loop south into the Negev
and travel for 3 days to get to Beer sheba so he/they could again travel
another two days to get back to Hebron? It makes no sense.
3.
נַּעַר
The text describes Isaac as a נַּעַר,
a “youth” or “lad”-- TWICE. Once when Abraham speaks, and later when the message
of God Eternal comes from Heaven.
|
ה וַיֹּאמֶר
אַבְרָהָם אֶל-נְעָרָיו, שְׁבוּ-לָכֶם פֹּה
עִם-הַחֲמוֹר, וַאֲנִי
וְהַנַּעַר, נֵלְכָה עַד-כֹּה; וְנִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה, וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם. |
5 And Abraham said unto his young men: 'Abide
ye here with the ass, and I
and the lad will go yonder; and
we will worship, and come back to you.' |
||
|
יב וַיֹּאמֶר,
אַל-תִּשְׁלַח יָדְךָ אֶל-הַנַּעַר,
וְאַל-תַּעַשׂ לוֹ, מְאוּמָה: כִּי עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי, כִּי-יְרֵא
אֱלֹהִים אַתָּה, וְלֹא חָשַׂכְתָּ אֶת-בִּנְךָ אֶת-יְחִידְךָ, מִמֶּנִּי. |
12 And he said: 'Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou art a
God-fearing man, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from
Me.' |
||
So Isaac
would hardly, at age 37, have been called by his own father and by God Eternal
a “youth” or “lad”.
Now one
might challenge this by noting the two attendants Abraham took with are also
called his “young men”, נְעָרָיו , in verses 11 above and verses 3 and 19.
And rabbinic
tradition identifies them as Ishmael, Isaac’s 14 years older half-brother[xviii],
and Eliezer, Abraham’s head of the household.
This is
Rashi’s view on verse 3 as well as Mizrachi on verse 3.[xix]
But this
would make Ishmael, if Isaac was 37 at the Akedah,
51 years old. Hardly an age when someone is called a “young
man”.
Even if the
test was many years earlier, having Ishmael present makes no sense. He was exiled at age 14 to16 by Sarah to keep
him away from Isaac. The idea of having
Ishmael suddenly appear to accompany Abraham and Isaac on the Akedah trip is most bizarre!
As for Eliezer,
he was Abraham’s major domo: the head
of his household. He was in charge of
supervising all of Abraham’s servants, slaves and property: including all his
sheep, goats, cattle and camels.
He had been
Abraham’s major domo since before
Ishmael’s birth (see Gen. 15:2-3) and long before Isaac’s birth another 14
years later.
As such, he
would not be young nor labelled a “young man” at the time of the Akedah.
In Gen.
24:2, when Abraham sends him to find Isaac a wife from Haran soon after Sarah’s
death, Eliezer is called זְקַן בֵּיתוֹ – “the
elder in charge of his household”.
In fact, it
would be Eliezer whom Abraham would logically leave in charge back home while
he and Isaac go on a 6 day round trip.
So claiming
Eliezer is the second “young man” also makes no sense.
Verse 2 “And (Abraham) took his two
young men with him” וַיִּקַּח אֶת-שְׁנֵי
נְעָרָיו אִתּו
Rashi and
Chizkuni concur that wealthy or noble individuals were to be accompanied by servants
to carry out all the menial tasks when on a trip.
In this
case, it would mean setting up camp, making a fire, preparing and doing the
cooking, feeding and grooming the donkey, etc.
Rashi and
Chizkuni, moreover, note that even when a single prominent person travels, he
is to be accompanied by two servants.
Rashi
explains that two were need so that if one were off relieving himself, the
other would still be there to serve his master. (Rashi on Gen. 22:3 and especially
Num. 22:22)
Chizkuni on Gen.
22:3, however, commenting on Rashi’s answer, stresses the real reason two
attendants are needed is not to leave the prominent, wealthy person at any time
alone. I.e., a security issue.
Rashi must
also have been thinking of a safety issue as how much time would a servant need
for urination or a bowel movement? This
would be only minutes.
Consequently,
it seems that two attendants: strong young men well-armed, was what Abraham
took with for safety and protection: attendants who could also care out the few
menial tasks of a 6 day trip for two.
After all, having
an elderly Abraham (well over age 100) and young Isaac travelling alone would
have made them an easy target for robbers and slavers.
And having
two strong young men to take turns standing watch at night – against robbers,
slavers and wild animals – would allow Abraham and Isaac to sleep.
So to ensure
safety, Abraham took with two bodyguards: two young strong, well-armed males,
who could also do the menial tasks needed.
Conclusion
The rabbinic
traditions linking the Akedah to
Sarah’s death at age 127 -- making Isaac age 37 -- have major flaws and
problems and are wishful thinking: willing to ignore some rabbinic legends
(Rashi to 22:1) while stressing others, ignoring geography, and complicating
the dating issue with fanciful ideas that the two “young attendants” were
Ishmael and major domo Eliezer.
The two
attendants -- as Chizkuni and a reluctant Rashi admit – were as much, if not more
so, for protection as body guards: strong, well trained and well-armed
young men.
