The Binding of Isaac

The story of the Binding of Isaac begins with a summary statement: “After these things, God tested Abraham” (Gen 22:1a). The Lord tells Abraham to take his only son and offer him as a burnt offering (v.2). Abraham unquestioningly saddles his donkey, gathers his supplies and men, and goes to the place the Lord tells him to (v.3). Abraham tells his son that God will provide the lamb (vv. 4-8). Abraham builds the altar for the sacrifice and lays his son on it, knife in hand, ready to slaughter, but an angel of the Lord appears to stop him (vv. 9-12). God provides a ram for the burnt offering, and the angel of the Lord calls to Abraham again and blesses him and repeats the divine promise of many descendants (vv. 15-18). Abraham goes with his men to live in Beersheba (v. 19).

Arguably, 22:1-19 can be treated as a separate text from 21:22-34 and 22:2-24. In chapter 21, we have the story of a treaty between Abimelech and Isaac (vv. 22-34). When the Abraham saga is read as a cohesive unit, this story seems to be inserted between the Birth of Isaac and the Binding of Isaac because it does not have anything to do with either one. These verses are about a dispute over a well, which is revised by creating a covenant between Abraham and Abimelech (v. 27). There is no mention of Isaac, Sarah, or any frame of time after the birth of Isaac. There is a loose phrase at the beginning, “at that time,” to introduce the story, but other than that we are not sure when this takes place (v. 22). In 22:20, we also find a loose clause, “now after these things,” to introduce the genealogy directly preceding the binding of Isaac. This genealogy can be treated as a separate text from 22:1-19 as well. We receive no time frame and it is not really a story either, but only a genealogy and again no mention of Isaac who is an important character in the preceding story.

The chapters that precede and follow the Binding of Isaac echo several aspects of Abraham’s past. Gen 21:1-7 narrates the birth of Isaac, which fulfills the divine promise to Abraham. Verses 4 and 6 recall the covenant made with the circumcision of Isaac that was directly fulfilled after the birth of Isaac (v.4). The birth of Isaac is a testament to Abraham’s previous actions of faithfulness and reminds us of the fulfillment of the covenant made with the Lord. The placement of this passage directly preceding The Binding of Isaac makes the reader stop to remember the promises that were just fulfilled. It also calls into question the purpose of potentially killing the heir Abraham had waited so long for and builds the suspense in the story. When read as a cohesive unit, this story makes sense when placed before the binding of Isaac.

We also see a reflection of chapter 22 in aspects of the story of the treaty between Abraham and Abimelech (Gen 21:22-34). There is conflict resolution over a dispute with a well of water that is bound by a “covenant”. The text invites us to remember the “covenant” between God and Abraham (Gen 17:4) directly before reading about the Binding of Isaac. The Burial of Sarah winds down the saga of Abraham and closes the door on the last time God will speak with him (Gen 23:1-20).

The structure of the text can be described by the three parts. The test (v. 1-14), resolution (vv. 15-18), and return journey (v.19). The Lord gives Abraham a divine order to follow in order to test him (v. 2). We see Abraham follow this order with no questions asked. For the majority of the story, we read of every small detail leading up to the sacrifice to show Abraham’s obedience in passing this test given to him by the Lord (vv. 3-10). We then see the resolution play out in the intervention of God (v. 11), God calling upon Abraham as obedient (v. 12), God provides a sacrifice (vv. 13-14), and repetition of the divine promise (vv.15-18). And finally, we see the returning of Abraham to Beersheba (v. 19).

There is no clear identification of who is the source of this episode. The name of the deity switches from God to Lord in verse 11. “God” is the name of the deity in vv. 1, 3, 8-9, and 12, then “Lord in vv. 11, 14, and 16. This distinction does not yield a clear division of sources because there are also verbal repetitions throughout the story, such as; “they rose and went together” (Gen 22:8; Gen 22:19) and “here am I” (Gen 22:1; Gen 22:7, Gen 22:11). So, where there are different divine names in the story, they will share the same expression making it extremely difficult to distinguish between the sources.

This episode has several reflections of episodes from the past. In chapter 19, the Lord follows through with His promise to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:23-29). This is one of the first times Abraham sees for himself that the Lord stands by his word, as he looks down on Sodom and Gomorrah burning up (Gen 19:28). Abraham keeps this image in mind, realizing that the covenants made between him and the Lord will be fulfilled (15:7-18; 17:1-22). This can explain why Abraham is quick to obey, when the Lord asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son (Gen 22:1). When Abraham says that the Lord will provide an offering, he truly believes it (Gen 22:8).

Another aspect of this episode (Gen 22:1-19) is that there is a lack of characterization with Isaac. When Isaac is being put on the altar, his father’s knife in hand, we do not hear a word from him (Gen 22:9-10). We only hear one line from Isaac in the entire episode and that is when he is asking where the lamb for the burnt offering is (Gen 22:7). We also do not get a description of Isaac at all. We are only told that he is Abraham’s only son, whom he loves (Gen 22:2). There is no description of how he looks or what his personality is like. From Abraham, we hear no reaction whatsoever, other than his silent obedience (Gen 22:3). There is no evidence in the text of what process is going through his mind when the Lord asks him to kill his only son, from whom great nations are supposed to arise from. Instead of this, we get every small detail of Abraham’s obedience (vv. 3-11).

There are several aspects of this episode that are interesting and unusual. Isaac is described as Abraham’s only son, but he in fact has another son, Ishmael, who he is also promised many offspring through (Gen 22:2; Gen 21:18). Also, at the very beginning of the episode, there is a loose clause, “after these things,” as if chapter 22 is totally separate from 21 (Gen 22:1). This makes space and time within these stories very ambiguous and vague. We find these same words at the end of the story as well, beginning in verse 20 with the genealogy (Gen 22:20). In verses 3 all the way through 10, there is a huge portion that describes in great detail the actions of Abraham preparing for the offering (Gen 22:3-10). This builds suspense leading up to the almost sacrifice of Isaac, when what is being told could be summarized in three sentences or less. All of these details slow down the pace of the story, like slow motion in a movie.

Although this text appears to be the climax of the story, it really is just a recollection of the repeated promise made to Abraham by the Lord. It is a testing of Abraham, but also a testing of the Lord. Abraham remembers that the Lord promises him an abundance of offspring through his son Isaac (Gen 15:5). If Isaac dies, then the Lord becomes a breaker of promises and a God who lies. There is no evidence in the text that Abraham questions the Lord for one second. God passes Abraham’s test by providing the ram for the burnt offering. Because of Abraham’s obedience, he is blessed again by the angel of the Lord (Gen 22:15-18). This blessing of the Lord (vv. 15-18) appears to be an insertion to tie together the entirety of the Abraham Cycle.