3. Testing (22)The story of the near sacrifice of Isaac is one of the most profound tales of the Torah. It conveys a deep lesson in testing and faith. Not only is it one of the most poignant tales in the Hebrew Bible, it is also well told. 1. God summons Abraham (1-2) The following discussion of Genesis 22 examines the account by units. The words in boldface are the elements of the outline that reveal the structure. The first sentence of this unit is a theme statement. "Elohim tested Abraham" gives us the purpose of the story right at the beginning. God was testing Abraham's faith. Many Elohist stories have to do with faith and faithfulness. Interest in this theme can be partially explained by conditions at the time the Elohist source was written. It was a time of severe testing in Israel, and a story like this assured the people that God could be behind such testing, and that it could serve a purpose. Unit 1 contains emotionally charged narrative. Abraham and his dear son together traveled to the mountain. They ascended the mountain, Isaac carrying in his own arms the wood that was intended to ignite him as a burnt offering to God. The notice that "the two of them walked together" is touching in its simplicity. Unit 2 is distinctive among the three units. Only here Abraham replies a second time. He says, "God himself will provide a lamb for the offering, my son." By the way, catch the double-entendre in the phrase "God will provide a lamb, my son." "My son" is both the one addressed and the lamb. At this point Abraham makes his most profound statement of faith: "God will provide." Note how the story centralizes Abraham's profession of faith by placing it in the middle of the three-unit literary structure. In the nick of time the angel of Yahweh stopped Abraham. The sacrifice of Isaac was halted because God felt assured that Abraham truly feared him. And a ram was sacrificed in his place. Note the introduction of the name of God "YHWH" at this point in the story. Verses 11-18 have certain characteristics of the Yahwist, especially the mention of blessing. Perhaps this indicates that the Elohist used an earlier form of the story from the Yahwist source, which he reshaped to develop his own version. 1634, Hermitage, St. Petersburg -- WebMuseum, Paris Units 1 and 3 are tightly linked. Verses 2 and 12 are linked by the phrase "your son, your only one." Verse 2 establishes the test: take your son. Verse 12 records passing the test: you have not withheld your son. Moberly (1992) notes that only in Exodus 20:20 and Genesis 22 are the concepts of "testing" (22:1) and "the fear of God" (22:12) found in proximity. Perhaps we are to infer that Abraham is presented as a model for Israel by the way he demonstrates full and immediate obedience to God's word. Tradition apparently invested this place with great significance, even though today we do not know exactly what place is being referred to. In the editor's own day it was still an important place of worship. It gets its name from the ram God made available as a substitute for Isaac. The place name "Yahweh provides" echoes Abraham's answer to Isaac in verse 8, "Elohim himself will provide a lamb." Having passed the test of faith, God repeated the promise of blessing. Abraham's offspring would increase and he would be richly blessed. This reaffirms the Yahwist principle that blessing follows obedience. The analogies of sand and stars recall the covenant promises found in Genesis 13:16 and 15:5, respectively. The phrase "sand of the seashore" also creates a link to 1 Kings 4:20, where this promise was seen to be fulfilled in the Solomonic kingdom. This further reinforces the theological understanding that the blessings of the later monarchy were founded on the promises to the ancestors. Abraham traveled to the southern part of Palestine, called the Negev, where he established himself in Beersheba. Beersheba is associated with all three patriarchs. Abraham settled in Beersheba (22:19), Isaac built an altar there (26:23-25), and Jacob made a pilgrimage there before going on to Egypt (46:1-7). Beersheba was not settled until the Iron Age, and was fortified by David and Solomon (see Herzog 1980 and Fowler 1982). However, the well at the site may be the one prominent in Genesis 21:22-34 and 26:23-33. Photo by Barry Bandstra Curiously, no mention is made of Isaac in the conclusion, only of Abraham and the servants. Having survived a close encounter with the knife, one might think Isaac would be explicitly mentioned. Yet the focus of the entire episode is on Abraham. In this remarkable story we see a changed man, one radically different from the early Abraham of chapter 12. Then, he was afraid of losing his own life, he was insecure, and he deceived the Pharaoh of Egypt to save his own skin. He did not trust God to protect him, even though God had promised to.
In the larger thematic and theological development of the Abraham cycle, the stage is set for this Elohist account of Isaac's near sacrifice by the birth narrative of Isaac and the subsequent expulsion of Ishmael in chapter 21. Now that Isaac is the ONLY one, God tests Abraham to expose the authenticity and the object of his faith.
Applying the perspective of the newer literary criticism that looks for structure, we see that the account is segmented into three units on the basis of repeated phrases. Each of the three units is introduced with a summons addressed to Abraham. In each unit Abraham responds the same way.
God: "Abraham!"
Abraham: "I am right here."
Command: "Take your son"
2. Isaac summons Abraham (7-8)
Isaac: "Father!"
Abraham: "I am right here."
Question: "Where is the lamb?"
Abraham: "God will provide."
3. Angel summons Abraham (11-12)
Angel: "Abraham, Abraham!"
Abraham: "I am right here."
