Editing Binding of Isaac (section)

==Modern research==
[[File:Sacrifice of Isaac mosaic - Basilica San Vitale (Ravenna).jpg|thumb|Mosaic "Sacrifice of Isaac" – [[Basilica of San Vitale]] (547 AD)]]
The binding also figures prominently in the writings of several of the more important modern [[Theology|theologians]], such as [[Søren Kierkegaard]] in ''[[Fear and Trembling]]'' and Shalom Spiegel in ''The Last Trial''. [[Jewish]] communities regularly review this literature, for instance the 2009 [[mock trial]] held by more than 600&nbsp;members of the University [[Synagogue]] of [[Orange County, California]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Bird|first=Cameron|title=For 'jury', a case of biblical proportions|work=[[The Orange County Register]]|volume=105|issue=12|page=11|date=12 January 2009}}</ref> [[Jacques Derrida|Derrida]] also looks at the story of the sacrifice as well as [[Søren Kierkegaard|Kierkegaard's]] reading in ''The Gift of Death''.

In ''Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature'', the literary critic [[Erich Auerbach]] considers the Hebrew narrative of the binding of Isaac, along with [[Homer]]'s description of [[Odysseus]]'s scar, as the two [[paradigm]]atic models for the representation of [[reality]] in [[literature]]. Auerbach contrasts Homer's attention to detail and foregrounding of the spatial, historical, as well as personal contexts for events to the Bible's sparse account, in which virtually all context is kept in the background or left outside of the narrative. As Auerbach observes, this narrative strategy virtually compels readers to add their own interpretations to the text.

===Redactors and narrative purpose===
[[Historical criticism|Modern biblical critics]] operating under the framework of the [[documentary hypothesis]] have ascribed the binding's narrative to the biblical source [[Elohist]], on the grounds that it generally uses the specific term {{transliteration|hbo|[[Elohim]]}} ({{lang|hbo|אלהים}}) and parallels characteristic E compositions. On that view, the second angelic appearance to Abraham (verses 14–18), praising his obedience and blessing his offspring, is in fact a later [[Jahwist]] interpolation to E's original account (verses 1–13, 19). This is supported by the style and composition of these verses, as well as by the use of the name [[Yahweh]] for the deity.<ref name="WenhamGenesis">G. J. Wenham. (1994). ''Genesis&nbsp;16-50''. Dallas, TX: Word Biblical Commentary.</ref>

More recent studies question the analysis of E and J as strictly separate. Coats argues that Abraham's obedience to God's command in fact necessitates praise and blessing, which he only receives in the second angelic speech.<ref>Coats, G.W. (1973). Abraham's sacrifice of faith: A form critical study of Genesis&nbsp;22. ''Interpretation'', ''27'', pp.&nbsp;389–400.</ref> That speech, therefore, could not have been simply inserted into E's original account. This has suggested to many that the author responsible for the interpolation of the second angelic appearance left their mark also on the original account (verses 1–13, 19).<ref name="WenhamGenesis" />

[[File:Icelandic Isaac sacrifice.jpg|thumb|From a 14th-century Icelandic manuscript of [[Stjórn]]]]

It has also been suggested that these traces are in fact the first angelic appearance (verses 11–12), in which the Angel of Yahweh stops Abraham before he kills Isaac.<ref>Boehm, O. (2002). The binding of Isaac: An inner Biblical polemic on the question of disobeying a manifestly illegal order. ''[[Vetus Testamentum]]'', ''52''&nbsp;(1) pp.&nbsp;1–12.</ref> The style and composition of these verses resemble that of the second angelic speech, and Yahweh is used for the deity rather than [[Names of God in Judaism#El|God]]. On that reading, in the original E version of the binding Abraham disobeys God's command, sacrificing the ram "instead of his son" (verse 13) on his own responsibility and without being stopped by an angel: "And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son; but Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and beheld, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went, and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son" (verses 10, 13).

By interpolating the first appearance of the angel, a later redactor shifted responsibility for halting the test from Abraham to the angel (verses 11–12). The second angelic appearance, in which Abraham is rewarded for his obedience (verses 14–18), became necessary due to that shift of responsibility. This analysis of the story sheds light on the connection between the binding and the story of [[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom]] (Genesis 18)<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|18|NIV}}</ref> in which Abraham asks God whether he will destroy the city without distinguishing between the righteous and the wicked: "Far be it from you to do such a thing: Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?" According to this analysis, Abraham's question and conversation with God was a rebellion against him and culminates in Abraham's disobedience to God, refusing to sacrifice Isaac.<ref>O. Boehm, O. (2007). ''The Binding of Isaac: A Religious Model of Disobedience'', New York, NY: T&T Clark.</ref>