And since
Isaac is called a ‘youth’ in the Bible text, the event must have happened long
before Sarah’s death.
How old was Isaac, then?
If the two
Talmud traditions cited by Rashi for Gen. 22:1 are correct, Isaac would have
been very, very young.
Based on his
actions in the Akedah text, Isaac was possibly as young as 7 or so.
After all,
he did carry the few pieces of cut up wood for the sacrifice on his back up the
mountain.
And his
question to Abraham re: Where is the lamb for sacrifice? Shows a developed mind that could speak fluently.
At such a
young age, he could have been bound up by Abraham with minimal struggle and
would have been light enough to easily place on the alter.
If Isaac had
been a teenager at the Akedah, the binding and raising him up onto the alter
would have been much more difficult for Abraham, as he was well past age 100.
So, based on
the text’s peshat, if Isaac was not a
‘willing participant worthy of merit’, I suspect the Talmudic legends of Rashi Gen. 22:1
are probably correct.
He was still
a child at the Akedah.
Overall Conclusion
The Akedah
is a key moment in the Bible’s narrative re: Abraham: a great test of his faith
and obedience to God Eternal.
It
highlights HUMAN FREE WILL and God –
as the merciful יהוָה
-- intervening in human affairs and
history.
And it rejects the practice of human sacrifice as commonly practiced in the
Near Eastern and other pagan religions and cults.
As for Isaac, rabbinic efforts to give him an active role – almost equal to
Abraham’s – is not supported by the actual words of the Bible text. Wording that stresses the test was of
Abraham’s faith alone.
There is no actual agreement among the commentaries when exactly Isaac
became aware of the ‘sacrifice plan’ – if he ever did.
In fact, Abarbanel sees Isaac as ‘tricked’ into believing the alter and his
placement thereon was only to be a ‘symbolic’ act and Isaac cries out to Heaven
for salvation once Abraham raises the butcher knife
The Malbin is even less supportive, as he believed the two attendants were
there to ensure Isaac never ran off.
As for Isaac’s age, age 37 and linking the Akedah to Sarah’s sudden death
may have been accepted by Rashi and others in line with satanic angel legends,
but such a dating is highly improbable for the numerous reasons presented
above.
If any legends are to be trusted, it is the two in the Talmud which made
Isaac at the Akedah a young child.
That best fits Isaac’s limited actions as stated in the Bible’s peshat, and how Abraham was able to bind
and raise Isaac onto the alter.
Finally, the two attendants, Abraham’s “young men”, were not Ishmael and
Eliezer. Having one or the other – or both – on this trip makes no sense.
It is wishful speculation.
It ignores the role of these two “young men” in carrying out the menial
tasks of the trip – something that would have been insulting to Ishmael and
Eliezer. And it ignores the even more important role of bodyguards that
Chizkuni and even Rashi recognized – unlikely tasks for a 51 year old,
disinherited Ishmael and Eliezer, the major
domo skilled in administration and bookkeeping.
After all, Abraham in Gen. 14:14-16 carried out a military rescue of Lot
and others who had been captured in a war, by leading 318 of his own trained fighters
into battle.
|
יד וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם,
כִּי נִשְׁבָּה אָחִיו; וַיָּרֶק
אֶת-חֲנִיכָיו יְלִידֵי בֵיתוֹ, שְׁמֹנָה עָשָׂר וּשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת,
וַיִּרְדֹּף, עַד-דָּן. |
14 And when Abram heard that his brother was
taken captive, he led
forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen,
and pursued as far as Dan. |
|
טו וַיֵּחָלֵק עֲלֵיהֶם
לַיְלָה הוּא וַעֲבָדָיו, וַיַּכֵּם; וַיִּרְדְּפֵם, עַד-חוֹבָה, אֲשֶׁר
מִשְּׂמֹאל, לְדַמָּשֶׂק. |
15 And he divided himself against them by
night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah,
which is on the left hand of Damascus. |
|
טז וַיָּשֶׁב, אֵת כָּל-הָרְכֻשׁ;
וְגַם אֶת-לוֹט אָחִיו וּרְכֻשׁוֹ הֵשִׁיב, וְגַם אֶת-הַנָּשִׁים וְאֶת-הָעָם. |
16 And he brought back all the goods, and also
brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the
people. |
A dramatic audience
moment
One can
envision the following discussion triggered by an inquisitive young audience member (IAM) near the front as the
Aramaic translator finishes the last
verse of the Akedah.
Setting:
Jerusalem market place in the days of Erza the Scribe, c. 445 BCE.
IAM (jumping up and down with arm
raised): What happened to Isaac? The text only names Abraham
coming down the mountain. And the verb is singular - not plural.
So what happened to Isaac?
Did he fly off to Heaven with the
messenger angel?
Aramaic
translator: No. Isaac came down the mountain with his father Abraham. As
the 'test' was only of Abraham, the Bible only names Abraham coming down to
emphasize he alone was tested.
Torah Reader (in
Aramaic): In the next parshah we find Isaac is age 37 when his mother Sarah dies (Gen. ch.23), and soon
thereafter Abraham arranges a marriage,
a shidduch
for Isaac, with his cousin Rebecca from far off Haran (Gen. ch. 24).