Command: "Do not harm the boy." 1. God summons Abraham
1 After these events, Elohim tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" He answered, "I am right here." 2 He said, "Take your son, your only one, he whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and sacrifice him there as a whole burnt offering on one of the mountains, the one I will tell you." (22:1-2)
Unit 1 contains God's command to sacrifice Isaac. Moriah is impossible to locate geographically. The later tradition of 2 Chronicles 3:1 identifies Mount Moriah with the site of Solomon' s temple. The connection this story draws between Abraham and Solomon's temple through the interpretation of the Chronicles tradition gives the site of the temple an ancestral connection, hence the site acquires greater venerability. 2. Isaac summons Abraham
7 Isaac said to Abraham his father, "Father!" And he said, "I am right here, my son." And he said, "The fire is here, and the wood. Where is the sacrificial lamb?" 8 Abraham said, "Elohim himself will provide a lamb for the offering, my son." And the two of them walked together. 9 They came to the place Elohim told him and Abraham built there the altar and arranged the wood and bound Isaac, his son, and put him on top of the wood. 10 Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. (22:7-10)
Note also how Abraham went all the way and bound Isaac on the altar. This story is called the akedah in the Jewish tradition, the word for "binding" in the original Hebrew text of verse 9. 3. Angel summons Abraham
11 The Angel of YHWH called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "I am right here." 12 And he said, "Do not reach out your hand to the boy and do not do anything to him. For now I know that you fear Elohim. You have not held back your son, your only one, from me." 13 Abraham raised his eyes and saw a ram right there, with one of its horns caught in a thicket. Abraham went and took the ram and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering in place of his son. (22:11-13)
The Sacrifice of Isaac, by Rembrandt (1606-1669) Beersheba
The later Abraham of this episode declined to cling to what, humanly speaking, must have been his last hope for a future. He did not take Isaac and run from God. Instead, willing to sacrifice Isaac, he obeyed God. In so doing he demonstrated his deep and secure faith in the promises of God. The testing of Abraham episode within the Abraham cycle displays his maturation in the faith.
There are structural indications in the overall account of Abraham that we should see the Abraham of chapter 22, the "late" Abraham, in relation to the "early" Abraham. There is point-counterpoint between Genesis 12 and 22 drawn by verbal and thematic parallels. The following is a list of explicit parallels between them.
| Genesis 12 | Call of Abram | Genesis 22 | Testing of Abraham |
| 12:1 | Go (Heb. lek-leka) from your land | 22:2 | Go (Heb. lek-leka) to the land |
| 12:6 | Moreh | 22:2 | Moriah |
| 12:3 | All peoples on earth will be blessed/bless themselves through you | 22:18 | Through your offspring all the nations on earth will bless themselves |
These correspondences suggest that these two stories are to be seen in juxtaposition, as a kind of framework perhaps, around the Abraham collection of stories. What is the point of these connections? The editor who brought J and E together urges us to see the testing of Abraham as a major step toward the realization of the promises stated in 12:1-7. As a result of his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham finally demonstrated that he relied implicitly on the promises of God. He staked his future on God, not on the life of his son. So, the account of Abraham finds satisfying resolution.
Sacrifice of Isaac Gallery. The near-sacrifice of Isaac has given rise to a variety of interpretations and artistic depictions. The gallery includes works from ancient mosaics to modern art. The Genesis 22 Bibliography lists resources for a closer study of the near-sacrifice of Isaac.
Child Sacrifice. Maybe this story had a different meaning before it found its way into the Ancestral Story. It is probable that this Abraham-Isaac story originally existed independently, before the Elohist or any other source existed. Using the procedures of form criticism to recover the original setting of the isolated tale, some scholars have suggested that the original intent of this story was to displace child sacrifice as a form of worship and replace it with animal sacrifice. Perhaps this is the story the Elohist found. See Levenson (1993).
Reconstructing the course of its inclusion into the book of Genesis, the Elohist took the core story and supplemented it with the promise of blessing and other details from the Yahwist source. He was interested in the story for his own reasons and reshaped it to show how God may test one's faith, yet ultimately provide. This story is a likely example of an early tale which meant one thing, then was taken up by a later writer and given new meaning in connection with his themes and interests.
19 And Abraham returned to the servants and they journeyed to Beersheba together. And Abraham lived in Beersheba. (22:19)
15 The Angel of YHWH called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, "I swear by myself (YHWH's oracle) that because you did this, you did not withhold your son, your only one, 17 I will richly bless you and greatly increase your offspring, like the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea shore. And your offspring will inherit the gate of their enemies. 18 All the nations of the earth will bless themselves through your offspring, because you obeyed my voice." (22:15-18)
14 Abraham called the name of that place "YHWH provides." To this day it is said, "On YHWH's mountain it will be provided." (22:14)
3 Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, and Isaac his son. He cut offering wood and journeyed to the place Elohim told him. 4 On the third day Abraham glanced up and saw the place in the distance. 5 Abraham said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go there. We will worship and we will return to you." 6 Abraham took the offering wood and put it on his son Isaac. He took in his own hand the fire and the knife. And the two of them walked together. (22:3-6)