===Child sacrifice===
[[File:Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac.jpg|thumb|Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. From a 14th-century English [[Missal]]]]
[[Francesca Stavrakopoulou]] said that it is possible that the story "contains traces of a tradition in which Abraham does sacrifice Isaac".<ref>"It may be that the biblical story contains traces of a tradition in which Abraham does sacrifice Isaac, for in Genesis 22:19 Abraham appears to return from the mountain without Isaac". [[Francesca Stavrakopoulou|Stavrakopoulou, F.]] (2004). ''King Manasseh and child sacrifice: Biblical distortions of historical realities'', pp.&nbsp;193–194.</ref> [[Richard Elliott Friedman|R. E. Friedman]] stated that in the original E story, Abraham may have carried out the sacrifice of Isaac, but that later repugnance at the idea of a human sacrifice led the redactor of JE to add the lines in which a ram is substituted for Isaac.<ref>[[Richard Elliott Friedman|Friedman, R.E.]] (2003). ''The Bible With Sources Revealed'', p.&nbsp;65.</ref> Likewise, Terence Fretheim wrote that "the text bears no specific mark of being a polemic against [[child sacrifice]]".<ref>Terence E. Fretheim, <!-- contribution title? --> in [[Marcia Bunge|Marcia J. Bunge]], Terence E. Fretheim, [[Beverly Roberts Gaventa]] (eds.), ''The Child in the Bible'', p.&nbsp;20</ref> Wojciech Kosior also said that the [[Genealogies in the Bible|genealogical snippet]] (Genesis 22:20–24) contain a hint to an alternative reading where Abraham sacrificed Isaac, since there would be no reason to list all these descendants of Abraham's brother.<ref name=Kosior>{{cite journal|last1=Kosior|first1=Wojciech|title='You have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me'. Some arguments for the consummated sacrifice of Abraham|journal=The Polish Journal of the Arts and Culture|date=2013|volume=8 (5/2013)|pages=73–75|url=https://www.academia.edu/5644517|accessdate=16 June 2014}}</ref>

Interpretations of the text have contradicted the version where a ram is sacrificed. For example, [[Martin S. Bergmann]] stated "The [[Aggadah]] rabbis asserted that "father Isaac was bound on the altar and reduced to ashes, and his sacrificial dust was cast on  [[Moriah|Mount Moriah]]."<ref name="Bergmann1992">{{cite book |last=Bergmann |first=Martin S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DnL2ryuprYC&pg=PA97 |title=In the Shadow of Moloch: The Sacrifice of Children and Its Impact on Western Religions, Volume 10 |date=1992 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-07248-9 |pages=97 |oclc=1024062728}}</ref> A similar interpretation was made in the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]].<ref name="Bergmann1992" /> [[Margaret Barker]] said that "Abraham returned to [[Bersheeba]] without Isaac" according to Genesis 22:19,<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|22:19}}</ref> a possible sign that he was indeed sacrificed.<ref name="Barker2012">{{cite book |last=Barker |first=Margaret |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNzeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA131 |title=The Mother of the Lord: Volume 1: The Lady in the Temple |date=27 September 2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-567-37861-3 |pages=131 |oclc=1075712859}}</ref> Barker also said that wall paintings in the ancient [[Dura-Europos synagogue]] explicitly show Isaac being sacrificed, followed by his soul traveling to heaven.<ref name="Barker2012" /> According to [[Jon D. Levenson]] a part of Jewish tradition interpreted Isaac as having been sacrificed.<ref name="Morgan-Wynne2020">{{cite book |last=Morgan-Wynne |first=John Eifion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tgLtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA186 |title=Abraham in the New Testament |date=22 May 2020 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-72525-829-7 |pages=186–187 |oclc=1159564269}}</ref> Similarly the German theologians {{ill|Christian Rose (theologian)|de|Christian Rose (Theologe)|vertical-align=sup|lt=Christian Rose}} and {{ill|Hans-Friedrich Weiß|de|vertical-align=sup}} said that due to the grammatical [[Perfect (grammar)|perfect tense]] used to describe Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, he did, in fact, follow through with the action.<ref name="Morgan-Wynne2020" />

[[Rav Kook]], the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, said that the climax of the story, commanding Abraham not to sacrifice Isaac, is the whole point: to put an end to, and God's total aversion to, the ritual of child sacrifice.<ref>"Olat Reiya", p. 93.</ref> According to Irving Greenberg the story of the binding of Isaac symbolizes the prohibition to worship God by [[human sacrifice]]s, at a time when human sacrifices were the norm worldwide.<ref>Irving Greenberg. 1988. The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays. New York: Summit Books. p.195.</ref>

===Rite of passage===
It has been suggested that Genesis 22 contains an intrusion of the liturgy of a rite of passage, including mock sacrifice, as commonly found in early and preliterate societies, marking the passage from youth to adulthood.<ref>T. McElwain (2005) ''The Beloved and I: New Jubilees Version of Sacred Scripture with Verse Commentaries'' pages 57–58.</ref>