They wed when Isaac turns 40 (Gen.
25:20) and eventually they have twin boys: Esau and Jacob (Gen. ch. 25: 20-34).
So Isaac did not fly off to Heaven. He came down
from the mountain with his father.
Ezra the Scribe (in Aramaic): from his seat
on the platform
If
you had paid close attention to the last verse, you would have found your answer in the clue: יַחְדָּו "together"
|
יט וַיָּשָׁב
אַבְרָהָם אֶל-נְעָרָיו, וַיָּקֻמוּ וַיֵּלְכוּ יַחְדָּו
אֶל-בְּאֵר שָׁבַע; |
19 So Abraham returned unto his young
men, and they rose up and went together to
Beer-sheba; |
|
|
|
Why would the Torah care if Abraham and his two servants
left happily together?
יַחְדָּו is the key word, the EXACT SAME WORD, used TWICE when Abraham and Isaac walked up
the mountain “together” i.e., in harmony (Gen. 22: 6 and 8).
And its recurrence in verse 19 – at the very end of the
account -- is to show that father and son continued on and left in
harmony.
Yes, the test was Abraham's alone, but eventually Isaac
understood and felt no anger or grudge
against his father.
After all, the test was ordered by God the Eternal whom both
worshipped and followed.
Torah Reader (in
Aramaic): And if you had just waited
another minute you would have known
Isaac returned home. The parshah ends with Abraham, sometime later, getting news that his
brother, Nahor, had had many children and grandchildren – one of whom was a girl named Rebecca (verse 23).
Ezra the Scribe
(in Aramaic): A classic
Bible foreshadowing of the upcoming
marriage of Isaac and Rebecca
And as the
tall young man lowered his arm and head, the reading of the rest of the
parshah resumed.
[i]
All Hebrew – English texts are from the online Machon Mamre translation
series. All rabbinic commentaries are
from Sefaria Genesis right sidebar.
[iii] For archaeologica evidence re: the
City of Ur, ancient Egypt and 23 others, see https://www.livescience.com/59514-cultures-that-practiced-human-sacrifice.html
for
Greeks SEE https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-ancient-greeks-engage-human-sacrifice-180960111/ . The Romans outlawed it only in 97 BCE https://mountainscholar.org/bitstream/handle/10217/190858/STUP_RIO_2018_Carver.pdf?sequence=1on
On the
Aztecs, see https://www.history.com/news/aztec-human-sacrifice-religion . For Norsemen see https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/religion-magic-death-and-rituals/human-sacrifices/ .
[iv] 2
Kings 3:27 הלָעֹ וַיַּעֲלֵהוּ
[v] Psalm 106: 37-38
[vii] https://www.sefaria.org/Siddur_Ashkenaz%2C_Weekday%2C_Shacharit%2C_Preparatory_Prayers%2C_Akedah?ven=Translation_based_on_the_Metsudah_linear_siddur,_by_Avrohom_Davis,_1981&vhe=The_Metsudah_siddur,_1981&lang=bi
[viii] See right sidebar at
https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.22.8?ven=The_Contemporary_Torah,_Jewish_Publication_Society,_2006&vhe=Miqra_according_to_the_Masorah&lang=bi&with=all&lang2=e
n
[ix] Ibid.
[x] See right sidebar for verse 3 at https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.22.3?ven=The_Contemporary_Torah,_Jewish_Publication_Society,_2006&vhe=Miqra_according_to_the_Masorah&lang=bi&with=Abarbanel&lang2=en
[xi] Ibid.
[xii]
Art Scroll, The Chumash, Stone Edition, 7th ed., 1997, page 100 ,
and also on page 106 citing Targum
Yonasan legend linking Sarah’s death
to the Akedah.
[xiii] https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.23.2?ven=The_Contemporary_Torah,_Jewish_Publication_Society,_2006&vhe=Miqra_according_to_the_Masorah&lang=bi&with=Rashi&lang2=en&p3=Pirkei_DeRabbi_Eliezer.32&ven3=Pirke_de_Rabbi_Eliezer,_trans._Rabbi_Gerald_Friedlander,_London,_1916&vhe3=Pirkei_Derabi_Eliezer&lang3=en&w3=all&lang4=en
[xiv]
See endnote XII.
[xv]
https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.89b?ven=William_Davidson_Edition_-_English&vhe=Wikisource_Talmud_Bavli&lang=bi
[xvi]
https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.89b?ven=William_Davidson_Edition_-_English&vhe=Wikisource_Talmud_Bavli&lang=bi
[xvii]
https://www.google.com/search?q=jerusalem+to+hebron+distance&rlz=1C1RNVE_enCA856CA856&oq=Jerusalem+to+hebron+distance&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j0i390l2.9039j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
[xviii] Ishmael was born when Abraham was 86 years old (Gen.
17:11) and he was age 14 when Isaac was born to 100 year old Abraham (Gen
17:17).
[xix] https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.22.3?ven=The_Contemporary_Torah,_Jewish_Publication_Society,_2006&vhe=Miqra_according_to_the_Masorah&lang=bi&with=Mizrachi
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